Enhancing Microsoft Azure Virtual Machine lifecycle
Azure is constantly evolving by introducing new infrastructure generations, enhanced platform capabilities, and innovative services that set the standard for performance, security, reliability, and efficiency. Our Virtual Machine (VM) Lifecycle policy outlines how we manage these transitions, ensuring you have the transparency, predictability, and guidance needed to plan and implement technology changes confidently. Our aim is to support every organization in navigating these modernization steps in line with Azure’s latest advancements and ongoing investments.
To provide you with the most advanced cloud and AI infrastructure built upon sophisticated silicon and hardware, the Azure Virtual Machine lifecycle focuses on three key outcomes for customers:
- Transparency that makes it easy to understand the lifecycle status of Azure technologies, the level of Microsoft’s ongoing investment, and the recommended next steps as new innovations emerge.
- Predictability that allows you to plan based on defined lifecycle stages, knowing what to expect at each phase, along with advance notices as technologies progress.
- Guidance to assist you in modernizing and adopting newer technologies swiftly and confidently, coupled with AI-powered tools to speed up workload transitions and provide tailored recommendations.
This lifecycle introduces a common understanding, clear stages, and consistent commitments for communicating technological evolution.
Azure’s General Purpose, Memory Optimized, Compute Optimized, and Storage Optimized VMs are the first families covered by this policy.
The lifecycle stages are defined as follows: Current, Extended, End of Life, and Retired. Each stage includes specific Microsoft investment levels, regional and quota availability, available purchasing options, and pricing. This policy outlines clear lifecycle stages and expected customer experiences, enabling you to confidently plan, deploy, and modernize your workloads over time.
| Azure Virtual Machine Lifecycle Policy | |
| Stage | Description |
| Current | Customer recommendation: Feel confident deploying new workloads, expanding your current setups, and optimising your Azure investments with VMs in the Current stage. These VMs are highly recommended for new deployments. Microsoft investment: Standard maintenance and support are provided during this stage. Availability: VMs in the Current stage are broadly available across Azure regions worldwide. Purchasing options and pricing: Available through pay-as-you-go pricing and Azure Savings Plans, with Azure Reserved VM Instances potentially offered. |
| Extended | Customer recommendation: VMs in the Extended stage continue to support existing workloads. However, it’s a good time to start planning a transition to VMs in the Current stage. Microsoft investment: Products here also receive standard maintenance and support. Availability: These VMs remain generally available in several regions, but can be subject to quota restrictions. Purchasing options and pricing: Pay-as-you-go pricing and Azure Savings Plans apply, with potential changes to pricing and availability. |
| End of Life | Customer recommendation: VMs enter the End of Life stage once retirement is announced. As these VMs are based on older platforms, they don’t benefit from the latest advancements. Customers should actively plan transitioning workloads to VMs in Current or Extended stages. Microsoft investment: Standard maintenance and support continue, alongside notifications and tools to guide migrations to newer versions. Availability: These VMs stay accessible within current quotas but are subject to capacity limitations and cannot be newly deployed. Purchasing options and pricing: Pay-as-you-go and Azure Savings Plans are still available, but Reserved Instances may no longer be offered. |
| Retired | Customer recommendation: VMs in the Retired stage are no longer available for provisioning. Customers should ensure workloads have transitioned to VMs in the Current or Extended stages. Microsoft investment: No service level agreements (SLA) or support will be provided for retired VMs. Availability: New VM creation is fully discontinued, and existing VMs will be deallocated. Purchasing options and pricing: Retired VMs can no longer be purchased. |
Note: The lifecycle details mentioned here provide general guidance and may vary due to product, regional, or operational specifics.
At Microsoft, we’re dedicated to helping you modernise your workload portfolio with speed, confidence, and ease. Azure Advisor and Azure Service Health offer insights into your subscriptions and resources, helping you track upcoming VM retirements, identify impacted resources, and monitor your modernization journey with tailored recommendations. Moreover, Microsoft is investing in intelligent, AI-enhanced tools that apply lifecycle guidance across your workload portfolio, making the modernization process smoother.
As Azure evolves, we are committed to helping you navigate infrastructure transitions and embrace the next wave of innovation. Our focus is on making changes clear, predictable, and well-supported through straightforward lifecycle guidance and early visibility, enabling you to modernise effectively. This policy is a key step in making your modernization journey easier and more beneficial for every Azure customer.
For further details on the Azure Virtual Machines lifecycle, check out the VM lifecycle overview page.
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