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title: Selecting a Microsoft Azure Virtual Machine Type and Size
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locale: en-gb
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description: Deployments on public clouds continue to be supported but the content for third-party public cloud deployments is no longer updated
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# Selecting a Microsoft Azure Virtual Machine Type and Size

## This is archived content

Deployments on public clouds continue to be supported but the content for third-party public cloud deployments is no longer updated.

For the latest Tableau Server deployment content, see the [Deploy](https://help.tableau.com/current/server/en-gb/install.htm) section of Tableau Server help.

For those customers who have access, we recommend Tableau Cloud. For more details, see:

- [Tableau Cloud Manual Migration Guide](https://help.tableau.com/current/guides/migration/en-gb/emg_intro.htm)
- [Tableau Cloud Trial for Admin](https://help.tableau.com/current/server-linux/en-gb/install.htm)
- [Tableau Cloud: Get Started for Admin](https://www.tableau.com/en-gb/learn/get-started/online-admin)

## Introduction

Microsoft Azure offers many types of VM images in various sizes. Choosing the right VM image for your workload is an important factor for a successful Tableau Server deployment. You can choose from a wide range of Microsoft Azure VM images. For a complete list of all available VM image types and sizes, see [Virtual Machine series](https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/virtual-machines/series/) at the Microsoft Azure website.

It is important to select an image that can run Tableau Server. The VM image must meet the Tableau Server [hardware guidelines](http://www.tableau.com/en-gb/products/techspecs#server) (a minimum of 8 cores and 128 GB of RAM). We recommend that you choose an instance that supports Azure [premium storage](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-gb/azure/storage/common/storage-premium-storage).

At minimum, a 64-bit Tableau Server requires a 4-core CPU (the equivalent of 8 Azure vCPUs) and 64 GB RAM. However, a total of 8 CPU cores (16 Azure vCPUs) and 128 GB RAM are strongly recommended for a single production Microsoft Azure VM.

## Typical VM types and sizes for development, test and production environments

- D Series – D13, D14, D16
- DS Series – DS13, DS14

**Note:** We recommend that you use the DS series VMs with Premium Storage, which is best for database and other high performance applications. Typically, the D16s\_v3 or DS13\_V2 instances are a good choice. For testing and proof-of-concept purposes, you may find a virtual machine with only four cores acceptable (such as the DS13\_V2).

Use two or three disks in RAID 0 configuration in order to get enough input/output operations per second (IOPS) on a single volume to provide high disk throughput. Two disks striped as a single volume provides good enough performance for an additional node not hosting repo. If you are running Tableau Server on a single computer, use three drives striped as a single volume (RAID 0) to provide enhanced disk performance, since more disk operations will happen on that computer.

## Recommended specifications for a single production instance

<table style="max-width: 100%;" class="simple-table"><colgroup><col><col><col class="TableStyle-Basic-Border-Column-Column1" style="width: 20%;"><col class="TableStyle-Basic-Border-Column-Column1" style="width: 65%;"><col class="TableStyle-Basic-Border-Column-Column1" style="width: 15%;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><th>Component/Resource</th><th colspan="10">Microsoft Azure</th></tr><tr><td><p>CPU</p></td><td colspan="10"><p>16 vCPU cores</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Operating System</p></td><td colspan="10"> <div><table style="width: 100%;mc-table-style: url('Resources/TableStyles/Basic-Border-Light.css');" class="TableStyle-Basic-Border" cellspacing="0"><thead><tr class="TableStyle-Basic-Border-Head-Header1"><th class="TableStyle-Basic-Border-HeadE-Column1-Header1">&nbsp;</th><th class="TableStyle-Basic-Border-HeadE-Column1-Header1" style="text-align: center;">2021.3.0 - 2023.3.0</th><th class="TableStyle-Basic-Border-HeadD-Column1-Header1" style="text-align: center;">2023.3.1 - 2026.2.x</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr class="TableStyle-Basic-Border-Body-Body1"><td class="TableStyle-Basic-Border-BodyE-Column1-Body1">Windows Server 2016</td><td class="TableStyle-Basic-Border-BodyE-Column1-Body1" style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://help.tableau.com/v0.0/server/en-gb/Img/greencheckmark.png" alt=""></td><td class="TableStyle-Basic-Border-BodyD-Column1-Body1" style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://help.tableau.com/v0.0/server/en-gb/Img/greencheckmark.png" alt=""></td></tr><tr class="TableStyle-Basic-Border-Body-Body1"><td class="TableStyle-Basic-Border-BodyE-Column1-Body1">Windows Server 2019 (x64)</td><td class="TableStyle-Basic-Border-BodyE-Column1-Body1" style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://help.tableau.com/v0.0/server/en-gb/Img/greencheckmark.png" alt=""></td><td class="TableStyle-Basic-Border-BodyD-Column1-Body1" style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://help.tableau.com/v0.0/server/en-gb/Img/greencheckmark.png" alt=""></td></tr><tr class="TableStyle-Basic-Border-Body-Body1"><td class="TableStyle-Basic-Border-BodyB-Column1-Body1">Windows Server 2022</td><td class="TableStyle-Basic-Border-BodyB-Column1-Body1" style="text-align: center;"><strong>Note:</strong>&nbsp;Windows Server 2022 is <em>not </em>supported in versions prior to 2023.3.1. Beginning in April 2023, installers for all versions of Tableau Server on Windows prior to 2023.3.1 block installation on Windows 2022.</td><td class="TableStyle-Basic-Border-BodyA-Column1-Body1" style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://help.tableau.com/v0.0/server/en-gb/Img/greencheckmark.png" alt=""></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr><tr><td><p>Memory</p></td><td colspan="10"><p>128+ GB RAM (4 GB RAM per vCPU)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Storage</p></td><td colspan="10"><p>Two volumes:</p><p>30-50 GiB volume for the operating system</p><p>100 GiB or larger volume for Tableau Server</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Storage type</p></td><td colspan="10"><p>Premium Storage P20 (512 GB)++</p><p>For more information, see <a href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-gb/azure/storage/common/storage-premium-storage" target="_blank">High-performance Premium Storage and managed disks for VMs</a> at the Microsoft Azure website.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Disk latency</p></td><td colspan="10"><p>Less than or equal to 20ms as measured by the <b>Avg. Transfer disk/sec</b> Performance Counter in Windows.</p></td></tr></tbody></table>