What is Azure Compute Fleet?
Azure Compute Fleet is a service for deploying large fleets of Virtual Machines with intelligent capacity optimization. The service combines Spot instances with On-Demand VMs to minimize costs while guaranteeing capacity. Compute Fleet automatically distributes workloads across different VM sizes and Availability Zones.
Core Features
- Automatic distribution across Spot and On-Demand instances
- Multi-size deployment with prioritized VM size list
- Capacity reservations for guaranteed availability
- Integration with Azure Monitor for fleet-wide monitoring
- Self-healing fleets on Spot evictions
Typical Use Cases
Batch processing and HPC workloads use Compute Fleet for cost-effective scaling. CI/CD pipelines start build agents dynamically. Data engineering teams process large data volumes with Spot-optimized fleets.
Benefits
- Up to 90% cost savings through Spot instances
- Intelligent capacity distribution across VM types
- Reduced management overhead for large VM fleets
- Automatic recovery on Spot evictions
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Compute Fleet and VM Scale Sets?
VM Scale Sets are optimized for homogeneous VM groups with uniform size. Compute Fleet enables heterogeneous fleets with different VM sizes and automatic optimization between Spot and On-Demand instances.
What happens during Spot evictions?
During Spot evictions, Compute Fleet automatically starts replacement VMs from the prioritized size list. You can configure fallback to On-Demand to guarantee capacity.
Which workloads is Compute Fleet suitable for?
Compute Fleet is suitable for batch processing, HPC, CI/CD build agents, data engineering, and other workloads that scale horizontally and are interruption-tolerant.
How much can I save with Spot instances?
Spot instances offer up to 90% discount compared to On-Demand prices. Actual savings depend on VM size and region. Compute Fleet maximizes Spot usage while guaranteeing minimum capacity.
Integration with innFactory
As a Microsoft Solutions Partner, innFactory supports you with Azure Compute Fleet: architecture design for batch workloads, cost optimization, and Spot strategies.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Compute Fleet and VM Scale Sets?
VM Scale Sets are optimized for homogeneous VM groups with uniform size. Compute Fleet enables heterogeneous fleets with different VM sizes and automatic optimization between Spot and On-Demand instances.
What happens during Spot evictions?
During Spot evictions, Compute Fleet automatically starts replacement VMs from the prioritized size list. You can configure fallback to On-Demand to guarantee capacity.
Which workloads is Compute Fleet suitable for?
Compute Fleet is suitable for batch processing, HPC, CI/CD build agents, data engineering, and other workloads that scale horizontally and are interruption-tolerant.
How much can I save with Spot instances?
Spot instances offer up to 90% discount compared to On-Demand prices. Actual savings depend on VM size and region. Compute Fleet maximizes Spot usage while guaranteeing minimum capacity.
