This blog post series highlights the key announcements and major updates related to Azure Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Azure Stack, as officially released by Microsoft in the past two weeks.
Azure
General
Azure Lab Services is being retired on June 28, 2027
Azure Lab Services will be retired on June 28, 2027, due to the availability of other Microsoft VDI services such as Azure Virtual Desktop, Windows 365, Azure DevTest Labs, and Microsoft Dev Box. Existing customers can continue to use the service until the retirement date, but new customers will not be allowed to sign up starting July 15, 2024. Microsoft recommends reviewing the retirement guide for more details about partner options. After June 28, 2027, Azure Lab Services will no longer be supported, and users will lose access to their lab accounts, lab plans, and labs.
Compute
Upgrade existing Azure Gen1/Gen2 VMSS to Gen2-Trusted launch (preview)
Microsoft is excited to announce preview support for enabling Trusted launch on existing Azure Gen1/Gen2 Virtual Machine Scale Sets (VMSS) Uniform by upgrading the VMSS Uniform resource to Gen2-Trusted launch. This upgrade aims to improve the foundational security of existing Azure VMSS resources. Trusted Launch VMs provide enhanced compute security for Azure Generation 2 VMs by enabling Secure Boot and vTPM capabilities, which protect the OS against rootkits and bootkits and enable attestation by measuring the boot chain of the VM.
Public Preview: 6th generation Intel-based VMs – Dv6/Ev6 (preview)
Microsoft is pleased to announce the public preview of the D and E family VMs built on the new 5th Gen Intel® Xeon® Platinum 8537C (Emerald Rapids) processor. These new Intel-based VMs come with three different memory-to-core ratios and offer options with and without local SSD across all the new VMs – the General Purpose Dsv6, Dlsv6, Ddvs6, and Dldsv6 series and the Memory Optimized Esv6 and Edsv6 series. Additionally, constrained core variants for the Esv6 series are ideal for workloads that require high data throughput without a high number of vCPUs.
These VMs, available initially in the US West and US East regions, offer up to 27% higher vCPU performance and 3x larger L3 cache than the previous generation Intel Dv5/Ev5 VMs, with up to 192vCPU and 1.8TB of memory. Azure Boost technology enables up to 400k IOPS and 12 GB/s remote storage throughput and up to 200 Gbps VM network bandwidth. The new Dv6 VMs balance memory to vCPU ratio with scalability up to 128 vCPUs and 512 GiB of RAM, while the Ev6 VMs cater to memory-intensive workloads with up to 192 vCPUs and 1832 GiB of RAM. These VMs also feature enhanced security through Total Memory Encryption (TME) technology and significantly larger local SSD capacity.
Networking
Azure Virtual Network Manager mesh and direct connectivity
As of June 13, 2024, Azure Virtual Network Manager’s mesh connectivity configuration and direct connectivity option in the hub and spoke connectivity configuration are generally available in all public regions. This feature allows a group of virtual networks to directly communicate with each other without an additional hop, reducing latency and management overhead. For instance, in a hub and spoke topology, a subset of spoke virtual networks that require low latency can directly communicate with each other. Traffic between these virtual networks can be filtered using network security groups (NSGs) and Azure Virtual Network Manager’s security admin rules while maintaining direct connectivity.
ExpressRoute FastPath Support for VNet Peering & UDR
Microsoft is announcing support for ExpressRoute FastPath VNet Peering and User Defined Routes (UDR) connectivity. This feature enhances data path performance between on-premises customer networks and Azure Virtual Networks, enabling 100Gbps connectivity to VMs in hub and spoke designs over ExpressRoute. With FastPath enabled, network traffic is sent directly to virtual machines within the virtual network, reducing hops and potential bottlenecks. While a virtual network gateway is still required to exchange routes between the virtual network and on-premises network, FastPath now supports traffic directly to VMs in “spoke” virtual networks and honors any UDRs configured on the Gateway Subnet.
ExpressRoute Traffic Collector support for provider circuits
Azure ExpressRoute customers can now configure ExpressRoute Traffic Collector on their 1G+ provider circuits. This expansion of the existing service, which previously only supported ExpressRoute Direct circuits, allows for improved visibility into circuit traffic. ExpressRoute Traffic Collector is a fully managed traffic monitoring solution that logs IPFIX flow records, which can then be queried for insights into circuit traffic patterns.
Storage
Azure Data Box now supports select cross region transfers (preview)
Azure Data Box has introduced cross-region data transfer capabilities, now in preview, to support seamless ingestion of on-premises data from a source country/region to select Azure destinations in a different country/region. For example, data can now be copied from Singapore or India to the West US Azure destination region. The Azure Data Box device is not shipped across commerce boundaries; instead, it is transported within the originating country or region, and data transfer to the destination Azure region occurs over the Azure network without incurring additional fees.
