Windows Azure Virtual Machine Static IP

Question

I created a Windows Server 2012 virtual machine from gallery. In my effort to configure this VM as primary DNS server for my organization, I changed IP into static IP The moment it took place remote desktop got disconnected.

I am not able to connect to the VM neither using management portal nor using .RDP file which I saved earlier.

Have I lost control of this VM permanently? Am I left with only option to contact Microsoft support?

Answer 1

The correct way to obtain static IP for a VM is to connect this VM to a virtual network during creation. There we can assign not IP but subnet mask & DNS servers as well.

Answer 2

Configuring a static IP address within the VM will eventually result in complete loss of connectivity to it.

The only way to solve this problem without data loss is to download the machine locally and change the settings in your local or on-premise Hyper-V.

In a nutshell:

1. Stop and delete your virtual machine, this will release the VHD file
2. Download the VHD file to your local machine
3. Attach the VHD to a new Hyper-V machine
4. Change the connection settings back to automatic
5. Upload the VHD file to azure
6. Create a new machine from the VHD

Note that you'll pay for every MB you download and upload from the datacenter. Be aware of that!

More information and Microsoft guidelines: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windowsazure/jj156090.aspx

Good luck!