Azure VMware Solution Roadmap

by
Jim Gaynor

by
Jim Gaynor

Jim leads the Directions on Microsoft editorial team and has been writing about technology since the early 1990s. Most recently... more

Azure VMware Solution (AVS) offers virtualization, storage, and networking for managed VMs using VMware software deployed on single-tenant infrastructure housed within Azure datacenters. This control provides physical isolation from other customers and is like the type of control available in on-premises datacenters.

Product: Azure VMware Solution

Near Term (2025–2026)

In addition to capabilities delivered with updated versions of VMware hosting software, AVS receives regular enhancements from Microsoft to attract VMware customers from on-premises and VMware Cloud on AWS to Azure. These focus primarily on AVS management and closer integration with Azure resources. Capabilities in public preview include the following:

Self-service capabilities for planned maintenance allow customers to set preferred times for scheduled updates, such as ESXi host patching and vCenter Server upgrades, rather than Microsoft-scheduled maintenance windows.

VMware Solution Generation 2 provides higher network performance and is deployed in Azure virtual networks. This simplifies network configuration and removes the need for Azure ExpressRoute to connect AVS clusters to Azure resources. AVS Generation 2 supports only the AV64 host type (the largest and most costly AVS host).