Microsoft unveils the Azure Cobalt 100 processor for VMs, already available in preview

In the recent Microsoft Build 2024 event, the Redmond-based tech giant made a series of Arm-related announcements, including the Azure Cobalt 100 processor powering Azure VMs (Virtual Machines). To preview the VMs, you just need to fill out a quick form!

According to Microsoft’s official blog detailing the new processor and talking about the preview,

The Cobalt 100 processor is based on the Neoverse N-series (N2) Arm CPU design, which is optimized for the performance of scale out cloud-based applications. The preview includes the general purpose (Dpsv6-series and Dplsv6-series) and memory optimized (Epsv6-series) VM series.

Coming to the performance of Azure Cobalt 100, it will deliver up to 2x on web servers, 1.5x on Java-based workloads, and 1.4x CPU. You also have different VMs to choose from depending on the CPU and memory needs, along with the option to go with or without a local disk. Deploying them is no hassle either!

Speaking about their use case, Microsoft says,

These VMs are ideal for small to medium open-source databases, application servers and web servers. These VMs also excel with containerized applications and can be leveraged by Arm developers in CI/CD pipelines, development and test scenarios. The new Dplsv6 and Dpldsv6 VMs are ideal for media encoding, small databases, gaming servers, microservices and any workloads that do not require higher RAM per vCPU.

When it comes to OS, you will find support for Insider Preview of Windows 11 Pro, Insider Preview of Windows 11 Enterprise, Canonical Ubuntu, CentOS, Debian, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SUSE Enterprise Linux, Alma Linux, Azure Linux (via AKS), and Flatcar Linux.

As for their availability, the new Azure Cobalt 100-powered VMs will be free during the preview phase. You can access them in Central US, East US, East US 2, West US 2, Southeast Asia, North Europe, and West Europe, with support for other regions expanding in the coming months.

The release of Azure Cobalt 100 VMs is a testament to Microsoft’s increasing focus on the high-performance and power-efficient Arm architecture. It also unveiled a new class of devices, Copilot+ PCs. Powered by Arm processors, these are 20x more powerful and 100x more efficient for running AI workloads.

Have you tried the new Azure Cobalt 100 processor VMs in preview? If so, share your experience with our readers in the comments section.