Debian 11 Minimal (Bullseye) for Azure provides a clean, lightweight base image designed for performance, security, and predictability. It ships with only the essentials needed to get started in the cloud, so you control exactly which packages and services are installed.

What’s included

• Debian 11 (Bullseye) with current security updates at build time
• OpenSSH server for secure remote access
• cloud-init for first-boot customization and key injection
• Azure Linux Agent (WALinuxAgent) for Azure platform integration
• sudo and core networking utilities
• No desktop environment or extra services

Optimized for Azure

• Fast first-boot with cloud-init support (custom data, user provisioning, package install)
• OS disk auto-expansion on first boot (growpart/cloud-init)
• Serial console and boot diagnostics compatible
• Accelerated Networking capable on supported VM sizes
• Works with Azure extensions and monitoring tools

Ideal use cases

• Slim, secure base for web and app servers (NGINX, Node.js, Python, Go, etc.)
• Container hosts (Docker/Podman) and CI/CD runners
• Automation, scripting, and infrastructure-as-code foundations
• Bastion/jump hosts and minimal runtime environments

Getting started

1. Deploy the VM and specify your username and SSH public key during provisioning.
2. Connect via SSH (example): ssh <username>@<public-ip>
3. Update packages: sudo apt update && sudo apt -y upgrade
4. Install only what you need: sudo apt install <package> Recommended: enable unattended-upgrades, configure a host firewall (e.g., ufw), and integrate with Azure Monitor/Log Analytics.

Lifecycle and updatesDebian 11 (Bullseye) receives security fixes via the Debian LTS project until approximately August 2026, subject to Debian’s policies. You control ongoing updates through apt and your automation tools.

BillingNo additional software licensing fees. You pay only for the underlying Azure compute, storage, and networking you consume.

Support and disclaimer

• We provide best-effort support for image provisioning and Azure-related deployment issues.
• We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or owners of Debian. Debian is a registered trademark of Software in the Public Interest, Inc. Because we are not the owners of Debian, we cannot offer dedicated support for the Debian operating system itself. For OS-specific issues, please refer to the Debian documentation and community resources.