At Microsoft Ignite 2024, Azure Local was unveiled as an evolution of Azure Stack HCI, offering significant new capabilities tailored for distributed and hybrid environments. Key innovations include:
1. Disconnected Operations
Azure Local now supports full functionality in disconnected environments, ideal for secure or remote locations. This feature ensures that critical systems remain operational even without internet connectivity, making it suitable for industries with stringent security or logistical challenges.
2. Enhanced Security Features
- Trusted Launch: Extends protections like Secure Boot and virtual TPM to Azure Local. It safeguards VMs against malware-based attacks such as rootkits and bootkits, ensuring high-integrity operations even during live migrations.
- Network Security Groups: Introduced to manage traffic at the virtual switch level, enabling fine-grained control of inbound and outbound traffic rules for VMs. This feature enhances security through precise network segmentation.
3. Azure Migrate based VMware migration for Azure Local
You can use the Azure Migrate platform to move on-premises VMware VMs to your Azure Local instance.
4. Simplified Management with Azure Arc
Azure Local integrates seamlessly with Azure Arc, enabling centralized management of hybrid environments. This includes policy enforcement, updates, and security monitoring across distributed locations through a single control plane.
5. AI and Cloud Services Integration
Azure Local allows organizations to deploy and manage Azure AI and other cloud services directly in distributed environments. This bridges the gap between local infrastructure needs and cloud-powered innovations.
6. Scalability for Large Deployments
The solution supports vast deployments, as demonstrated by real-world examples such as managing over 1,000 production instances for a global retailer. This scalability ensures Azure Local can adapt to organizations of varying sizes and operational complexities.
7. Transition Path for Existing Users
For current Azure Stack HCI users, the transition to Azure Local is seamless, with access to the same features and pricing alongside new enhancements
Azure Local extends cloud capabilities to remote or resource-constrained areas, even supporting disconnected operations. This makes it a vital tool for industries operating in secure or remote environments, such as defense, retail, or manufacturing. With Azure Local, organizations can leverage features like pre-configured secure environments, automated updates, and compatibility with Microsoft Defender for Cloud for comprehensive security.
Key Features and Enhancements
- Centralized Management: Azure Arc provides a unified control plane for managing resources across different infrastructures. This centralization simplifies monitoring, updates, and policy enforcement for servers and applications, whether they are cloud-native, on-premises, or at the edge.
- Scalability in Action: The session spotlighted real-world scalability, including an impressive deployment managing over 1,000 production instances for a major retailer. Such scalability demonstrates Azure Arc’s ability to adapt to complex operational demands.
- Innovative Security Features: Azure Local introduces advanced tools like Trusted Launch to harden virtual machines against rootkits and malware, and Network Security Groups to control traffic between VMs. These features ensure robust security across distributed environments.
- Integration with Azure AI Services: Azure Arc also enables seamless use of Azure AI tools, allowing organizations to deploy intelligent applications and manage AI-driven workloads efficiently.
Refer back to our older posts about Azure Stack HCI & Azure Arc :
Deploy a SQL Managed Instance enabled by Azure Arc – Part 2
Managing Azure Stack HCI – Part 2
What is Azure Stack HCI ? – Part 1
Azure Arc-enabled data services – Part 1
Configure Azure Policy with On-prem Kubernetes Cluster
I hope this was informative for you, please let me know your comments.
See you soon
Karim Hamdy
Infrastructure Architect
Mostafa Abdelaziz