Microsoft Azure Architect Design (AZ-301) Practice Exam

When migrating a workload to Azure Batch, which virtual machine type is recommended to minimize costs for large-scale parallel jobs?

1. Basic A-series virtual machines

2. Low-priority virtual machines

3. Standard D-series virtual machines

4. High-priority virtual machines

The correct answer is: Low-priority virtual machines

Choosing low-priority virtual machines when migrating a workload to Azure Batch is a strategic decision aimed at minimizing costs, especially for large-scale parallel jobs. Low-priority VMs are designed for tasks that can tolerate interruptions and are significantly cheaper than their standard counterparts. They utilize Azure's excess capacity, which means you can take advantage of very low prices when performance is not critical. For large-scale parallel jobs, where many instances can be run concurrently, using low-priority VMs allows users to execute extensive computations at a fraction of the cost. Although these instances may be evicted when Azure needs the capacity back, Batch can handle job retries and manage workloads automatically, thus effectively accommodating the transient nature of these VMs. Utilizing low-priority virtual machines is particularly advantageous in cost-sensitive scenarios or applications that have flexible completion time, making it a suitable recommendation for such migrations. This enables organizations to leverage Azure's capabilities while keeping expenditures low, particularly in environments where the workload can afford to be interrupted or delayed.