​ Introduction and differences between template and VM

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Welcome to another edition of anynode video tutorial serials.

In this episode, we invite you to sit back and watch as we share information on deploying anynode in Microsoft Azure in a few easy steps.

Advantages

Microsoft Azure is a fast-growing Cloud Infrastructure Platform, and all this capability and power is great for the applications such as anynode you want to run on Azure.

You should consider Azure as your SBC´s home because of the following advantages:

• • • • • cloud-based computing services that you don’t need to install and set up on-premises
        • flexible costs options
        • tailor-made performance for the number of sessions you need

and finally, a super-fast and easy deployment to start right away with anynode in just minutes without any obstacles.

anynode on the Azure Marketplace: Template and VM Offering

When you search for anynode on the Azure Marketplace, you will find“anynode – The Software SBC” as a template and as a VM offering.

Both options are validated as a preferred solution on the Marketplace by Microsoft experts.

Before deploying your Azure machine, you need to decide which operating system will fit your requirements best. This step will make your decision easier. If you are a Windows Pro and prefer to work with the Windows Server environment, we would recommend the template option. You have the choice between Windows Server 2016 and Server 2019.

If you want to work with Debian and Linux operating systems, we recommend the VM offering.

When choosing the VM offering you need to maintain the operating system.

Our deployment team must create the VM and upload this to the marketplace, including the whole distribution package.

If the VM template was created three months ago, you will receive all operating system updates from these last three months. Maybe a restart of this VM is also necessary.

The advantage of this option is the speed of the deployment. Internally this is just a file copy of the image.

To conclude: Think about the operating system first. There will be no difference in the features between both offerings.

Option 1: Use the template in Microsoft Azure

We will start in this video with the template deployment. Please note: This is a “Bring your own license” offering. You need to buy an anynode license or use your anynode subscription license.

Log in to Azure with your Office 365 account.

You should first check your Azure subscription in your Azure portal.

If you don’t have an active subscription already, choose one of the following subscriptions. In case you never utilized the free trial, you can check it out at no cost.

Search for anynode in the search field.

In the next step, you will be asked which operating system you prefer. In this case, we are choosing Windows Server 2019. Start the creation process by clicking the button.

An Azure resource group is a logical container into which Azure resources are deployed and managed. .

You must select a resource group that shares the same lifecycle, permissions, and policies. Select an existing resource group or create a new one. For test purposes you should create a new resource group. This simplifies the complete deletion afterwards.

Choose the Azure region that’s right for you and your customers. Not every resource is available in every region. Make sure you select the correct region of the deployment to ensure you have the shortest way to your PSTN provider. Microsoft Teams Media Gateways are available in most areas automatically.

The username and password are necessary to log into your VM later via Remote Desktop. Make sure you remember the credentials.

Create a new storage account and fill in a name for it. We will use the default values. With a session border controller there is normally no intensive drive access. The standard type is suitable for most deployments.

You can change the size of the virtual machines here. This will affect how much money you pay for your VM on a monthly base. Depending on your region selection, you have multiple options available. Please note: Not all models are available in all regions. Also, pricing for the same model may vary in the different areas.

Size of the virtual machine

We recommend B and F series. You can switch between the models later.

B-series burstable VMs are sufficient in most cases.

If your sessions are constantly busy all day, you should consider taking an F-series.

The F-series are Compute-optimized VM sizes that have a high CPU-to-memory ratio. If you have a busy contact center and you need the entire amount of concurrent calls all day, the F-series is suitable because it guarantees power consistently.

For our deployment example, we have chosen the B-series for anynode.

You should use a public IP address if you want to communicate with the virtual machine from outside the virtual network.

Insert a DNS Prefix for the VM public IP address here if you need it.

With “Review and create” Azure will make a final validation. Click on “Create” to finalize your deployment.

Wait a couple of minutes before you get some details about the progress. Finally, you are ready to go when you see the completion of the deployment.

Use VM with Debian 10

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As mentioned before, if you like to work with Linux and a Debian operating system, you should consider using the VM. We recommend starting not with a pre-set configuration.

Select a software plan with Debian.

Instance details

An Azure resource group is a logical container into which Azure resources are deployed and managed.

You must select a resource group that shares the same lifecycle, permissions, and policies. Select an existing resource group or create a new one. For test purposes, you should create a new resource group. This simplifies the complete deletion afterward.

We will name this machine “anadmin”.

Choose the Azure region that’s right for you and your customers. Not all VM sizes are available in all regions.

Azure offers a range of options for managing availability and resiliency for your applications. Architect your solution to use replicated VMs in Availability Zones or Availability Sets to protect your apps and data from data center outages and maintenance events.

You can select the size of the virtual machines here. This will affect how much money you pay for your VM on a monthly basis. Depending on your region selection, you have multiple options available. Please note: Not all models are available in all regions. Also, pricing for the same model may vary in the different areas.

We recommend B and F series. You can switch between the models later.

B-series burstable VMs are sufficient in most cases.

If your sessions are constantly busy all day, you should consider taking an F-series.

The F-series are Compute-optimized VM sizes that have a high CPU-to-memory ratio. If you have a busy contact center and you need the entire amount of concurrent calls all day, the F-series is suitable because it guarantees power consistently.

For our deployment example, we have chosen the B-series for anynode.

Administrator Account

Choose whether the administrator account will use the username password or SSH keys for authentication. In the interests of simplification, we choose a password authentication.

Disc Options

You can choose between Azure managed disc types to support your workload or scenario.

With a session border controller there is normally no intensive drive access. The standard type is suitable for most deployments.

We will use the following default values for “networking”, “management” and “advanced”.

Validation process

With “Review and create” Azure will make a final validation. Click on “Create” to finalize your deployment.

Wait a couple of minutes before you get some details about the progress. Finally, you are ready to go when you see the completion of the deployment.