Azure NetApp Files Large Volume Enhancement – Increased Throughput and Maximum Size Limit of 2 PiB Volume
Azure has announced an exciting update to Azure NetApp Files, significantly enhancing large volumes with increased maximum throughput and size limits. The update brings a size limit increase to 1-PiB, accessible via Azure Feature Exposure Control (AFEC), offering more robust data management solutions for workloads such as HPC, EDA, VDI, and more. Additionally, a public preview of an even larger volume type, ranging from 1-PiB to 2-PiB, is available upon request, subject to regional availability and capacity. Key benefits of this update include performance enhancements up to 12.5-GiB/s per large volume, scalability from 50-TiB to 2-PiB, selection of service levels (Standard, Premium, Ultra), advanced data management features, and cost efficiency through consolidation.
Convert to Azure Premium SSD v2 disks (preview)
Azure has announced the Public Preview of the feature for converting to Premium SSD v2 disks (Pv2). This new feature allows users to confidently move their workloads to Pv2, leveraging its balance of price and performance. The conversion process is designed to be straightforward, enabling the migration of existing Standard SSD, Standard HDD, or Premium SSD v1 disks to PV2 disks with minimal downtime. Notably, this feature avoids disk destruction, eliminates the need to use snapshots as a staging resource, and removes the requirement for waiting for background data copying. This enhancement simplifies the migration process and ensures that users can take full advantage of Pv2 disks efficiently.
Azure Stack
Azure Stack HCI
Introducing the Comprehensive Azure Stack HCI OEM License
The new Azure Stack HCI OEM license is designed to provide a streamlined and efficient licensing solution for Azure Stack HCI hardware, including Azure Stack HCI Premier Solutions, Integrated Systems, and Validated Nodes. This license is valid for the entire lifetime of the hardware and covers up to 16 cores, with additional two-core and four-core license add-ons available for larger systems.
The Azure Stack HCI OEM license includes three essential services for your cloud infrastructure:
- Azure Stack HCI – Ensures you have a robust and scalable cloud infrastructure.
- Azure Kubernetes Services (AKS) – Provides container orchestration for deploying, managing, and scaling containerized applications.
- Windows Server Datacenter 2022 or earlier version supported guest virtual machines (VMs) – Supports your virtual machine needs with the latest Windows Server capabilities.
Key Benefits:
- Simplified Licensing and Activation: A single license covers Azure Stack HCI, AKS, and Windows Server 2022 guest VMs, reducing complexity and cost.
- No Activation Tools Needed: The Azure Stack HCI operating system is automatically activated without additional tools or keys.
- Unified Procurement and Support: Purchase hardware, software, and get full stack support from a single vendor, streamlining your procurement process.
Requirements and Recommendations:
- Active Azure Account: Necessary for license activation.
- Latest Software Installations: Ensure you install the most recent versions of Azure Stack HCI, AKS, and Windows Server Datacenter 2022 guest VMs.
- Continuous Updates: Keep Azure Stack HCI and AKS up to date to receive the latest features and security patches. Upgrade to newer versions when the current version reaches the end of its lifecycle.
For managing Windows Server VMs, you can use Automatic Virtual Machine Activation (AVMA) client keys through Windows Admin Center or PowerShell.
In mixed-node scenarios, where clusters consist of different hardware models, operating system versions, or billing models, the OEM license ensures clarity. If any server in your cluster lacks the OEM license, you will receive a notification in your monthly billing statement. To identify servers without the OEM license, check the OEM license column under Overview > Nodes.
The Azure Stack HCI OEM license not only simplifies the licensing process but also enhances the operational efficiency of your cloud infrastructure by ensuring you have access to the latest technologies and support in a unified manner.
For enterprises implementing Azure Stack HCI, the new Arc gateway will significantly streamline the deployment and management process. The Arc gateway reduces the number of required endpoints for Azure Stack HCI clusters. Upon creating the Arc gateway, it can be used for both new and existing deployments. This gateway introduces the Arc gateway resource, which serves as a common entry point for Azure traffic through a specific domain or URL, and the Arc proxy, which runs as a service and functions as a forward proxy for Azure Arc agents and extensions. Traffic flows through Arc agentry, gateway router, enterprise proxy, Arc gateway, and finally to the target service, with each Azure Stack HCI cluster node having its own Arc agent.
Local UI to bootstrap Azure Stack HCI (preview)
Microsoft has introduced a new local web-based UI to facilitate the bootstrapping and registration of servers intended to cluster as an Azure Stack HCI system. This local UI simplifies the initial setup and management of Azure Stack HCI clusters, making the process more user-friendly and efficient.
Conclusion
Over the past two weeks, Microsoft has introduced a slew of updates and announcements pertaining to Azure Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Azure Stack. These developments underscore the tech giant’s unwavering commitment to enhancing its cloud offerings and adapting to the ever-evolving needs of businesses and developers. Users of Azure can anticipate improved functionalities, streamlined services, and enriched features as a result of these changes. Stay tuned for more insights as I continue to monitor and report on Azure’s progression in the cloud sphere.
