---
layout: docs
page_title: Deploy Consul on virtual machines overview
description: >-
  To deploy a Consul server on VMs, install the binary, bootstrap the server, and then join additional server to the cluster.
---

# Deploy Consul server on virtual machines

This topic provides an overview for deploying a Consul server when running Consul on virtual machines (VMs).

## Overview

The process to deploy a Consul server on virtual machines consists of the following steps:

1. Install the Consul binary on the VM
1. [Bootstrap the Consul server](/consul/docs/deploy/server/vm/bootstrap)
1. [Join additional servers to the cluster](/consul/docs/deploy/server/cloud-auto-join)

For step-by-step guidance on the processes described in this topic, refer to the [Deploy Consul on VMs getting started tutorial](/consul/tutorials/get-started-vms/virtual-machine-gs-deploy?variants=consul-workflow%3Alab).