---
schema_version: "1"
id: 0423af8ec21f232ecd9486840a4b032554ec66da96b37276034f936724818aa9
title: Selecting a Microsoft Azure Virtual Machine Type and Size
collection: tableau
version: next
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/tableau/next/en-us/server/ts_azure_virtual_machine_selection.md
canonical_url: https://help.tableau.com/v0.0/server/en-us/ts_azure_virtual_machine_selection.htm
source_site: help.tableau.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: b5a701cc6d8ac77bf37317e1484f96fbee5c21d97171239defcac15cf2532e9a
description: Deployments on public clouds continue to be supported but the content for third-party public cloud deployments is no longer updated
---
[Skip to main content](#main-content)

# 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Deployments on public clouds continue to be supported but the content for third-party public cloud deployments is no longer updated.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-us/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-us/emg_intro.htm)
- [Tableau Cloud Trial for Admin](https://help.tableau.com/current/server-linux/en-us/install.htm)
- [Tableau Cloud: Get Started for Admin](https://www.tableau.com/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/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-us/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-us/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-us/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-us/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-us/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-us/Img/greencheckmark.png" alt="">
                                                </td>
                                            </tr>
                                        </tbody>
                                    </table>
                                </div>
                            </td>
                        </tr>
                        <tr>
                            <td>
                                <p>Memory</p>
                            </td>
                            <td colspan="10">
                                <p>128+ GB RAM (4GB 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 (512GB)++ </p>
                                <p>For more information, see <a href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/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>