Create the First Virtual LoadMaster in Azure

The steps in this document reflect the steps in the Azure Marketplace (http://portal.azure.com).

To deploy a new LoadMaster, follow the steps below:

1. From the Azure Management Portal dashboard, click Create a resource.

   

2. Enter LoadMaster in the search bar and press Enter on your keyboard.

   

3. Select LoadMaster Load Balancer ADC.

   

4. From the drop-down menu, select the desired LoadMaster Plan and click Create.

   

5. Under Project details, complete the following fields:
   1. Select the Azure Subscription.
   2. Select an existing or create a new Resource group to deploy the LoadMaster into.

   

6. Under Instance details, complete the following fields:
   1. Enter a Virtual machine name for the LoadMaster.
   2. Select an Azure Region.
   3. Select the relevant option from the Availability options drop-down list.
      Note: The LoadMaster is compatible with Availability sets and Availability zones and it is preferred to use managed disks for production environments. Some settings are not available in all regions. Check with Microsoft if needed.
   4. Configure the availability settings:
      • If you are using an availability set, select an existing or new Availability set for the HA pair.
      • If you are using an availability zone, select an Availability zone to deploy the first LoadMaster into.
   5. Select the relevant security type for the virtual machine from the Security type drop-down list.
   6. Confirm the desired LoadMaster type is selected in the Image drop-down list.
   7. Select x64 or Arm64 based VM architecture for the virtual machine to run your applications.
   8. Select the Run with Azure Spot discount checkbox, if required.
   9. Select the desired Size for the virtual machine.

      

      Note: If you want to enable 10 Gb throughput for a LoadMaster virtual machine (VM) in Azure, you must select an Azure VM instance type that supports the 10 Gb Mellanox driver. For more information, refer to the Enable a 10 Gb Interface (Optional) section.
7. Under Administrator account, complete the following fields:
   1. Select the Authentication type (SSH public key or Password).
      Note: We recommend using a password, but either way will work fine.
   2. Enter a Username.
      Note: This username is not used by the LoadMaster for Azure. The default username to access the LoadMaster is bal.
   3. Enter a Password for the bal account and confirm it.
      Note: The password is used to access the LoadMaster WUI.
   4. SSH public key source: You can either create a new key pair, use an existing key stored in Azure, or use an existing public key.

      

      Note: It is recommended to store SSH keys in a secure location.
8. Click Next: Disks.
9. Leave the default options for Disk options and Data disks.

   

10. Click Next: Networking.

    

11. Under Network interface, complete the following fields:
    1. Select an existing or create a new Virtual network.
    2. Select an existing or create a new Subnet.
    3. (Optional) A Public IP is not required. Access is provided using the Azure Load Balancer outlined later in this guide.
    4. Keep the default setting for NIC network security group.
       Note: The security group should contain rules for port 8443 (management), 22 (SSH), and any other ports that are needed by the back-end. Do not block port 6973.
    5. Select Delete public IP and NIC when VM is deleted to automatically delete the public IP and NIC when the associated virtual machine is deleted.
    6. Select Enable accelerated networking, if the selected VM size supports.
    7. (Optional) Select an existing load balancer or follow the steps outlined later in this document to create one.

       

12. Click Next: Management.
13. You can optionally make any necessary updates to the Identity and Auto-Shutdown sections or leave them as the default settings.
    Note: Ensure that the Enable OS guest diagnostics check box is disabled because there is no support available for collection of diagnostics from the LoadMaster in Azure. If this option is enabled, the LoadMaster will not boot correctly.
14. Click Next: Monitoring.
15. You can optionally make any necessary updates to the monitoring settings.

    

16. Click Next: Advanced.
17. You can optionally make any necessary updates to the Extensions and Custom data sections or leave them as their defaults.

    

18. Click Next: Tags.
19. You can optionally make any necessary changes to the Tags section or leave the defaults.

    

20. Click Next: Review + create.
21. You can optionally click Download a template for automation to download an ARM template.

    

22. Click Create.