
close
close
Now that Windows Server 2019 is generally available, it seems like a good time to start using Windows Admin Center (WAC) as the default management tool. WAC is a web-based tool for managing local or remote servers via a gateway that uses PowerShell Remoting and Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) over WinRM. And while Windows Server 2019 still includes Server Manager, Windows Admin Center is where Microsoft is now investing all its efforts.
advertisment
In this article, I’m going to show you how to manage Windows Server 2019 running in an Azure VM. I will use a WAC gateway installed on my Windows 10 PC. This requires the VM you want to manage to have a public IP address and you need to make the necessary management ports available over the Internet. Naturally, this is not the most secure option, but it is a quick way to start managing Windows Server. If your VM doesn’t have a public IP address or you want a more secure way to manage your cloud servers, you’ll need to install a WAC gateway on an Azure VM and/or connect your local network to the Azure VNet using ExpressRoute, Site-to-Site VPN, or Point-to-Site. But that’s beyond the scope of this article.
Let’s start by configuring Windows Firewall to allow an inbound connection for WinRM.
Note that the Windows Server 2019 Azure marketplace image has WinRM enabled by default. If you want to manage another supported version of Windows Server, you may need to manually run winrm quickconfig in an elevated command prompt to enable WinRM.
Set-NetFirewallRule -Name WINRM-HTTP-In-TCP-PUBLIC -RemoteAddress Any
Manage Azure Virtual Machines Using Windows Admin Center (Image Credit: Russell Smith)
Before we can connect WAC to Windows Server, we also need to configure Azure networking to allow inbound WinRM connections.
advertisment
Manage Azure Virtual Machines Using Windows Admin Center (Image Credit: Russell Smith)
The new rule will now appear in the list of inbound rules.
Now all that’s left to do is test whether I can connect to the server using WAC. I’ve already installed a WAC gateway on my Windows 10 PC. For more information on installing a WAC gateway, check out Getting Started with the Windows Admin Center on Petri.
Manage Azure Virtual Machines Using Windows Admin Center (Image Credit: Russell Smith)
Manage Azure Virtual Machines Using Windows Admin Center (Image Credit: Russell Smith)
You may get an error message saying that the connection cannot be verified. This is normal if you are connecting to the VM for the first time and you can safely ignore it.
Manage Azure Virtual Machines Using Windows Admin Center (Image Credit: Russell Smith)
Microsoft is updating WAC on a regular basis, so it’s worth coming back to it often to check out what is new.
advertisment
More from Russell Smith
advertisment
Petri Newsletters
Whether it’s Security or Cloud Computing, we have the know-how for you. Sign up for our newsletters here.
advertisment
More in Cloud Computing
Use Azure ExpressRoute Private Peering & Azure Virtual WAN to Connect Privately to Microsoft 365
Apr 21, 2022 | Flo Fox
Microsoft to Make Changes to Cloud Licensing Restrictions after Customer Complaints
Apr 18, 2022 | Rabia Noureen
Most popular on petri
Log in to save content to your profile.
Article saved!
Access saved content from your profile page. View Saved
Join The Conversation
Create a free account today to participate in forum conversations, comment on posts and more.
Copyright ©2019 BWW Media Group