*Update: from Azure Stack HCI version 23H2, Azure benefits are referred to as ‘Azure verification for VMs’: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure-stack/hci/deploy/azure-verification?tabs=azureportal The intention of this post is to clarify the difference between ‘Azure Benefits’ and ‘Azure Hybrid Benefit’ for Azure Stack HCI. For those who know it’s obvious but, since the terminology is very similar, this might help […]
Author: hciharrison
Arc Enabled VMs and the Resource Bridge
In this blog we are going to look at Arc Enabled VMs where you can deploy and manage VMs on your on-premises Azure Stack HCI Clusters, directly from Azure. You can do what now? Yes, that’s right, you can use the Azure Portal to deploy and control VMs on your local infrastructure clusters. This functionality […]
New Cluster Parameters for Live Migration
In September’s Cumulative Update (KB5017316), which was released on 13th September 2022, Microsoft included some new Cluster Parameters related to Live Migration. This is an important change you should be aware of as, by default, it’ll set the number of concurrent live migrations to 1 and set a bandwidth limit for live migration to 25% […]
Azure Stack HCI Registration – Less Permissions
Azure Stack HCI is a hybrid service that is connected to Azure for cloud-based monitoring, support, billing, and optional management and security features. That connection is established by ‘registering’ your Cluster(s) to Azure, which is usually a straight forward process, and requires certain permissions granted to the user account used at registration. For the initial […]
Azure Stack HCI – OutOfPolicy
In this blog we’ll discuss what happens when a Cluster or a single Node in your Azure Stack HCI Cluster reports a connection status of ‘OutofPolicy‘. As you probably know by now, Azure Stack HCI is a an Azure hybrid service that is connected to Azure for cloud-based monitoring, support, billing, and optional management and […]
Updating WAC Extensions
Scenario You have installed a new instance of Windows Admin Center (in Gateway mode) and there are a lot of installed Extensions that need updating. What can you do? Either select each Extension in the WAC GUI in turn and click ‘Update’, or use the following PowerShell:
Automatic Virtual Machine Activation
What is it? Automatic Virtual Machine Activation (AVMA) is an optional feature in Azure Stack HCI that you can use to activate Windows Server VMs running on Azure Stack HCI hosts. Why is this useful? Individual VMs don’t have to be connected to the internet. Only licensed host servers with internet connectivity are required. License management is […]
Microsoft’s Azure Stack HCI Sizing Tool
What is it? A new web-based, customer driven sizing tool to supplement the existing documentation for Azure Stack HCI. It’s aim is to help customers plan and size their solutions correctly and remove some of the guess work. It is linked to the hardware catalog and will list the appropriate hardware from your proffered Vendor, based […]
Azure Benefits on Azure Stack HCI
What are they? Since Azure Stack HCI is considered an Azure service, Microsoft is enabling you to run a range of workloads and capabilities that you would usually only able to run in Azure, directly on your own Azure Stack HCI on-premises and edge environments. Check out the official article: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-gb/azure-stack/hci/manage/azure-benefits Why is this useful […]
Windows Server Guest Subscription Licensing for Azure Stack HCI
What is it? Microsoft recently announced the preview of Subscription based licensing on Azure Stack HCI. This will allow you to purchase unlimited Windows Server guest licenses for your Azure Stack HCI cluster through your Azure subscription. Please click the following link to see their official page: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-gb/updates/public-preview-windows-server-guest-licensing-offer-for-azure-stack-hci/ Why is this a big deal? Moving […]