Boosting Performance with the Latest Generations of Virtual Machines in Azure
Microsoft Azure recently announced the availability of the new generation of VMs (v6)—including the Dl/Dv6 (general purpose) and El/Ev6 (memory-optimized) series. These VMs are powered by the latest Intel Xeon processors and are engineered to deliver: Up to 30% higher per-core performance compared to previous generations. Greater scalability, with options of up to 128 vCPUs (Dv6) and 192 vCPUs (Ev6). Significant enhancements in CPU cache (up to 5× larger), memory bandwidth, and NVMe-enabled storage. Improved security with features like Intel® Total Memory Encryption (TME) and enhanced networking via the new Microsoft Azure Network Adaptor (MANA). By Microsoft By Microsoft Evaluated Virtual Machines and Geekbench Results The table below summarizes the configuration and Geekbench results for the two VMs we tested. VM1 represents a previous-generation machine with more vCPUs and memory, while VM2 is from the new Dld e6 series, showing superior performance despite having fewer vCPUs. VM1 features VM1 - D16S V5 (16 Vcpus - 64GB RAM) VM1 - D16S V5 (16 Vcpus - 64GB RAM) VM2 features VM2 - D16ls v6 (16 Vcpus - 32GB RAM) VM2 - D16ls v6 (16 Vcpus - 32GB RAM) Key Observations: Single-Core Performance: VM2 scores 2013 compared to VM1’s 1570, a 28.2% improvement. This demonstrates that even with half the vCPUs, the new Dld e6 series provides significantly better performance per core. Multi-Core Performance: Despite having fewer cores, VM2 achieves a multi-core score of 12,566 versus 9,454 for VM1, showing a 32.9% increase in performance. VM 1 VM 2 Enhanced Throughput in Specific Workloads: File Compression: 1909 MB/s (VM2) vs. 1654 MB/s (VM1) – a 15.4% improvement. Object Detection: 2851 images/s (VM2) vs. 1592 images/s (VM1) – a remarkable 79.2% improvement. Ray Tracing: 1798 Kpixels/s (VM2) vs. 1512 Kpixels/s (VM1) – an 18.9% boost. These results reflect the significant advancements enabled by the new generation of Intel processors. Score VM 1 VM 1 VM 1 Score VM 2 VM 2 VM 2 Evolution of Hardware in Azure: From Ice Lake-SP to Emerald Rapids Technical Specifications of the Processors Evaluated Understanding the dramatic performance improvements begins with a look at the processor specifications: Intel Xeon Platinum 8370C (Ice Lake-SP) Architecture: Ice Lake-SP Base Frequency: 2.79 GHz Max Frequency: 3.5 GHz L3 Cache: 48 MB Supported Instructions: AVX-512, VNNI, DL Boost VM 1 Intel Xeon Platinum 8573C (Emerald Rapids) Architecture: Emerald Rapids Base Frequency: 2.3 GHz Max Frequency: 4.2 GHz L3 Cache: 260 MB Supported Instructions: AVX-512, AMX, VNNI, DL Boost VM 2 Impact on Performance Cache Size Increase: The jump from 48 MB to 260 MB of L3 cache is a key factor. A larger cache reduces dependency on RAM accesses, thereby lowering latency and significantly boosting performance in memory-intensive workloads such as AI, big data, and scientific simulations. Enhanced Frequency Dynamics: While the base frequency of the Emerald Rapids processor is slightly lower, its higher maximum frequency (4.2 GHz vs. 3.5 GHz) means that under load, performance-critical tasks can benefit from this burst capability. Advanced Instruction Support: The introduction of AMX (Advanced Matrix Extensions) in Emerald Rapids, along with the robust AVX-512 support, optimizes the execution of complex mathematical and AI workloads. Efficiency Gains: These processors also offer improved energy efficiency, reducing the energy consumed per compute unit. This efficiency translates into lower operational costs and a more sustainable cloud environment. Beyond Our Tests: Overview of the New v6 Series While our tests focused on the Dld e6 series, Azure’s new v6 generation includes several families designed for different workloads: 1. Dlsv6 and Dldsv6-series Segment: General purpose with NVMe local storage (where applicable) vCPUs Range: 2 – 128 Memory: 4 – 256 GiB Local Disk: Up to 7,040 GiB (Dldsv6) Highlights: 5× increased CPU cache (up to 300 MB) and higher network bandwidth (up to 54 Gbps) 2. Dsv6 and Ddsv6-series Segment: General purpose vCPUs Range: 2 – 128 Memory: Up to 512 GiB Local Disk: Up to 7,040 GiB in Ddsv6 Highlights: Up to 30% improved performance over the previous Dv5 generation and Azure Boost for enhanced IOPS and network performance 3. Esv6 and Edsv6-series Segment: Memory-optimized vCPUs Range: 2 – 192* (with larger sizes available in Q2) Memory: Up to 1.8 TiB (1832 GiB) Local Disk: Up to 10,560 GiB in Edsv6 Highlights: Ideal for in-memory analytics, relational databases, and enterprise applications requiring vast amounts of RAM Note: Sizes with higher vCPUs and memory (e.g., E128/E192) will be generally available in Q2 of this year. Key Innovations in the v6 Generation Increased CPU Cache: Up to 5× more cache (from 60 MB to 300 MB) dramatically improves data access speeds. NVMe for Storage: Enhanced local and remote storage performance, with up to 3× more IOPS locally and the capability to reach 400k IOPS remotely via Azure Boost. Azure Boost: Delivers higher throughput (up to 12 GB/s remote disk throughput) and improved network bandwidth (up to 200 