{"id":2001,"date":"2025-06-10T03:18:20","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T03:18:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nicktailor.com\/?p=2001"},"modified":"2025-07-11T03:23:21","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T03:23:21","slug":"how-to-deploy-a-custom-rocky-linux-image-in-azure-with-cloud-init","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nicktailor.com\/tech-blog\/how-to-deploy-a-custom-rocky-linux-image-in-azure-with-cloud-init\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Deploy a Custom Rocky Linux Image in Azure with cloud-init"},"content":{"rendered":"

Need a clean, hardened Rocky Linux image in Azure \u2014 ready to go with your tools and configs? Here’s how to use Packer<\/strong> to build a Rocky image and then deploy it with cloud-init<\/strong> using Azure CLI.<\/p>\n

Step 0: Install Azure CLI<\/h2>\n

Before deploying anything, make sure you have Azure CLI installed.<\/p>\n

Linux\/macOS:<\/h3>\n
curl -sL https:\/\/aka.ms\/InstallAzureCLIDeb | sudo bash<\/code><\/pre>\n
Windows:<\/h3>\n
Download and install from https:\/\/aka.ms\/installazurecli<\/a><\/p>\n
Login:<\/h3>\n
az login<\/code><\/pre>\n
This opens a browser window for authentication. Once done, you’re ready to deploy.<\/p>\n
Step 1: Build a Custom Image with Packer<\/h2>\n
Create a Packer template with Azure as the target and make sure cloud-init<\/code> is installed during provisioning.<\/p>\n
Packer Template Example (rocky-azure.pkr.hcl):<\/h3>\n
source \"azure-arm\" \"rocky\" {\n  client_id       = var.client_id\n  client_secret   = var.client_secret\n  tenant_id       = var.tenant_id\n  subscription_id = var.subscription_id\n\n  managed_image_resource_group_name = \"packer-images\"\n  managed_image_name                = \"rocky-image\"\n  location                          = \"East US\"\n  os_type                           = \"Linux\"\n  image_publisher                   = \"OpenLogic\"\n  image_offer                       = \"CentOS\"\n  image_sku                         = \"8_2\"\n  vm_size                           = \"Standard_B1s\"\n  build_resource_group_name         = \"packer-temp\"\n}\n\nbuild {\n  sources = [\"source.azure-arm.rocky\"]\n\n  provisioner \"shell\" {\n    inline = [\n      \"dnf install -y cloud-init\",\n      \"systemctl enable cloud-init\"\n    ]\n  }\n}<\/code><\/pre>\n
Variables File (variables.pkrvars.hcl):<\/h3>\n
client_id       = \"xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx\"\nclient_secret   = \"your-secret\"\ntenant_id       = \"your-tenant-id\"\nsubscription_id = \"your-subscription-id\"<\/code><\/pre>\n
Build the Image:<\/h3>\n
packer init .\npacker build -var-file=variables.pkrvars.hcl .<\/code><\/pre>\n
Step 2: Prepare a Cloud-init Script<\/h2>\n
This will run the first time the VM boots and set things up.<\/p>\n
cloud-init.yaml:<\/h3>\n
#cloud-config\nhostname: rocky-demo\nusers:\n  - name: devops\n    sudo: ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL\n    groups: users, admin\n    shell: \/bin\/bash\n    ssh_authorized_keys:\n      - ssh-rsa AAAA...your_key_here...\n\nruncmd:\n  - yum update -y\n  - echo 'Cloud-init completed!' > \/etc\/motd<\/code><\/pre>\n
Step 3: Deploy the VM in Azure<\/h2>\n
Use the Azure CLI to deploy a VM from the managed image and inject the cloud-init<\/code> file.<\/p>\n
az vm create \\\n  --resource-group my-rg \\\n  --name rocky-vm \\\n  --image \/subscriptions\/<SUB_ID>\/resourceGroups\/packer-images\/providers\/Microsoft.Compute\/images\/rocky-image \\\n  --admin-username azureuser \\\n  --generate-ssh-keys \\\n  --custom-data cloud-init.yaml<\/code><\/pre>\n
Step 4: Verify Cloud-init Ran<\/h2>\n
ssh azureuser@<public-ip>\ncat \/etc\/motd<\/code><\/pre>\n
You should see:<\/p>\n
Cloud-init completed!<\/code><\/pre>\n
Recap<\/h2>\n