Azure Lab Services

Summary

Microsoft just announced the release of Azure Lab Services. It allows you to quickly deploy Virtual Machine (VM) templates based on very simple configurations. This is great for anyone that needs to deploy a VM to test something out. Like all things Azure, you can create a new Lab Services resource.

Create the Lab

To create a new Lab Services resource go to: https://labs.azure.com

Once you’ve created the resource you’ll be able to add Lab Creators or just create the Lab itself.

As expected, creating the Lab is very simple.

As of February, 2019, there are only a few sizes available based on your region:

Including a small selection of Operating Systems including Windows Server 2016 (not seen here).

To finish off the VM lab creation supply the credentials.

It may take up to 20 minutes for the VM to provision, but once it does you’re ready to use it like any other VM.

The Publish job may take upto an hour so standby and wait for the process to complete.

What are some good use cases for this service?

• Quickly spin up a Lab when you need an Operating System other than the one you are working on.
• Create Lab environments for learning purposes.
• Labs can be managed with scheduled start and stop times to manage Azure spend.