Gbps for larger sizes). Microsoft Azure Network Adaptor (MANA): Provides improved network stability and performance for both Windows and Linux environments. Intel® Total Memory Encryption (TME): Enhances data security by encrypting the system memory. Scalability: Options ranging from 128 vCPUs/512 GiB RAM in the Dv6 family to 192 vCPUs/1.8 TiB RAM in the Ev6 family. Performance Gains: Benchmarks and internal tests (such as SPEC CPU Integer) indicate improvements of 15%–30% across various workloads including web applications, databases, analytics, and generative AI tasks. My personal perspective and point of view The new Azure v6 VMs mark a significant advancement in cloud computing performance, scalability, and security. Our Geekbench tests clearly show that the Dld e6 series—powered by the latest Intel Xeon Platinum 8573C (Emerald Rapids)—delivers up to 30% better performance than previous-generation machines with more resources. Coupled with the hardware evolution from Ice Lake-SP to Emerald Rapids—which brings a dramatic increase in cache size, improved frequency dynamics, and advanced instruction support—the new v6 generation sets a new standard for high-performance workloads. Whether you’re running critical enterprise applications, data-intensive analytics, or next-generation AI models, the enhanced capabilities of these VMs offer significant benefits in performance, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. References and Further Reading: Microsoft’s official announcement: Azure Dld e6 VMs Internal tests performed with Geekbench 6.4.0 (AVX2) in the Germany West Central Azure region.Resiliency Best Practices You Need For your Blob Storage Data
Maintaining Resiliency in Azure Blob Storage: A Guide to Best Practices Azure Blob Storage is a cornerstone of modern cloud storage, offering scalable and secure solutions for unstructured data. However, maintaining resiliency in Blob Storage requires careful planning and adherence to best practices. In this blog, I’ll share practical strategies to ensure your data remains available, secure, and recoverable under all circumstances. 1. Enable Soft Delete for Accidental Recovery (Most Important) Mistakes happen, but soft delete can be your safety net and. It allows you to recover deleted blobs within a specified retention period: Configure a soft delete retention period in Azure Storage. Regularly monitor your blob storage to ensure that critical data is not permanently removed by mistake. Enabling soft delete in Azure Blob Storage does not come with any additional cost for simply enabling the feature itself. However, it can potentially impact your storage costs because the deleted data is retained for the configured retention period, which means: The retained data contributes to the total storage consumption during the retention period. You will be charged according to the pricing tier of the data (Hot, Cool, or Archive) for the duration of retention 2. Utilize Geo-Redundant Storage (GRS) Geo-redundancy ensures your data is replicated across regions to protect against regional failures: Choose RA-GRS (Read-Access Geo-Redundant Storage) for read access to secondary replicas in the event of a primary region outage. Assess your workload’s RPO (Recovery Point Objective) and RTO (Recovery Time Objective) needs to select the appropriate redundancy. 3. Implement Lifecycle Management Policies Efficient storage management reduces costs and ensures long-term data availability: Set up lifecycle policies to transition data between hot, cool, and archive tiers based on usage. Automatically delete expired blobs to save on costs while keeping your storage organized. 4. Secure Your Data with Encryption and Access Controls Resiliency is incomplete without robust security. Protect your blobs using: Encryption at Rest: Azure automatically encrypts data using server-side encryption (SSE). Consider enabling customer-managed keys for additional control. Access Policies: Implement Shared Access Signatures (SAS) and Stored Access Policies to restrict access and enforce expiration dates. 5. Monitor and Alert for Anomalies Stay proactive by leveraging Azure’s monitoring capabilities: Use Azure Monitor and Log Analytics to track storage performance and usage patterns. Set up alerts for unusual activities, such as sudden spikes in access or deletions, to detect potential issues early. 6. Plan for Disaster Recovery Ensure your data remains accessible even during critical failures: Create snapshots of critical blobs for point-in-time recovery. Enable backup for blog & have the immutability feature enabled Test your recovery process regularly to ensure it meets your operational requirements. 7. Resource lock Adding Azure Locks to your Blob Storage account provides an additional layer of protection by preventing accidental deletion or modification of critical resources 7. Educate and Train Your Team Operational resilience often hinges on user awareness: Conduct regular training sessions on Blob Storage best practices. Document and share a clear data recovery and management protocol with all stakeholders. 8. "Critical Tip: Do Not Create New Containers with Deleted Names During Recovery" If a container or blob storage is deleted for any reason and recovery is being attempted, it’s crucial not to create a new container with the same name immediately. Doing so can significantly hinder the recovery process by overwriting backend pointers, which are essential for restoring the deleted data. Always ensure that no new containers are created using the same name during the recovery attempt to maximize the chances of successful restoration. Wrapping It Up Azure Blob Storage offers an exceptional platform for scalable and secure storage, but its resiliency depends on following best practices. By enabling features like soft delete, implementing redundancy, securing data, and proactively monitoring your storage environment, you can ensure that your data is resilient to failures and recoverable in any scenario. Protect your Azure resources with a lock - Azure Resource Manager | Microsoft Learn Data redundancy - Azure Storage | Microsoft Learn Overview of Azure Blobs backup - Azure Backup | Microsoft Learn Protect your Azure resources with a lock - Azure Resource Manager | Microsoft LearnAzure VMs Not Applying GPOs Correctly
Hi everyone, Quick question… if my Azure VMs are joined to my domain, they should be applying all my configured GPOs, right? For some reason, my VMs are not applying the GPOs, even after running a GPUPDATE /force. At the moment, I am testing some simple GPOs like: Creating a folder on the desktop Setting the time format to Brazilian (dd/mm/yyyy) Adjusting the timezone to Brasília When I run gpresult /r, it shows that the GPOs are being applied, but for some reason, the VM just doesn’t reflect them. Any idea what might be causing this?
Azure Extended Zones: Optimizing Performance, Compliance, and Accessibility
Azure Extended Zones are small-scale Azure extensions located in specific metros or jurisdictions to support low-latency and data residency workloads. They enable users to run latency-sensitive applications close to end users while maintaining compliance with data residency requirements, all within the Azure ecosystem.
Considerations when replicating VMs to new Azure subscriptions?
I've got a couple domain-joined (not Entra/AAD joined) virtual machines in Azure in a subscription that I want to copy over to another subscription. I only want to copy these VMs over so I can test some patches on them. However, the original VMs will still be online and in use. I've seen others bring up AAD/Entra as a possible issue. Is there anything else I need to be worried about before replicating these VMs?How to avoid "This Size is not available in zone. . ."
Hi, Anybody has found the optimal solution to avoiding the following text, when selecting the VM on Azure: This size is not available in zone 2. Zones '1' are supported. Of course the zone numbers can be mixing. I tried to use the Get-AzComputeResourceSku CMDlet, but did not got any smarter: PS C:\> Get-AzComputeResourceSku -Location "westeurope" | Where-Object { $_.name -EQ "Standard_D4_v5" } ResourceType Name Location Zones RestrictionInfo ------------ ---- -------- ----- --------------- virtualMachines Standard_D4_v5 westeurope {1, 2, 3} type: Zone, locations: westeurope, zones: 2, 3 Basically Zones says, this should be available, but when trying to select that on portal or run PS. PowerShell gives the following error: New-AzVM: The requested size for resource '/subscriptions/.../virtualMachines/myVM' is currently not available in location 'westeurope' zones '2' for subscription '111.....111'. Please try another size or deploy to a different location or zones. ErrorCode: SkuNotAvailable ErrorTarget: StatusCode: 409 ReasonPhrase: Conflict The funny thing is, this speaks about "subscription" and if I choose a different subscription this VM size is available on the same zone. So I'm interest to hear what others are using for listing available VM sizes, to see how to choose similar VMs on all zones? I have tested with different sizes, and seems to be the case a bit randomly.
Connection was denied because the user account is not authorised for remote log in
Hi experts, ... there was a restart of the server that is running as VM in azure... and since then, I've been experiencing some issues that are seriously affecting the company. When I want to RDP with a required account (lets call it "azvmuser") to the server, I get the message that I'm not authorized. With Administrator account, I can connect with no issues... The only way I could fix it was by adding the "azvmuser" via "User Accounts" -> "Give other users access to this computer" .... This works for a while however at some point the issue returns and when I check the Users Accounts again, the "azvmuser" is missing there again and have to add it again... There is a task created in "Task Scheduler" that runs for that user and due to the issue above, the task is failing... When I add the user to "Give other users access...", the Task runs fine... Any idea how to fix it? ... for now, I just manually check the VM and add the user "azvmuser" when I get the error message... It is happening for a business critical VM..... other 3 VMs we have in Azure are working fine 😕
