Deploy NGINX on Azure Cobalt 100 Arm-based virtual machines
Introduction
Overview of Azure Cobalt 100 and NGINX
Create an Arm-based Azure VM with Cobalt 100
Install NGINX
NGINX Baseline Testing
NGINX Benchmarking
Next Steps

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About this Learning Path

Skill level:  Introductory
Reading time:  30 min
Last updated:  02 Oct 2026
Skill level:
  Introductory
Reading time:
  30 min
Last updated:
  02 Oct 2026
Author:Pareena Verma, Arm
Arm IP:Neoverse
Tags: Web Microsoft Azure Cobalt Linux NGINX ApacheBench
Author:
  • Pareena Verma, Arm
Arm IP:
Neoverse
Tags:
Web Microsoft Azure Cobalt Linux NGINX ApacheBench

Who is this for?

This is an introductory topic for system administrators and developers who want to learn how to deploy and benchmark NGINX on Microsoft Azure Cobalt 100 Arm-based instances.

What will you learn?

Upon completion of this Learning Path, you will be able to:

  • Create an Arm64 virtual machine (VM) on Azure Cobalt 100 (Dpsv6) using the Azure console with Ubuntu Pro 24.04 LTS as the base image.
  • Install and configure the NGINX web server on the Azure Arm64 VM.
  • Configure and test a static website with NGINX on the VM.
  • Run baseline NGINX performance tests with ApacheBench (ab).

Prerequisites

Before starting, you will need the following:

Summary

AI-assisted

This summary was drafted with an approved AI-assisted workflow and reviewed by Arm contributors before publication. Human technical review remains part of the process so the final page reflects engineering rigor, accuracy, and Arm editorial standards.

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You’ll deploy NGINX on an Arm-based Microsoft Azure VM powered by Cobalt 100, and capture a baseline benchmark. First, you’ll create an Ubuntu Pro 24.04 LTS Dpsv6 VM in the Azure portal, install NGINX, and verify its default page. You’ll then configure a static site and confirm that NGINX serves your content. Finally, you’ll install ApacheBench and record initial throughput and timing results.

Frequently asked questions

AI-assisted

These FAQs were drafted with an approved AI-assisted workflow and reviewed by Arm contributors before publication. Human technical review remains part of the process so the final page reflects engineering rigor, accuracy, and Arm editorial standards.

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Which Azure VM size and image should I choose?
Use an Arm-based VM in the Dpsv6 series with the Ubuntu Pro 24.04 LTS Arm64 image.
How do I know that NGINX installed correctly before I change any configuration?
Run sudo systemctl status nginx and check for Active: active (running). Use curl -I http://localhost/ to check for HTTP/1.1 200 OK. Then, open your VM’s public IP address in a browser to confirm that you see the default welcome page.
Where should I put my static site files, and what should I expect when it works?
Create /var/www/my-static-site/index.html and configure /etc/nginx/conf.d/static-site.conf to use that directory and index.html. Disable the packaged default site with sudo unlink /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default. Run sudo nginx -t before sudo nginx -s reload, then open your VM’s public IP address to check your custom page.
Should I run ApacheBench on the VM or from another machine?
Run ApacheBench on your NGINX VM to match the demonstrated baseline test. Use ab -n 1000 -c 50 http://localhost/ to send 1,000 requests with 50 concurrent connections.
Which package installs ApacheBench on Ubuntu Pro 24.04 LTS, and how do I verify it?
Install the apache2-utils package. Run ab -V to confirm that ApacheBench is available and prints a version string.
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