Azure provides flexible cloud computing platforms that enable users to build, deploy, and manage applications. VM options lie at the center of these services and offer a wealth of opportunities for customization and optimization.
Azure offers numerous VM options, including Azure Virtual Machines, Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets, Availability Sets, and Azure Virtual Desktop. We’ll go through each of these and provide examples and tables for comparison.
1. Azure Virtual Machines
Azure Virtual Machines (VMs) are software emulations of physical computers. They provide the flexibility of virtualization without the costs and maintenance associated with hardware. This provides users with the power to start, stop, access, and configure their VMs as needed.
For example, when you need an SQL server for your backend storage, instead of buying hardware, you can rent a VM from Azure, install SQL Server, and pay by the minute for what you use.
2. Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets
Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets let you create and manage a group of load-balanced and identically configured VMs. The number of VM instances can automatically increase or decrease in response to demand or a defined schedule–that is known as autoscaling. This service is useful for building large-scale services like big compute, big data, and containerized applications.
Suppose you have an application that needs to handle high loads at certain times of the day; instead of increasing the capacity of the VM, you can use Virtual Machine Scale Sets to automatically add additional VMs during high load times and remove them when not needed.
Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets VS Azure Virtual Machines
| Azure VM | VM scale sets | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of VMs | Limited by Azure subscription. | Up to 1000 instances with multi-placement groups. |
| Management | Needs to be managed individually | Automatic, in bulk. |
| Load balancing | Built in, but each VM needs to be added manually | Built in, and all VMs are automatically added. |
| Autoscaling | Manual configuration | Automatic configuration |
3. Availability Sets
Availability Sets offer two types of redundancy: fault domain and update domain. A fault domain is a logical group of underlying hardware that share a common power source and network switch. It’s akin to a rack within an on-premises data-center. An update domain is a group of VMs and underlying physical hardware that can be rebooted at the same time.
By placing your VMs in an availability set, Azure ensures that during either a planned or unplanned maintenance event, at least one virtual machine will be available.
4. Azure Virtual Desktop
Azure Virtual Desktop is a desktop and application virtualization service that runs on Azure. It lets you remote into a windows desktop and use it as your own. This service is useful in scenarios where enterprises want to secure data and reduce hardware costs, schools want to configure virtual learning, or developers want to code and debug remotely.
Conclusion
To conclude, understanding the distinct Azure VM options empowers users to choose the most suitable solution for their professional needs. Whether running complex large-scale apps with Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets or ensuring business continuance with Availability Sets, Azure provides a variety of options to meet diverse demands of cloud computing.
Practice Test
True or False: Azure Virtual Machines (VM) are on-demand, scalable computing resources that Microsoft provides as part of Azure.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Azure VMs let you create and use virtual machines in the cloud. They provide infrastructure as a service (IaaS), and you can choose the amount of processing power and memory resources for your VMs.
Which of the following are benefits of using Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets?
- a) ease of scaling up and down with changes in workload
- b) automatic distribution of traffic
- c) automatically deals with failed applications
- d) none of the above
Answer: a) ease of scaling up and down with changes in workload, b) automatic distribution of traffic
Explanation: Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets is a service that can create and manage a group of identical, load-balanced VMs, making it easier to build large-scale services that target big compute, big data, and containerized workloads.
True or False: Azure Availability Set is a logical grouping capability for separating VM resources from each other when they are deployed.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Azure Availability Set is indeed a feature that ensures that VMs you deploy on Azure are distributed across multiple isolated hardware nodes in a cluster.
Can Azure Virtual Desktop be accessed from anywhere?
- a) Yes
- b) No
Answer: a) Yes
Explanation: Azure Virtual Desktop is a desktop and app virtualization service that runs on the cloud, which means that it can be accessed from anywhere.
Azure Virtual Machines do not support Windows Server, Linux, SQL Server, Oracle, IBM, and SAP. True or False?
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Azure Virtual Machines support a wide range of operating systems including Windows Server, Linux, SQL Server, Oracle, IBM, and SAP.
Azure VM Scale Sets does not support autoscale, manual scale, or custom autoscale based on specific metrics. True or False?
