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Labs

Connecting to Azure Windows VM Using PowerShell

In this hands-on lab, you will be able to log in to a Windows machine using PowerShell. Directly from Cloud Shell, you can access a Windows machine without having to establish an RDP connection, log in, and have to navigate the Windows GUI. This creates ease of use and frees up a lot of administrative tasks across multiple VMs for a system administrator.

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Lab platform
Lab Info
Level
Intermediate
Last updated
Sep 18, 2025
Duration
1h 0m

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Table of Contents
  1. Challenge

    Connect to Cloud Shell in the Azure Portal
    1. Open a web browser and go to https://portal.azure.com.
    2. Use the email and password provided with this hands-on lab to log in to the portal.
    3. Click the Cloud Shell icon in top menu bar to open it.
    4. Select PowerShell.
    5. Click Show advanced settings.
    6. Create a new storage account that is globally unique.
    7. Create a file share named "fileshare".
    8. Click Create storage.
  2. Challenge

    Create a New PowerShell Remoting Session
    1. Create a new PSSession (you can get the <winVM_PUBLIC_IP> from the lab page or the Azure Portal):

      New-PSSession -HostName '<winVM_PUBLIC_IP>' -UserName cloud_user
      
    2. Enter Get-PSSession to verify that the session has been saved.

    3. Store the session in a variable named $s ($s = Get-PSSession).

  3. Challenge

    Connect to the VM Using PowerShell
    1. Connect to the VM remotely:

      Enter-PSSession -Session $s
      
    2. Verify that the VM is Windows by calling the variable $PSVersionTable.

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