Linux
Regarding what can run in the Microsoft Azure IaaS virtual machine, remember that it
is just a virtual machine. However, this does not mean that vendors support their
applications running in Microsoft Azure IaaS. Notice that Microsoft has templates in
Microsoft Azure IaaS for SharePoint, SQL Server, Visual Studio, and BizTalk, but that’s
not the only Microsoft software that is supported. Microsoft has a full list at
[http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2721672/en-us, which also shows which](http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2721672/en-us, which also shows which)
components of System Center can run in Microsoft Azure IaaS and which roles of
Windows Server run in Microsoft Azure. Remember, there is a difference between
what is supported and what works, but do you really want to run something for
production purposes that is not supported by the vendor of the application?
By default, an agent is installed in all Azure IaaS VMs. This agent is for your benefit as
a customer and lights up certain capabilities. For example, the VM agent enables local
passwords to be reset and remote desktop connectivity to be enabled within the VM by
the VM owner through the portal and through PowerShell. Additionally, the VM agent
can be used to allow the Azure fabric to use declarative technologies such as
PowerShell DSC, Chef, and Puppet to perform configuration in addition to other types
of services, such as malware definition updates and more.
The virtual machines created can be one of a set of defined series and sizes. You
cannot create custom combinations of vCPUs and memory. At the time of this writing,
various series of Azure VMs have their own memory, CPU, storage, and networking
capabilities. The key VM series available are as follows:
A Series The original Azure VM series that has a wide range of CPU and memory
combinations. The temporary storage for these VMs is HDD based.
D Series Similar combinations for CPU and memory to the A series, but the
temporary storage for the VM is SSD based
F Series High memory sizes—each CPU core has 2GB of memory and 16GB of
SSD-based temporary storage. For example, an F2 has two vCPUs, 4GB of memory,
and 32TB of temporary storage.
G Series G is for Godzilla. Very large sizes all the way up to a G5, which has 32
cores, 448GB of memory, and 6TB of SSD-based temporary storage
N Series Provides nVidia CUDA cards available to the VM using Discrete Device
Assignment (DDA) in various combinations for compute and graphical purposesServers are deployed around 1,000 at a time in Azure, and a deployment unit is called
a stamp (also known as a scale unit or cluster). All servers in the stamp are the same.
Over time, hardware changes so that new generations of stamp are deployed with new
capabilities and faster processors. There are also v2 versions of some series, which
have faster processors but cost the same as the v1. The reason that they are
differentiated as a series is to ensure performance consistency to the customer, as
opposed to on one day, a VM created on one stamp in Azure gets an old processor, and