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VMFleet Deployment

Tool: VMFleet Category: Tool Guide

This guide covers installing the VMFleet module and deploying fleet VMs across your Azure Local cluster.

Phase 0: Prepare Base Image (first run only)

Before deployment, prepare the base image from Azure Local marketplace (or verify it already exists):

.\src\infrastructure\Prepare-VMFleetBaseImage.ps1 `
    -ConfigPath "config/variables.yml" `
    -ClusterConfigPath "config/clusters/my-cluster.yml"

After completion, set the resolved VHDX path in storage.base_vhd_path in config/variables.yml.

Install VMFleet

Installs the VMFleet PowerShell module and prepares the cluster:

.\src\solutions\vmfleet\scripts\Install-VMFleet.ps1 `
    -ClusterConfigPath "config/clusters/my-cluster.yml"

Deploy Fleet VMs

Creates fleet VMs across all cluster nodes:

.\src\solutions\vmfleet\scripts\Deploy-VMFleet.ps1 `
    -ClusterConfigPath "config/clusters/my-cluster.yml" `
    -VMCount 10 `
    -VMProcessorCount 2 `
    -VMMemoryGB 2

The number of VMs, vCPUs, and memory per VM are configurable via:

  • Explicit parameters (as shown above) — highest priority
  • Solution JSON (config/variables/solutions/vmfleet.json)
  • Master environment defaults (config/variables/master-environment.yml)

See Configuration for details on the override chain.

Cleanup

To remove fleet VMs and restore the cluster to its pre-test state:

.\src\solutions\vmfleet\scripts\Remove-VMFleet.ps1 `
    -ClusterConfigPath "config/clusters/my-cluster.yml" `
    -Confirm

First-Time vs Subsequent Runs

  • First-time environment bootstrap: run Phase 0 image prep once, then Install and Deploy.
  • Subsequent test cycles: skip Phase 0 unless you want to force-refresh image download.
  • Day-2 operations: run test, monitor, collect, report, and optional cleanup.

Next Steps