How To Create A Windows server Like a Pro

Source: Dev.to

What is Windows Server?

A Windows Server is a type of computer operating system designed to manage and provide services to other computers on a network. It acts like a librarian for computers, keeping files, websites, and applications organized and running smoothly so users can access what they need quickly and securely.

Creating a Windows Server on Azure

1. Open the Microsoft Azure Portal and type Virtual Machine in the search bar. Select Virtual Machines.
2. Click the + Create button and choose Virtual Machine.
3. On the Basics tab, select an existing Resource group from the dropdown, or click Create new to make one.
4. Provide a name for your virtual machine, choose a Region, and set Availability options to No infrastructure redundancy required (suitable for a free trial account).
   • Security type: Standard
   • Image: Choose Windows Server 2022 (or another version you prefer).
5. (Optional) Select an Availability zone if you want the VM replicated across multiple zones.
6. Choose a suitable Size for your VM.
7. Under Administrator account, enter a username and password, then confirm the password.
8. For Inbound port rules, select HTTP.
9. In the Monitoring section, disable diagnostics if you do not want Microsoft to collect activity data.
10. (Optional) Add Tags to help identify the VM’s ownership or purpose.
11. Click Review + create.
12. After validation passes, click Create.
13. Once deployment finishes, click Go to resource.

Connecting to Your Windows Server

1. In the VM overview, click the Public IP address to open the connection settings.
2. Increase the timeout setting to prevent unexpected disconnections.
3. Click Connect → Download RDP file.
4. Open the downloaded RDP file and click Connect.
5. When prompted, enter the administrator password you set earlier and click OK.
6. You are now connected to your Windows Server virtual machine.

Installing IIS (Web Server)

1. On the Windows Server desktop, open the Start menu, type PowerShell, right‑click Windows PowerShell, and select Run as administrator.

2. In the elevated PowerShell window, run the following command:

   Install-WindowsFeature -Name web-server -IncludeManagementTools

3. Wait for the installation to complete; the screen will display a success message.

Verifying IIS Installation

1. Copy the VM’s public IP address.
2. Open a web browser, paste the IP address into the address bar, and press Enter.
3. You should see the default IIS welcome page, confirming that the web server is running.