I recently found myself in the situation where I wanted to build a virtual machine in Microsoft Azure (Resource Manager) with multiple network interface cards (vNICs). This isn’t available from the portal, but it is possible from the command line.
My colleague Leo D’Arcy pointed me to Samir Farhat’s blog post on how to create a multiple NIC Azure virtual machine (ARM). Samir has posted his script on the TechNet Gallery but I made a few tweaks in my version:
#Variables
$VMName = Read-Host "Virtual Machine Name"
$RGName = Read-Host "Resource Group where to deploy the VM"
$Region = Read-Host "Region/Location"
$SAName = Read-Host "Storage Account Name"
$VMSize = Read-Host "Virtual Machine Size"
$AvailabilitySet = Read-Host "Availability Set ID (use Get-AzureRMAvailabilitySet to find this)"
$VNETName = Read-Host "Virtual Network Name"
$Subnet01Name = Read-Host "Subnet 01 Name"
$Subnet02Name = Read-Host "Subnet 02 Name"
$cred=Get-Credential -Message "Name and password for the local Administrator account"
# Getting the Network
$VNET = Get-AzureRMvirtualNetwork | where {$_.Name -eq $VNETName}
$SUBNET01 = Get-AzureRmVirtualNetworkSubnetConfig -Name $Subnet01Name -VirtualNetwork $VNET
$SUBNET02 = Get-AzureRmVirtualNetworkSubnetConfig -Name $Subnet02Name -VirtualNetwork $VNET
# Create the NICs
$NIC01Name = $VMName+'-NIC-01'
$NIC02Name = $VMName+'-NIC-02'
Write-Host "Creating" $NIC01Name
$VNIC01 = New-AzureRmNetworkInterface -Name $NIC01Name -ResourceGroupName $RGName -Location $Region -SubnetId $SUBNET01.Id
Write-Host "Creating" $NIC02Name
$VNIC02 = New-AzureRmNetworkInterface -Name $NIC02Name -ResourceGroupName $RGName -Location $Region -SubnetId $SUBNET02.Id
# Create the VM config
Write-Host "Creating the VM Configuration"
$VM = New-AzureRmVMConfig -VMName $VMName -VMSize $VMSize -AvailabilitySetId $AvailabilitySet
$pubName="MicrosoftWindowsServer"
$offerName="WindowsServer"
$skuName="2012-R2-Datacenter"
Write-Host " - Setting the operating system"
$VM = Set-AzureRmVMOperatingSystem -VM $vm -Windows -ComputerName $vmName -Credential $cred -ProvisionVMAgent -EnableAutoUpdate
Write-Host " - Setting the source image"
$VM = Set-AzureRmVMSourceImage -VM $vm -PublisherName $pubName -Offer $offerName -Skus $skuName -Version "latest"
#Adding the VNICs to the config, you should always choose a Primary NIC
Write-Host " - Adding vNIC 1"
$VM = Add-AzureRmVMNetworkInterface -VM $VM -Id $VNIC01.Id -Primary
Write-Host " - Adding vNIC 2"
$VM = Add-AzureRmVMNetworkInterface -VM $VM -Id $VNIC02.Id
# Specify the OS disk name and create the VM
$DiskName=$VMName+'-OSDisk'
Write-Host " - Getting the storage account details"
$SA = Get-AzureRmStorageAccount | where { $_.StorageAccountName -eq $SAName}
$OSDiskUri = $SA.PrimaryEndpoints.Blob.ToString() + "vhds/" + $vmName+"-OSDisk.vhd"
Write-Host " - Setting up the OS disk"
$VM = Set-AzureRmVMOSDisk -VM $VM -Name $DiskName -VhdUri $osDiskUri -CreateOption fromImage
Write-Host "Creating the virtual machine"
New-AzureRmVM -ResourceGroupName $RGName -Location $Region -VM $VM
Over the Easter holidays, I was lucky enough to enjoy a skiing holiday in the French Alps with my family. Aside from the holiday leading to me finally accepting that my kids are now both better skiers than I (after 2 seasons my 11 year-old is skiing black runs and my 9 year-old is on reds whilst I, on the other hand, lack their low centre of gravity and absence of fear), the road trip there and back gave me a chance to a) test out our new Volvo XC60 on a decent journey (it is very comfortable) and b) follow a friend’s advice to use an electronic tag for convenient passage through French autoroute tolls.
Following my experiences with the Dart Charge (see 
So, on the way back from the office one day, I picked up an 
I hadn’t used the route for years, but had heard about the changes (I even contacted the operator to see if my new tag for the French motorways, also operated by SANEF, would work – it won’t!). I also saw the signs advising me to pay by midnight the next day (confusingly using the same symbol as the London Congestion Charge, which is unrelated). Unfortunately, faced with congestion, delays, a stressful day with a difficult customer and an equally stressful journey home (total driving time for the day was 6 hours for around 180 miles – a pathetic average speed considering it was mostly on motorways!) – and I forgot.
For the last few years, I’ve been heading into Milton Keynes once a quarter (and on a couple of other occasions too) to attend the