Migrate your HB-series virtual machines by August 31, 2024
Microsoft Azure has introduced HBv2 and HBv3-series virtual machines (VMs) for high-performance computing (HPC). For this reason, we recommend that you migrate workloads from original HB-series VMs to our newer offerings.
Azure HBv2 and HBv3 VMs have greater memory bandwidth, improved remote direct memory access (RDMA) networking capabilities, larger and faster local solid-state drives, and better cost and performance across various HPC workloads. As a result, we're retiring our HB-series Azure VM sizes on August 31, 2024.
How does the HB-series migration affect me?
After August 31, 2024, any remaining HB-size VM subscriptions will be set to a deallocated state. They'll stop working and no longer incur billing charges.
Note
This VM size retirement only affects the VM sizes in the HB series. This retirement announcement doesn't apply to the newer HBv2, HBv3, and HC-series VMs.
What actions should I take?
You'll need to resize or deallocate your H-series VMs. We recommend that you migrate workloads from the original H-series VMs and the HB-series Promo VMs to our newer offerings.
HBv2 and HBv3 VMs offer substantially higher levels of HPC workload performance and cost efficiency because of:
- Large improvements in CPU core architecture.
- Higher memory bandwidth.
- Larger L3 caches.
- Enhanced InfiniBand networking as compared to HB series.
As a result, HBv2 and HBv3 series will in general offer substantially better performance per unit of cost (maximizing performance for a fixed amount of spend) and cost per performance (minimizing cost for a fixed amount of performance).
All regions that contain HB-series VMs contain HBv2 and HBv3-series VMs. Existing workloads that run on HB-series VMs can be migrated without concern for geographic placement or for access to more services in those regions.
HB-series VMs won't be retired until September 2024. We're providing this guide in advance to give you a long window to assess, plan, and execute your migration.
Recommendations for workload migration from HB-series VMs
| Current VM size | Target VM size | Difference in specification |
|---|---|---|
| Standard_HB60rs | Standard_HB120rs_v2 Standard_HB120rs_v3 Standard_HB120-64rs_v3 |
Newer CPU: AMD Rome and MiIan (+20-30% IPC) Memory: Up to 2x more RAM Memory bandwidth: Up to 30% more memory bandwidth InfiniBand: 200 Gb HDR (2x higher bandwidth) Max data disks: Up to 32 (+8x) |
| Standard_HB60-45rs | Standard_HB120-96rs_v3 Standard_HB120-64rs_v3 Standard_HB120-32rs_v3 |
Newer CPU: AMD Rome and MiIan (+20-30% IPC) Memory: Up to 2x more RAM Memory bandwidth: Up to 30% more memory bandwidth InfiniBand: 200 Gb HDR (2x higher bandwidth) Max data disks: Up to 32 (+8x) |
| Standard_HB60-30rs | Standard_HB120-32rs_v3 Standard_HB120-16rs_v3 |
Newer CPU: AMD Rome and MiIan (+20-30% IPC) Memory: Up to 2x more RAM Memory bandwidth: Up to 30% more memory bandwidth InfiniBand: 200 Gb HDR (2x higher bandwidth) Max data disks: Up to 32 (+8x) |
| Standard_HB60-15rs | Standard_HB120-16rs_v3 | Newer CPU: AMD Rome and MiIan (+20-30% IPC) Memory: Up to 2x more RAM Memory bandwidth: Up to 30% more memory bandwidth InfiniBand: 200 Gb HDR (2x higher bandwidth) Max data disks: Up to 32 (+8x) |
Migration steps
- Choose a series and size for migration.
- Get a quota for the target VM series.
- Resize the current HB-series VM size to the target size.
Get a quota for the target VM family
Follow the guide to request an increase in vCPU quota by VM family.
Resize the current VM
You can resize the virtual machine.