Enable Connections on a Port to Azure IaaS VM

Q: I've opened a firewall exception in an Azure IaaS virtual machine but I can't connect to it. What else do I need to do?

A: Opening the firewall ports on the virtual machine (VM) in Windows Azure IaaS is half of the configuration required to allow communications. However, it's also necessary to create an endpoint in the Azure configuration for the VM, which maps the public port (i.e., the externally facing port) and the private port (i.e., the port the VM is listening on).

1. Log on to the Windows Azure portal with your Azure credentials.
2. Select the Virtual Machines workspace.
3. Select the VM.
4. Select the Endpoints menu option.
5. Click the Add Endpoint action at the bottom of the screen.
   
6. Leave the default Add Endpoint option selected, and click the Next arrow.
7. Give the endpoint a name, select the protocol, and specify the public and private port (remember the private port must map to that being listened on from within the VM and the public port is what external entities will connect to).
   
8. Click box to complete endpoint creation.