How to create an Azure VMSS with configs Microsoft Hosted Agent

Take this:

1. Upload Your VHD to Azure Storage

Make sure the VHD is in a standard storage account and is accessible for VM creation.

2. Create a Managed Image from the VHD

Use Azure CLI or Portal to create a managed image:

az image create \
  --resource-group <your-resource-group> \
  --name myRunnerImage \
  --os-type Linux|Windows \
  --source https://<your-storage-account>.blob.core.windows.net/<container>/<your-vhd>.vhd

3. Create VMSS from the Managed Image

az vmss create \
  --resource-group <your-resource-group> \
  --name myRunnerVMSS \
  --image myRunnerImage \
  --upgrade-policy-mode automatic \
  --admin-username azureuser \
  --generate-ssh-keys \
  --instance-count 2 \
  --vm-sku Standard_DS2_v2

Make sure to configure networking, scaling, and diagnostics as needed.

4. Install Azure Pipelines Agent on Startup

Use a custom script extension or cloud-init to install and configure the Azure Pipelines agent on each VM instance:

#!/bin/bash
mkdir myagent && cd myagent
curl -O https://vstsagentpackage.azureedge.net/agent/3.225.0/vsts-agent-linux-x64-3.225.0.tar.gz
tar zxvf vsts-agent-linux-x64-3.225.0.tar.gz
./config.sh --unattended --url https://dev.azure.com/<your-org> \
  --auth pat --token <your-PAT> --pool <your-agent-pool> --acceptTeeEula
./svc.sh install
./svc.sh start

For Windows, use PowerShell and the corresponding agent package.