How to restrict the virtual machine sizes allowed for labs

In this how to, you'll learn how to use the Lab Services should restrict allowed virtual machine SKU sizes Azure policy to control the SKUs available to educators when they're creating labs. In this example, you'll see how a lab administrator can allow only non-GPU SKUs, so educators can create only non-GPU SKU labs.

Note

This article references features available since the August 2022 Update, when lab plans replaced lab accounts. For more information, see What's New in the August 2022 Update.

Configure the policy

1. In the Azure portal, go to your subscription.

2. From the left menu, under Settings, select Policies.

3. Under Authoring, select Assignments.

4. Select Assign Policy.

5. Select the Scope which you would like to assign the policy to, and then select Select. You can also select a resource group if you need the policy to apply more granularly.

6. Select Policy Definition. In Available definitions, search for Lab Services, select Lab Services should restrict allowed virtual machine SKU sizes and then select Select.

7. On the Basics tab, select Next.

8. On the Parameters tab, clear Only show parameters that need input or review to show all parameters.

9. The Allowed SKU names parameter shows the SKUs allowed when the policy is applied. By default all the available SKUs are allowed. You must clear the check boxes for any SKU that you don't wish to allow educators to use to create labs. In this example, only the following non-GPU SKUs are allowed:

   • CLASSIC_FSV2_2_4GB_128_S_SSD
   • CLASSIC_FSV2_4_8GB_128_S_SSD
   • CLASSIC_FSV2_8_16GB_128_S_SSD
   • CLASSIC_DSV4_4_16GB_128_P_SSD
   • CLASSIC_DSV4_8_32GB_128_P_SSD

   

   Use the table below to determine which SKU names to apply.

   SKU Name	VM Size	VM Size Details
   CLASSIC_FSV2_2_4GB_128_S_SSD	Small	2vCPUs, 4 GB RAM, 128 GB, Standard SSD
   CLASSIC_FSV2_4_8GB_128_S_SSD	Medium	4vCPUs, 8 GB RAM, 128 GB, Standard SSD
   CLASSIC_FSV2_8_16GB_128_S_SSD	Large	8vCPUs, 16 GB RAM, 128 GB, Standard SSD
   CLASSIC_DSV4_4_16GB_128_P_SSD	Medium (Nested virtualization)	4 vCPUs, 16 GB RAM, 128 GB, Premium SSD
   CLASSIC_DSV4_8_32GB_128_P_SSD	Large (Nested virtualization)	8vCPUs, 32 GB RAM, 128 GB, Premium SSD
   CLASSIC_NCSV3_6_112GB_128_S_SSD	Small GPU (Compute)	6vCPUs, 112 GB RAM, 128 GB, Standard SSD
   CLASSIC_NVV4_8_28GB_128_S_SSD	Small GPU (Visualization)	8vCPUs, 28 GB RAM, 128 GB, Standard SSD
   CLASSIC_NVV3_12_112GB_128_S_SSD	Medium GPU (Visualization)	12vCPUs, 112 GB RAM, 128 GB, Standard SSD

10. In Effect, select Deny. Selecting deny will prevent a lab from being created if an educator tries to use a GPU SKU.

11. Select Next.

12. On the Remediation tab, select Next.

13. On the Non-compliance tab, in Non-compliance messages, enter a non-compliance message of your choice like “Selected SKU is not allowed”, and then select Next.

14. On the Review + Create tab, select Create to create the policy assignment.

You've created a policy assignment for Lab Services should restrict allowed virtual machine SKU sizes and allowed only the use of non-GPU SKUs for labs. Attempting to create a lab with any other SKU will fail.

Note

New policy assignments can take up to 30 minutes to take effect.

Exclude resources

When applying a built-in policy, you can choose to exclude certain resources, with the exception of lab plans. For example, if the scope of your policy assignment is a subscription, you can exclude resources in a specified resource group. Exclusions are configured using the Exclusions property on the Basics tab when creating a policy definition.

Exclude a lab plan

Lab plans cannot be excluded using the Exclusions property on the Basics tab. To exclude a lab plan from a policy assignment, you first need to get the lab plan resource ID, and then use it to specify the lab pan you want to exclude on the Parameters tab.

Locate and copy lab plan resource ID

Use the following steps to locate and copy the resource ID so that you can paste it into the exclusion configuration.

1. In the Azure portal, go to the lab plan you want to exclude.

2. Under Settings, select Properties, and then copy the Resource ID.

Enter the lab plan to exclude in the policy

Now you have a lab plan resource ID, you can use it to exclude the lab plan as you assign the policy.

1. On the Parameters tab, clear Only show parameters that need input or review.
2. For Lab Plan ID to exclude, enter the lab plan resource ID you copied earlier.

Next steps

See the following articles:

• What’s new with Azure Policy for Lab Services?
• Built-in Policies
• What is Azure policy?