What is Azure Local?

Azure Local is a distributed infrastructure solution that extends Azure’s cloud capabilities to on-premises environments. Through the use of Azure Arc, it provides businesses with a consistent management experience for workloads running across different locations.

Key Components of Azure Local

• Virtual Machines (VMs): Run traditional applications on virtualized infrastructure.
• Containers: Deploy modern containerized applications alongside legacy workloads.
• Azure Arc Integration: Unify management of cloud and on-prem resources using Azure’s robust toolset.

By leveraging these components, organizations can maintain operational efficiency, improve resilience, and streamline hybrid cloud management.

Features and Benefits of Azure Local

Unified Management

Azure Local allows IT teams to manage both cloud and on-premises workloads through a single Azure portal and API. This unified approach simplifies operations by reducing complexity and providing real-time visibility across distributed environments. By eliminating the need to manage and maintain an entire on-premises data center, organizations can focus on optimizing their IT infrastructure more efficiently.

Flexibility

Azure Local offers a flexible, out-of-the-box solution by allowing organizations to choose hardware from Microsoft-approved vendors. It supports both containerized and virtualized applications running side by side, ensuring compatibility with modern and legacy workloads. Additionally, it seamlessly integrates into existing IT environments, making it easier to adopt without disrupting current operations.

High Availability & Resilience

To maximize uptime and reliability, Azure Local includes multi-node clustering, ensuring redundancy in case of failures. Software-defined storage enhances data resilience, reducing the risk of data loss. Features such as automatic failover and load balancing further optimize performance, preventing downtime and maintaining business continuity.

Cost-Effective Migration

Azure Local helps organizations reduce costs by offering an efficient migration path from other on-premises virtualization platforms. By shifting workloads to Azure Local, businesses can lower infrastructure expenses while maintaining compliance and control over their applications. This cost-effective approach ensures a smooth transition to a hybrid cloud model without unnecessary financial strain.

Use Cases and Applications

Hybrid Cloud Scenarios

Organizations can deploy Azure Local in hybrid environments where applications need to run both on-premises and in the cloud. This is particularly useful for businesses that require low-latency performance or must adhere to strict compliance regulations. For example, financial institutions dealing with sensitive customer data can use Azure Local to process transactions locally while leveraging Azure’s cloud capabilities for analytics and backup. Similarly, government agencies handling classified information can maintain control over critical workloads on-premises while still benefiting from Azure’s scalability and security features. By bridging on-premises and cloud resources, Azure Local ensures flexibility, security, and performance without compromising compliance requirements.

Edge Computing

Azure Local is ideal for edge computing scenarios where data needs to be processed closer to its source. This is especially beneficial for industries such as manufacturing, retail, and healthcare that rely on real-time data processing to optimize operations. In manufacturing, Azure Local can enable predictive maintenance by analyzing equipment data locally, reducing downtime and improving efficiency. In retail, it can enhance customer experiences by processing point-of-sale data instantly, ensuring seamless inventory management. Healthcare providers can leverage Azure Local to process patient data on-site, ensuring faster diagnostics while maintaining strict data privacy regulations. By minimizing latency and improving real-time analytics, Azure Local empowers businesses to make faster, data-driven decisions.

Azure Local Licensing: How It Works

Azure Local is designed with a simple and cost-effective licensing model to make hybrid cloud management more accessible. Below are the key licensing aspects:

1. Per-Core Licensing

• Azure Local is priced at $10 USD per month per physical processor core.
• This straightforward pricing model makes it easy to budget for deployments.

2. Azure Hybrid Benefit

• If you have Windows Server Datacenter licenses with active Software Assurance in an Enterprise Agreement or Software Subscriptions in CSP, you can leverage Azure Hybrid Benefit similar to the Azure Cloud.
• This waives Azure Local’s host service fee and Windows Server subscription costs, offering significant savings.

3. OEM Licensing

• Some hardware vendors offer OEM licensing options with pre-installed licenses activated in Azure.
• These licenses are valid for the lifetime of the hardware, making procurement more streamlined.

4. Guest Operating System Licensing

• While the core licensing covers Azure Local infrastructure, organizations must consider additional licensing costs for guest operating systems running in Azure Local.

5. Unified Billing

• Azure Local charges appear on your existing Azure subscription, providing a single, itemized bill for all services.
• This simplifies cost management and forecasting.
• Please note that you are required to purchase the hardware from selected Microsoft partners that are able to deploy Azure Local.

6. Free Trial

• Microsoft offers a 60-day free trial for Azure Local.
• After the trial period, the standard monthly service fee applies.

Deployment and Management

Deploying Azure Local involves several key steps to ensure a seamless integration with your existing infrastructure. First, you need to set up hardware that meets Azure Local’s requirements. Once the hardware is in place, Azure Arc must be installed and configured to enable Azure services on-premises. After installation, workloads can be registered and integrated into Azure’s management framework, allowing them to be managed alongside other cloud and on-premises resources.

Managing Azure Local is streamlined through the Azure portal and APIs, which provide a centralized interface for monitoring and controlling workloads. Key management features include real-time monitoring, automated updates, and troubleshooting tools, ensuring smooth operations and minimizing downtime. With these tools, organizations can maintain visibility and control over their hybrid environments while benefiting from Azure’s powerful cloud management capabilities.

Azure Local vs. Windows Server: Key Functional Differences

While Azure Local and Windows Server both support enterprise IT operations, they serve different purposes and offer distinct functionalities.

Windows Server is a traditional, on-premises operating system designed for managing enterprise workloads, hosting applications, running virtual machines (via Hyper-V), and handling network services like Active Directory and file storage. It requires dedicated hardware, manual updates, and in-house IT management to maintain performance and security.

Azure Local, on the other hand, is a cloud-based extension of Microsoft Azure that brings cloud computing closer to organizations needing low-latency performance, data residency, and regulatory compliance. Unlike Windows Server, Azure Local does not rely on physical on-premises infrastructure but instead integrates scalable compute, AI, analytics, and security services into a localized cloud environment. This allows organizations to leverage Azure’s cloud capabilities while maintaining greater control over data location and compliance requirements.

In summary, Windows Server is best for traditional on-premises IT environments, while Azure Local provides a hybrid approach that combines cloud scalability with local data control.

For a detailed comparison of the functional differences between Azure Local and Windows Server, please visit this link (Source: Karl Wester-Ebbinghaus).