Last updated on June 3, 2023
Availability Set |
Scale Set |
|
Description |
A group of discrete virtual machines spread across fault domains. |
A group of identically configured virtual machines spread across fault domains. |
Workloads |
Use Availability Set for predictable workloads. |
Use Scale Set for unpredictable workloads (autoscale). |
Domain default |
Has 3 fault domains and 5 update domains by default |
Has 5 fault domains and 5 update domains by default |
Configuration |
Virtual machines are created from different images and configurations. |
Virtual machines are created from the same image and configuration. |
Distribution |
Virtual machines are automatically distributed within a data center. |
Virtual machine scale sets can be distributed within a single datacenter or across multiple data centers. |
Number of VMs |
You can only add a virtual machine to the availability set when it is created. |
Scale sets can increase the number of virtual machines based on demand. |
Pricing |
Availability set has no additional charge. You only pay for the computing resources. |
Scale sets have no additional charge. You only pay for the computing resources. |
Sources:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machine-scale-sets/overview
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/availability
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/windows/manage-availability