Connect to a Cloud

After logging into the Dashboard, go to Settings > Account Settings > Clouds.  Click Connect to a Cloud.

Next, click the (+) icon next to Windows Azure.

NOTE: Azure is a cloud with several regions which you can view by clicking the arrow next to its name in the "Connect to Public Clouds" box. For every  region, you must register individually using the same Azure credentials. Only 5 regions can be added to a RightScale account. RightScale requires a virtual network for each region. By default Windows Azure subscriptions have a maximum of 5 virtual networks they can create. This means that only up to 5 regions can be added to RightScale by default. Please contact Microsoft to request more virtual networks in your subscription if needed.

Upload Publish Profile

NOTE: Make sure you are signed up for ‘Virtual Machines & Virtual Networks’.

Next, upload your publish profile file. 

Select a Subscription ID

Select a Subscription ID from the drop-down list. This lists all your Subscription IDs found at https://account.windowsazure.com/Subscriptions when logged in. Click on the ‘Subscriptions’ link at the top of your Windows Azure portal.

NOTE: Azure does not currently support specifying the public IP space. They dynamically assign public IPs.

Click Continue.

You are going to be registering a Windows Azure subscription where you will specify a virtual network and subnet where virtual machines launched via RightScale will be provisioned. If virtual networks already exist within this Windows Azure subscription you will be given the option to select a virtual network on the next page. If no virtual networks exist within this Windows Azure subscription, RightScale will create one on your behalf. When creating a subnet within that virtual network, we will use the private IP range specified in the Subnet Prefix field on the next page.

No Existing Virtual Network

Subnet Prefix: Specify a Private IP address range in CIDR format for the subnet that will be created on your behalf in Azure.

Existing Virtual Network

If you have an existing virtual network, you must go back into the Azure portal and make sure there’s a subnet within the virtual network with same name as the virtual network itself.

• Navigate to Preview. 
• Choose Networks on the left panel which will take you to Virtual Networks.
• Click on the name of your virtual network.
• Click Configure.

• Add a subnet with the same name as the virtual network.

Once you have an existing virtual network and subnet, you will see the following screen:

Select your virtual network and subnet and click Continue.

Once your cloud credentials have been verified, you will see that the Windows Azure cloud is enabled under the Clouds tab.  You will now see all of your Windows Azure resources under the Clouds menu (Clouds > Windows Azure). You may need to refresh the tab to view your newly added Azure cloud.

Check the cloud status

On the same Clouds tab or on the Cloud Credentials widget in the Overview tab, you may check the status of your cloud. Both of these items must be valid and active (green) in order to successfully launch cloud servers:

NOTE: RightScale takes several images to discover the instance types before you can launch a server after initially adding a cloud.