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In this quickstart, you set up all the resources in Microsoft Dev Box to enable development teams to self-service their dev boxes. Learn how to create and configure a dev center, specify a dev box definition, and create a dev box pool. After you complete this quickstart, developers can use the developer portal to create and connect to a dev box.
A dev box is a daily cloud-based workstation for the developer. It's a virtual machine (VM) preconfigured with the tools and resources the developer needs for a project.
Setting up Microsoft Dev Box has two phases. First, platform engineers set up the necessary Microsoft Dev Box resources in the Azure portal. After this phase, users create and manage their dev boxes in the developer portal. This quickstart shows how to finish the first phase.
The following diagram shows the steps to set up Microsoft Dev Box in the Azure portal.
First, create a dev center and a project to organize dev box resources. Next, create a dev box definition to use when you create dev boxes. Then, create a dev box pool to define the network connection and dev box definition that dev boxes use. Users who have access to a project can create dev boxes from the pools associated with that project.
If you already set up Microsoft Dev Box and want to learn how to create and connect to dev boxes, see Quickstart: Create a dev box by using the developer portal.
Prerequisites
To complete this quickstart, you need:
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Azure account | An Azure account with an active subscription. If you don't have an Azure subscription, create a free account before you begin. |
| Permissions | Owner or Contributor role on an Azure subscription or resource group. |
| User licenses | Each user needs a license for Windows 11 Enterprise or Windows 10 Enterprise, Microsoft Intune, and Microsoft Entra ID P1. These licenses are included in: - Microsoft 365 E3, Microsoft 365 E5 - Microsoft 365 A3, Microsoft 365 A5 - Microsoft 365 Business Premium - Microsoft 365 F3* - Microsoft 365 Education Student Use Benefit *Microsoft 365 F3 doesn't include a Windows Enterprise license, but it does include limited Microsoft Entra ID and Intune capabilities |
| Device management | Microsoft Intune. Your organization must use Microsoft Intune for device management. |
| Identity | Microsoft Entra ID. Your organization must use Microsoft Entra ID for identity and access management. |
| Resource provider | Register the Microsoft.DevCenter resource provider. For more information, see Register resource provider. |
Create a dev center
To get started with Microsoft Dev Box, first create a dev center. A dev center in Microsoft Dev Box is a central place to manage projects, set up available dev box images and sizes, and configure networking settings so you can access organizational resources.
Follow these steps to create a dev center and manage your dev box resources:
Sign in to the Azure portal.
In the search box, enter dev centers. In the list of results, select Dev centers.
On the Dev centers page, select Create.
On the Create a dev center pane, on the Basics tab, enter the following values:
Setting Value Subscription Select the subscription in which you want to create the dev center. Resource Group Select an existing resource group, or select Create new and then enter a name for the new resource group. Name Enter a name for your dev center. Location Select the ___location or region where you want the dev center to be created. Attach a quick start catalog Clear both checkboxes. 
The Dev Box quick start catalog contains tasks and scripts that you can use to configure your dev box during the final stage of the creation process. You can attach a quick start catalog to a dev center later. For more information, see Create reusable dev box customizations.
For a list of the currently supported Azure locations with capacity, see Frequently asked questions about Microsoft Dev Box.
On the Settings tab, enter the following values:
Setting Value Description Project level catalog Select to enable Project Admins to attach catalogs to projects. Project-level catalogs enable you to provide customizations for each development team. Allow Microsoft hosted network in projects Select to enable Project Admins to specify that dev boxes created from a pool deploy to a Microsoft-hosted network. Microsoft-hosted networks are isolated networks managed by Microsoft. Using a Microsoft hosted network can reduce administrative overhead. Azure Monitor Agent Select to enable all dev boxes in the dev center to install the Azure Monitor Agent. The Azure Monitor Agent collects monitoring data from the dev box and sends it to Azure Monitor. 
(Optional) On the Tags tab, enter a name/value pair that you want to assign.
Select Review + Create.
On the Review tab, select Create.
Track the progress of the dev center creation from any page in the Azure portal by opening the Notifications pane.
When the deployment completes, select Go to resource. Confirm that the dev center page appears.
Create a project
Dev box projects let you manage team-level settings. These settings include giving access to development teams so developers can create dev boxes. Each dev center needs at least one project.
To create and set up a project in a dev box:
Sign in to the Azure portal.
In the search box, enter projects. In the list of results, select Projects.
On the Projects page, select Create.
On the Create a project pane, on the Basics tab, enter the following values:
Setting Value Subscription Select the subscription in which you want to create the project. Resource group Select an existing resource group, or select Create new, then enter a name for the new resource group. Dev center Select the dev center to associate with this project. All settings at the dev center level apply to the project. Name Enter a name for the project. Description Enter a short description of the project. 
On the Dev box management tab, make sure No is selected.
Select Yes to limit the number of dev boxes per developer, and enter the maximum number a developer can create. The default, No, lets developers create an unlimited number of dev boxes.
To learn more about dev box limits, see Tutorial: Control costs by setting dev box limits on a project.
(Optional) On the Tags tab, enter a name/value pair to assign.
Select Review + Create.
On the Review tab, select Create.
Check the notifications to confirm the project is created. Select Go to resource.
Check that the project appears on the Projects page.
When you create a project, you might see this informational message about catalogs: The dev center that contains this project does not have a catalog assigned. Environments cannot be deployed in this project until a catalog containing at least one template has been assigned.
Because you're not setting up Deployment Environments, you can safely ignore this message.
Create a dev box definition
Create a dev box definition in your dev center. A dev box definition specifies the VM image and VM SKU (compute size and storage) used to create dev boxes. Depending on the development project or developer profile, you might need multiple dev box definitions. For example, some developers need a specific tool set, while others need a cloud workstation with more compute resources.
Dev box definitions in a dev center are available to all projects associated with that dev center. Add at least one dev box definition to your dev center.
To create and set up a dev box definition for your dev center:
Open the dev center where you want to create the dev box definition.
Select Dev box definitions.
On the Dev box definitions page, select Create.
On the Create dev box definition page, enter the following values:
Setting Value Note Name Enter a descriptive name for your dev box definition. Image Select the base operating system for the dev box. Select an image from Azure Marketplace or Azure Compute Gallery.
If you're creating a dev box definition for testing, consider using the Visual Studio 2022 Enterprise on Windows 11 Enterprise + Microsoft 365 Apps 24H2 | Hibernate supported image.To use custom images when you create a dev box definition, use Azure Compute Gallery. For more information, see Configure Azure Compute Gallery. Image version Select a specific, numbered version to make sure all dev boxes in the pool use the same image version. Select Latest to let new dev boxes use the latest image available. Selecting the Latest image version lets the dev box pool use the most recent version of your chosen image from the gallery. This approach keeps new dev boxes up to date with the latest tools and code for your image. Existing dev boxes aren't changed when an image version is updated. Compute Select the compute combination for your dev box definition. Storage Select the amount of storage for your dev box definition. Enable hibernation Leave this checkbox unselected. 
Select Create.
Create a dev box pool
After you define a dev box definition in your dev center, create a dev box pool in the project. A dev box pool is a collection of dev boxes with the same settings, like the dev box definition and network connection. Developers who have access to the project in the dev center can create a dev box from a dev box pool.
Dev box pools set the ___location of the dev boxes through the specified network connection. Deploy dev boxes to a Microsoft-hosted network or to a network you manage. If you deploy dev boxes to a network you manage, first configure a network connection. Organizations that support developers in different geographical locations can create dev box pools for each ___location by specifying a nearby region.
Important
Associate at least one dev box pool with your project before users can create a dev box.
To create a dev box pool associated with a project:
Sign in to the Azure portal.
In the search box, enter projects. In the list of results, select Projects.
Open the project where you want to create the dev box pool.
Select Dev box pools, then select Create.
On the Create a dev box pool pane, enter the following values:
Setting Value Name Enter a name for the pool. The pool name is visible to developers to select when they're creating dev boxes. The name must be unique within a project. Dev box definition Select an existing dev box definition. The definition determines the base image and size for the dev boxes that are created in this pool. Network connection 1. Select Deploy to a Microsoft hosted network.
2. Select your desired deployment region for the dev boxes. Choose a region close to your expected dev box users for the optimal user experience.Dev box Creator Privileges Select Local Administrator or Standard User. Enable Auto-stop Yes is the default. Select No to disable an autostop schedule. You can configure an autostop schedule after the pool is created. Stop time Select a time to shut down all the dev boxes in the pool. All dev boxes in this pool shut down at this time every day. Time zone Select the time zone for the stop time. Licensing Select this checkbox to confirm that your organization has Azure Hybrid Benefit licenses that you want to apply to the dev boxes in this pool. 
Select Create.
Check that the new dev box pool appears in the list. You might need to refresh the screen.
The Azure portal deploys the dev box pool and runs health checks to make sure the image and network pass the validation criteria for dev boxes. The following screenshot shows four dev box pools, each with a different status.
Provide access to a dev box project
Before users can create dev boxes from the dev box pools in a project, you need to give users access through role assignments. The Dev Box User role lets users create, manage, and delete their own dev boxes. Grant access at the project level.
Important
Make sure you have enough permissions to the project before adding users.
To assign roles:
Sign in to the Azure portal.
In the search box, enter projects. In the list of results, select Projects.
Select the project you want to give team members access to.
In the left menu, select Access control (IAM).
In the command bar, select Add > Add role assignment.
Assign the following role. For detailed steps, see Assign Azure roles using the Azure portal.
Setting Value Role Select DevCenter Dev Box User. Assign access to Select User, group, or service principal. Members Select the users or groups you want to let access the project. 
Now, the user can view the project and all the pools in it. The user can create dev boxes from any pool and manage those dev boxes from the developer portal.
Note
Microsoft Dev Box supports work and school accounts. It doesn't support the use of guest accounts or personal accounts.
Delegate to project administrators
Microsoft Dev Box lets you delegate project admin tasks to a team member. Project admins help manage projects for their teams. They create and manage dev box pools, set dev box limits, and configure autostop schedules. The DevCenter Project Admin role doesn't let the project admin add users to the project.
To let users manage projects, assign them the DevCenter Project Admin role. Follow the steps in Provide access to a dev box project, but select the DevCenter Project Admin role instead of the Dev Box User role. For more info, see Provide access to projects for project admins.
Important
A user who is assigned the Dev Box User role or the Project Admin role can create a dev box.
Discover more about Microsoft Dev Box
- Find out What's new in Microsoft Dev Box
- Discover what's coming up next in Microsoft Dev Box: Microsoft Dev Box roadmap
- Learn how Microsoft Dev Box impacts developer productivity
Next step
In this quickstart, you set up the Microsoft Dev Box resources that let users create their own dev boxes. To learn how to create and connect to a dev box, go to the next quickstart: