What is Azure Linux Virtual Machines?
Azure Linux Virtual Machines lets you run Linux workloads on scalable virtual machines in the Azure Cloud. Azure officially endorses a wide range of Linux distributions, including Ubuntu, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, Debian, Oracle Linux, and the RHEL-compatible successors to CentOS, Rocky Linux and AlmaLinux. CentOS Linux itself has reached end of life and is no longer recommended for new deployments. Microsoft also offers its own lightweight Linux distribution, Azure Linux, for cloud and container workloads.
Azure offers Linux VMs in various sizes and series, optimized for different workloads: General Purpose for standard applications, Compute-optimized for CPU-intensive tasks, Memory-optimized for databases, and GPU instances for machine learning and AI workloads.
Core Features
- Support for officially endorsed Linux distributions (Ubuntu, RHEL, SUSE, Debian, Oracle Linux, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, Flatcar) as well as Microsoft’s own Azure Linux distribution
- VM sizes from B-Series (Burstable) to compute-, memory-, and GPU-optimized instances
- Managed Disks with Standard SSD, Premium SSD, and Ultra Disk options
- Spot VMs for cost-effective, interruptible workloads
- Azure Hybrid Benefit to apply existing RHEL and SUSE licenses
Typical Use Cases
Web and Application Servers: Hosting Nginx, Apache, Node.js, or Python applications on Linux VMs with automatic scaling via VM Scale Sets.
Databases: Running MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, or other databases on memory-optimized VMs with Premium SSD storage.
DevOps and CI/CD: Build servers, container hosts, and development environments on cost-effective Linux VMs.
Benefits
- No additional operating system license costs for many distributions
- Flexible scaling from one to thousands of VMs via VM Scale Sets
- Integration with Azure networking, storage, and security services
- Azure Hybrid Benefit reduces costs for existing RHEL/SUSE licenses
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Azure Linux Virtual Machines?
A compute offering for running Linux workloads on virtual machines in Azure, with a choice of numerous officially supported Linux distributions and VM sizes.
Which Linux distributions are supported?
Azure officially supports, among others, Ubuntu, RHEL, SUSE, Debian, Oracle Linux, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, and Flatcar, as well as Microsoft’s own Azure Linux distribution. CentOS is end of life and no longer recommended for new projects; Rocky Linux and AlmaLinux are the common RHEL-compatible successors.
How can I optimize costs?
Through multi-year Reserved Instances, Spot VMs for interruptible workloads, Azure Hybrid Benefit for existing RHEL/SUSE licenses, and automatic shutdown of dev/test environments outside business hours.
Can I use custom Linux images?
Yes, you can upload custom VHD images or create and maintain custom images with Azure Image Builder.
Are Linux VMs suitable for containers?
Yes, Linux VMs can run Docker and other container runtimes. For managed, orchestrated container workloads, Azure Kubernetes Service or Azure Container Apps is recommended instead.
Integration with innFactory
As a Microsoft Solutions Partner, innFactory supports you with Linux workloads in Azure. We help with migration, architecture, and cost optimization.
Contact us for a non-binding consultation on Azure Linux VMs.
Note: All product information on this page has been compiled with care, but is provided without guarantee and may be outdated or incomplete. Cloud services evolve rapidly — features, pricing, SLAs, and availability change frequently. Authoritative and up-to-date information can only be found on the official product page of Azure (official documentation). This page does not represent an offer by Azure.
