I have a rough understanding of what cloud services can be used for in Azure, but I don't need any of those features.
When creating a new VM, if I don't specify an existing cloud service, Azure creates a new one with the same name as the new VM.
Why?
Can I avoid this, or can I simply have one default cloud service I put all my VM's into?
When I delete a VM, I have to remember to delete the cloud service that was automatically created.
Is a cloud service required for a VM to have an external, public IP?
Best Answer
In Azure, your individual VMs exist in the context of a cloud service, so yes, you need to have a cloud service.
You can have one cloud service and all your VMs under it. Note that the DNS name (foo.cloudapp.net) and the Public IP address is tied to the cloud service and not the VM, so in case you want to have multiple IP addresses, for instance, you would need different cloud services for them.
A cloud service by itself does not incur any charge, so you can let your cloud service remain when you delete VMs. Note that you cannot have a cloud service with no VMs under it. When you go down to the last role in the cloud service you have to delete the cloud service itself; there is no option to delete the role and retain the empty shell of a cloud service. Note that this does not mean that to preserve your cloud service, you need to have a running role (which costs money). You can Shutdown your role with the StoppedDeallocated option which would allow you to retain your cloud service without being charged for having a role running under it.