Hellow There !

Today I am going to write about creating SharePoint 2016 environment on windows Azure since it was a topic requested by many and I could build it with the help of few articles I have gone through, Thanks to SharePoint Community for being always helping hands !

So, the task is always difficult until we get through, but once its over, its tiny for us and that is what I will explain today which can be completed in few hours in few clicks. you have to keep bit patience as its going to be video heavy article ;).Let’s understand the components to build the ambiance of SharePoint 2016 in Azure considering you have azure subscription !

As we are considering building the dev/test environment for practice purpose, we will be adding Active Directory and Domain Controller on same virtual machine (ADDCHouse) and SharePoint Server 2016 in different virtual machine (SPHouse) as depicted below and these three components are foundation to let you practice with SharePoint development/designing stuffs without any headache on azure virtual network (SharePointAmbiance).

So, In brief following are the basic steps to house the SharePoint Ambiance as follows:

1. Creating Azure virtual Network.

Create virtual network named “SharePointAmbiance” using azure portal. ( Here,I am using classic azure portal, however you can definitely go for new azure portal )

2. Creating Azure VM for Configuring Domain Controller and Active Directory.

Create VM named “ADDCHouse” to configure Active Directory and Domain.
Add Active Directory Service features in “ADDCHouse” VM.
Configure domain named “corp.sharepointambiance.com” by promoting “ADDCHouse” VM as domain.
Assign the static ip address to “ADDCHouse” VM.
Configure DNS server details into Virtual Network (SharePointAmbiance).

3. Creating Azure VM for Configuring SharePoint 2016 Server.

Create VM named “SPHouse” using SP2016 template under Virtual Network (SharePointAmbiance).
Join “SPHouse” VM to domain named “corp.sharepointambiance.com”.
Install SQL Server and tools on “SPHouse” VM.
Configure SharePoint 2016 as Single Server Farm on “SPHouse” VM.
Set up required SharePoint services and Create top level site collection via SharePoint Central Administrator.

Let’s have a look each one in details:

1. Creating Azure virtual Network

Note : Virtual Network name – SharePointAmbiance

2. Creating Azure VM for Configuring Domain Controller and Active Directory.

Domain controller aka DC is responsible for allowing host access to Windows domain resources and gives you the facility to host your domain, Meaning, this is the base in your SharePoint ambiance which we will configure through following process:

Go To Virtual Machine section in azure and follow the steps as mentioned in following video:

Now login into this machine by downloading the RDP and open server manager to add active directory features as performed in following video:

Now next step is promoting this server as domain. Please follow the steps mentioned in following video:

After executing above steps, server will be restarted.Login again into the same server and you will notice in computer properties that domain name ( corp.sharepointambiance.com ) has been set.However, we are not yet finished, a very important step is remained which is assigning and configuring the static IP to this server and then configure in azure virtual network ( SharePointAmbiance).

Note down the IP address which you can get by running ipconfig in command prompt and Login to new Azure portal and follow the steps below to assign the static ip address to VM (ADDCHouse ):

As soon as the static IP has been assigned to the VM, machine will be restarted automatically and now you require to configure your DNS server details into Virtual Network ( SharePointAmbiance).Please follow the steps as performed in following video:

At this point, we have Domain Controller ready with Active Directory Services on virtual network, next we will be proceeding creating the SharePoint Server on Azure.

3. Creating Azure VM for Configuring SharePoint 2016 Server

In this walk-through, main part is over.Now, we will create the SharePoint VM from the azure gallery as shown in following video:

Now its time to add your SharePoint server into domain ( corp.sharepointambiance.com ) ,We also will be in need of domain controller credentials which we have set earlier while configured the domain in “ADDCHouse” VM. Login to your SharePoint VM ( SPHouse ) by connecting via rdp file and perform steps as shown in following video:

Next, we will be installing the SQL Server 2016 SP 1 on “SPHouse” VM as shown in following video.

Note : You can keep sql server on different VM by joining in same domain, however I have installed on SharePoint server itself since it will be used for dev/test purpose.

Once the sql server setup is completed, you can go ahead installing the sql server management tools as shown in following video:

After installing sql server n tools, 1) restart the SPHouseVM and make sure you are able to connect to sql server. 2) Now, before we start configuring the sharepoint 2016, create SPFarm domain account in Active directory in ADDCHouse. 3) And then run the SharePoint Config wizard for single server farm as shown in following video: