Microsoft recently unveiled the preview version of Azure Dedicated Host. The new Azure service is meant to help organizations run their Linux and Windows virtual machines on single-tenant physical servers. Azure competitors Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform already offer similar dedicated host services, so customers may already be familiar with some of the capabilities. But this brings the usability offered on other platforms to Azure.
Available in preview in most Azure regions now. Here’s what Azure users should know about the new offering.
Azure Dedicated Host capabilities
Basically, you can use the Azure Portal to create one Azure Dedicated Host or host groups that include a full collection of hosts. You can also use it to assign Azure Virtual Machines to different hosts during the VM creation process.
Benefits of Azure Dedicated Host
Azure Dedicated Hosts offer the visibility and control that users need to address corporate compliance and regulatory requirements. This includes physical security, data integrity, and monitoring. Basically, Azure Dedicated Host gives users the option to place Azure VMs on specific physical server locations so you always have control over where your resources are stored and who has access.
Microsoft is also extending Azure Hybrid Benefit to Azure Dedicated Hosts, which means that users can take advantage of their on-premises Windows Server and SQL Server licenses using Software Assurance or other qualifying subscription licenses. This allows you to save money by paying reduced rates for Azure services.
Microsoft is also expanding Azure Hybrid Benefit to let users take advantage of unlimited virtualization rights for Windows Server and SQL Server using Azure Dedicated Hosts. And of course, users will also get free Extended Security Updates for services like Windows Server 2008/R2 and SQL Server 2008/R2 on Azure Dedicated Host to stay up to date with all the latest patches.
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