The Microsoft Azure Cloud offers a large variety of resources and services that can be used to create a virtual infrastructure. Users and business owners, therefore, need to understand the types of VMs available in the world’s most popular cloud Microsoft Azure. This also includes the latest desktop virtualization service by Microsoft, the Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD).
Azure virtual machines (VMs)
Azure is Microsoft’s cloud service and offers a variety of virtualization options. Perhaps most than anyone else and suitable for any kind of users such as Linux, Oracle, IBM, SAP, Windows Server, SQL Server. Customers can either make their own VM or select choose from a range of pre-configured Azure VMs suiting the varying requirements and can also opt for pay-as-you-go payment option.
Types of Azure VMs
Microsoft Azure offers hundreds of VM options tailored to suit various requirements like RAM, storage, the purpose of use like low-cost option, general computing, data protection, running heavy-memory applications (SAP for example), high performance, storage and more.
They could be categorized as below:
- Economical & entry-level VMs
Suitable for entry level workloads such as testing and development and bring a low-cost VM option to start with. These come under A-Series VMs.
- Economical burstable VMs
Known as Bs-series, these offer low-cost VMs for carrying out workloads needing low to moderate CPU usage but need to burst into higher CPU usage whenever required. Low traffic web servers, small databases, development and test servers are some of the use cases.
- General purpose
Known as the D-series VMs, with fast CPU and optimal CPU-to-memory configuration, better local disk performance, higher memories these are meant for production workloads.
- Data protection
The DC-series VMs are best used for the protection and confidentiality of business data and code. These get processed through secure enclaves and the built-in encryption protecting the data both in transit and rest in Azure.
Memory optimized
Coming under E-series, these Azure VMs are optimized to run heavy in-memory applications like SAP HANA and are configured to high memory-to-core ratios making them suitable for relational database servers with large caches and in-memory analytics. The M-series and the latest Mv2 series are the VMs with largest memory optimization and suitable for large in-memory critical business workloads needing huge parallel computing power.
Computing optimized
These F-series VMs offer a higher CPU-to-memory ratio and are suitable for analytics, gaming, web servers and batch processing.
Heavy memory and storage optimized
Called the G-series VMs, these offer twice the memory and four times more Solid State Drive storage (SSDs) than the General Purpose D-series we have discussed before. Suitable for ERP, SAP, Large SOL and NoSQL databases and data warehousing solutions.
High-performance computing
Called the HC-series, these VMs are used in cases like finite element analysis, seismic processing, fluid dynamics, risk analysis, electronic design automation, rendering, quantum simulation and many other such scenarios.
Storage optimized
The Ls-series VMs are optimized for storage and are ideal for applications needing low latency and high throughput (number of transactions an app can handle per second) while the latest Lsv2-series are the new members in the lot. Data warehousing applications and large transactional databases are some of the use cases where these VMs are used.
GPU enabled
Under N-series, the VMs are suitable for graphics-intensive workload, simulation, deep learning, rendering video editing, gaming and remote visualization.
Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD)
Windows Virtual Desktop is a cloud-based platform service, a part of virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) that uses a set of Microsoft technologies on Azure cloud for virtualizing and managing desktops and applications.
It offers multi-session Windows 10, optimizations for Office 365 ProPlus and support for RDS environments. Other built-in key features include profile management in containers with FSLogix, Terminal Services Session Broker (keeps tracks of sessions on a server) and control plane. It also allows running the single session Windows 7 with free security updates till January 2023.
WVD brings the best profile management solution in a virtual environment with virtualized GPU (vGPU) to run high-end graphics, complex and demanding design applications all coming with tight multi-layered security system.
To sum up, WVD is a combination of all the different Azure virtual machines and goes even beyond bringing some unique features for the first time in the journey of virtualization. The kind of VM a business needs will depend on its specific requirement and available budget. A good virtual desktop infrastructure provider or a Desktop-as-a-service (DaaS) vendor should bring the tailor-made solution after understanding a company’s goal and business requirements with an easy step-up/down or pay-as-you-use offer.
Apps4Rent, is a US-based cloud solution and hosted desktop as a service solution provider company. This Microsoft Gold Partner is in the market for over 18 years having served more than 10,000 large and small businesses in 90 countries worldwide. For any of your Azure service or WVD requirements please free to contact 24/7 by chat or phone 1-866-716-2040.
