Microsoft Azure

Azure Deployment

Arrow produces a fixed-size VHD image for Azure. Azure requires this format for managed images.

Each Arrow Azure build produces a ZIP package containing:

The disk image (.vhd)
Deployment instructions (text file)
An automated deploy script (bash for macOS/Linux, PowerShell for Windows)

Prerequisites

Tool	Install Link
Azure CLI (`az`)	Install Azure CLI
AzCopy	Install AzCopy

Authenticate before running any commands:

az login

Deploy Script (macOS/Linux)

Extract the ZIP and run the deploy script:

unzip kali-arrow-client-azure-*.zip
cd kali-arrow-client-azure-*/
chmod +x deploy-to-azure.sh

Import Mode (default)

./deploy-to-azure.sh

The script will interactively guide you through:

Resource Group — Select existing or create new
Region — Auto-detected from existing RG, or choose from common regions
Storage Account — Select existing or create new
VHD Upload — Uses azcopy for fast sparse page blob upload (skips zero-filled pages)
Managed Image Creation — Creates an Azure Managed Image from the VHD
VM Launch — Optionally launch a VM with interactive VNet, Subnet, NSG, SSH key, and VM size selection
Cleanup — Optionally remove the uploaded VHD blob from storage

Launch Mode

Launch a VM from a previously imported Arrow image:

# Interactive — lists available Arrow images
./deploy-to-azure.sh --launch

# Specify image name directly
./deploy-to-azure.sh --launch kali-arrow-client-20260304-153000

Cleanup Mode

Remove all Arrow deployment resources from Azure:

./deploy-to-azure.sh --cleanup

Scans for and offers to delete:

Arrow managed images
VMs created from Arrow images
VHD blobs in storage accounts

Deploy Script (Windows PowerShell)

# Extract the ZIP
Expand-Archive kali-arrow-client-azure-*.zip -DestinationPath .\azure-deploy

# Run the script
cd azure-deploy
.\Deploy-To-Azure.ps1

Same modes are available:

# Import (default)
.\Deploy-To-Azure.ps1

# Launch a VM
.\Deploy-To-Azure.ps1 -Launch

# Launch a specific image
.\Deploy-To-Azure.ps1 -Launch -ImageName "kali-arrow-client-20260304-153000"

# Cleanup all Arrow resources
.\Deploy-To-Azure.ps1 -Cleanup

Manual Deployment

If you prefer to run the commands yourself:

Step 1: Upload VHD to Blob Storage

# Create a storage container
az storage container create \
  --account-name <storage_account> \
  --name vhds \
  --auth-mode key

# Upload using azcopy (recommended — skips zero pages for fast upload)
azcopy copy "kali-arrow-client-azure.vhd" \
  "https://<storage_account>.blob.core.windows.net/vhds/kali-arrow-client.vhd?<SAS_TOKEN>" \
  --blob-type PageBlob

Step 2: Create Managed Image

az image create \
  --resource-group <resource_group> \
  --name kali-arrow-client \
  --os-type Linux \
  --source "https://<storage_account>.blob.core.windows.net/vhds/kali-arrow-client.vhd" \
  --location <region>

Step 3: Launch a VM

az vm create \
  --resource-group <resource_group> \
  --name kali-arrow-vm \
  --image kali-arrow-client \
  --size Standard_D4s_v3 \
  --admin-username <username_from_portal> \
  --authentication-type ssh \
  --ssh-key-name <your_key> \
  --vnet-name <vnet> \
  --subnet <subnet>

Recommended VM Sizes

Size	vCPU	RAM	Use Case
Standard_D4s_v3	4	16 GB	Recommended
Standard_D8s_v3	8	32 GB	High performance
Standard_D16s_v3	16	64 GB	Maximum performance

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
`azcopy` not found	Install from AzCopy downloads
Upload takes very long	Ensure you’re using `azcopy` with `--blob-type PageBlob` (skips zero pages)
VHD size is 120GB	Expected. Azure requires fixed-size VHDs. Actual data is ~30-40GB. `azcopy` only transfers non-zero pages.
”The VHD must be aligned to a 1 MB boundary”	Arrow VHDs are built with `force_size` which ensures correct alignment
Can’t SSH into the VM	Ensure the NSG allows inbound port 22
Password doesn’t work	Credentials are generated at build time. Retrieve them from the ARROW Portal under your device’s details page.