Check vCPU quotas

Applies to: ✔️ Linux VMs ✔️ Flexible scale sets ✔️ Uniform scale sets

The vCPU quotas for virtual machines and scale sets are arranged in two tiers for each subscription, in each region. The first tier is the Total Regional vCPUs, and the second tier is the various VM size family cores such as the D-series vCPUs. Anytime a new VM is deployed the vCPUs for the VM must not exceed the vCPU quota for the VM size family or the total regional vCPU quota. If you exceed either of those quotas, the VM deployment won't be allowed. There is also a quota for the overall number of virtual machines in the region. The details on each of these quotas can be seen in the Usage + quotas section of the Subscription page in the Azure portal, or you can query for the values using the Azure CLI.

Note

Quota is calculated based on the total number of cores in use both allocated and deallocated. If you need additional cores, request a quota increase or delete VMs that are no longer needed.

Check usage

You can check your quota usage using az vm list-usage.

az vm list-usage --location "East US" -o table

The output should look something like this:

Name                                CurrentValue    Limit
--------------------------------  --------------  -------
Availability Sets                              0     2000
Total Regional vCPUs                          29      100
Virtual Machines                               7    10000
Virtual Machine Scale Sets                     0     2000
Standard DSv3 Family vCPUs                     8      100
Standard DSv2 Family vCPUs                     3      100
Standard Dv3 Family vCPUs                      2      100
Standard D Family vCPUs                        8      100
Standard Dv2 Family vCPUs                      8      100
Basic A Family vCPUs                           0      100
Standard A0-A7 Family vCPUs                    0      100
Standard A8-A11 Family vCPUs                   0      100
Standard DS Family vCPUs                       0      100
Standard G Family vCPUs                        0      100
Standard GS Family vCPUs                       0      100
Standard F Family vCPUs                        0      100
Standard FS Family vCPUs                       0      100
Standard Storage Managed Disks                 5    10000
Premium Storage Managed Disks                  5    10000
...

Reserved VM Instances

Reserved VM Instances, scoped to a single subscription without VM size flexibility, will add a new aspect to the vCPU quotas. These values describe the number of instances of the stated size that must be deployable in the subscription. They work as a placeholder in the quota system to ensure that quota is reserved to ensure Azure reservations are deployable in the subscription. For example, if a specific subscription has 10 Standard_D1 reservations the usages limit for Standard_D1 reservations will be 10. Azure will ensure that there are always at least 10 vCPUs available in the Total Regional vCPUs quota to be used for Standard_D1 instances and there are at least 10 vCPUs available in the Standard D Family vCPU quota to be used for Standard_D1 instances.

If a quota increase is required to either purchase a Single Subscription RI, you can request a quota increase on your subscription.

Next steps

For more information about billing and quotas, see Azure subscription and service limits, quotas, and constraints.