Azure VPS setup notes » History » Revision 61
Revision 60 (Jon Goldberg, 11/19/2025 07:47 PM) → Revision 61/62 (Jon Goldberg, 12/05/2025 07:28 PM)
# Microsoft Azure - Initial Setup Hi there! Microsoft frequently changes their interface, so sometimes the instructions don't match up exactly. Feel free to ask me if you run into trouble! -Jon [**NOTE**: Most of Microsoft's pages break with an ad blocker enabled.] ### Get a Sponsorship * [Go to the Nonprofit Microsoft Getting Started page](https://nonprofit.microsoft.com/en-us/getting-started). Fill out the paperwork to be approved as a 501c3. Approval can take 1 day or 3-4 weeks - I've seen both multiple times. * Once approved, go to https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/nonprofits/azure to claim credits (or go directly to [Claiming Your Credits](https://nonprofit.microsoft.com/en-us/offers/azure). * You'll know you're successful because you'll see a sponsorship listed on the [Sponsorship Page](https://www.microsoftazuresponsorships.com/Balance). ### Create a Subscription * Check that you have credits in your sponsored account: https://www.microsoftazuresponsorships.com/Balance * Visit the [Azure Portal](https://portal.azure.com). * Click the **Subscriptions** icon. * Click the **Add** button. * Add a subscription of type "Microsoft Azure Sponsorship" from the Azure portal. You will likely need to select **Show other subscription types** to see it. * **Note**: Even sponsored subscriptions require a credit card, make sure you have one available. ### Grant access to other users Microsoft has made recent changes to this system, so these are experimental instructions. I may ask you to take additional steps! #### Create a user * Log in to https://entra.microsoft.com. * Select **Users** from the left navigation menu. * Click **New User » Invite External User**. * Add my email (jon@megaphonetech.com) and display name (Jon Goldberg). * On the *Assignments* tab, click **Add Role**, then grant me the **Global Administrator** role. * Go to the *Review and Invite* tab, and click **Invite** at the bottom of the screen. #### Grant access to the subscription * Go back to https://portal.azure.com * Open the new subscription by clicking on it from the Subscriptions page. * Click Access Control (IAM) in the left navigation bar. * At the top, press Add » Add role * On the Role tab, go to the Privileged administrator roles subtab. * Click Owner and press Next. * On the Members tab, set Assign Access to User, group, or service principal, and click Select Members. * In the Search by name or email address box, put the email of the new user and press Select. Press Next. * On the Conditions tab, select Allow user to assign all roles except privileged administrator roles Owner, UAA, RBAC (Recommended). * Click Review and Assign, then click Review and Assign again. At this point, they'll receive an email to either log in with an existing Microsoft account or to create a new one. ### On Renewals You will need to renew every year. Instructions for this are incomplete - but you should go to your [Azure portal](https://portal.azure.com) and click the **Subscriptions** button (see screenshot 1 below). Find the subscription ID (screenshot 2) - it's a string of numbers and letters. Then go to https://www.microsoftazuresponsorships.com/Balance and assign your new credits to the existing subscription. If you did not do this in time, you should be able to open a support ticket with Microsoft to request a refund. **Screenshot 1**  **Screenshot 2** 