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Azure VM Scale Sets actually supports autoscale, manual scale, and you can even set custom autoscale conditions based on specific metrics.
What should you use to ensure that your application remains operational during either planned or unplanned maintenance events?
- a) Azure Virtual Machine
- b) VM Scale Sets
- c) Availability Sets
- d) Virtual Desktop
Answer: c) Availability Sets
Explanation: Availability Sets are a fundamental tool for the resilience of applications in Azure by providing redundancy to your application.
Azure Virtual Desktop is the new name for Windows Virtual Desktop. True or False?
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: Microsoft rebranded Windows Virtual Desktop to Azure Virtual Desktop in June 2021 to incorporate its expanded features and capabilities.
Who manages the underlying Azure infrastructure in Azure Virtual Machines?
- a) Customer
- b) Microsoft
- c) Both
- d) None
Answer: b) Microsoft
Explanation: In Azure Virtual Machines, the underlying Azure infrastructure is managed by Microsoft.
Is it possible to group multiple VM scale sets in a single availability set?
- a) Yes
- b) No
Answer: b) No
Explanation: Azure doesn’t support the combination of VM Scale Sets and Availability Sets. They are separate entities designed for different scalability and availability purposes.
Interview Questions
What is Azure Virtual Machine?
Azure Virtual Machine is an on-demand computing resource offered by Azure as part of its IaaS solutions. It provides scalability, high availability and security for applications, providing the flexibility of virtualization without having to buy and maintain physical hardware.
Can you briefly explain Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets?
Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets allow you to create and manage a group of load-balanced VMs. This provides high availability and allows you to centrally manage, configure and update a large number of VMs.
What is an availability set in Azure?
An availability set is a logical grouping of VMs that protects your application from failures within Azure data centers. It creates the redundancy needed to maintain the application’s high availability during periodic maintenance and unexpected downtimes.
What is Azure Virtual Desktop?
Azure Virtual Desktop, formerly known as Windows Virtual Desktop, is a desktop and app virtualization service that runs on Azure cloud. It provides secure, scalable remote desktop services, enabling users to access Windows desktops and applications from anywhere.
How does Azure VMs ensure application availability during Azure datacenter maintenance?
Azure VMs leverage availability sets to ensure application availability during Azure data center maintenance. An Availability set is a strategy where VMs are placed across different fault domains and update domains. This ensures at least one instance of your application always remains running during such events.
How do Virtual Machine Scale Sets provide high availability?
Virtual Machine Scale Sets provide high availability by automatically increasing or decreasing the number of VM instances in response to demand or a defined schedule. They distribute traffic to VM instances in the set by using Azure Load Balancer or Azure Application Gateway.
Can I use both Windows and Linux machines with Azure VM?
Yes, Azure VM supports both Windows and Linux machines.
What is Azure Spot VM?
Azure Spot VM is an Azure offering that allows you to take advantage of unused Azure compute capacity at significant cost savings. However, these VMs are subject to eviction when there is increased demand.
Can Azure Virtual Desktop be accessed from any device?
Yes, Azure Virtual Desktop can be accessed from any device with a proper Azure Virtual Desktop client installed. This could be Windows, Android, Mac, iOS or HTML5 web browsers.
Is it possible to autoscale Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets?
Yes, Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets support autoscaling which automatically adjusts the number of VMs in response to workload changes.
What are the benefits of Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets?
Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets provide high availability, network traffic balancing, easy VM configuration, and automatic updating for large numbers of VMs.
Can Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets be created with both Windows and Linux VMs?
Yes, Azure VM Scale Sets support both Windows and Linux VMs.
How can Azure Virtual Desktop help businesses that implemented work from home?
Azure Virtual Desktop can help businesses implement a successful remote work strategy by providing employees with secure remote access to the desktops and applications they need to work from home.
Is there a limit to the number of VMs I can have in a scale set?
Azure allows you to create a scale set with up to 1000 VMs without requiring additional configurations. With additional configurations, you can increase this limit up to 3000 VMs.
How can you choose the size of an Azure Virtual Machine?
When defining an Azure Virtual Machine, you can choose the size of the VM based on factors such as CPU, memory, disk space and cost. Azure offers VM sizes for a variety of compute, memory, and storage-intensive workloads.
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