NVMe based VM Temporary Storage Issues

TJ Jones 0

If I create a VM from the catalog version of "Windows 11 Enterprise multi-session, version 24H2 - x64 Gen2" and use it with any standard size VM such as a D4as_v4, the Temporary Storage is attached correctly, and the swap file is on that drive. If I instead use the D4ads_v6 which has NVMe storage, the Temporary Storage is not initialized, and the swap file is not present.

If I initialize, format and move place the swap file on the drive, it only stays until the VM is shutdown and deallocated.

Is there a way to utilize a NVMe based VM in a standard method?

anashetty 1,145 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-12-11T08:56:43.8566667+00:00

Hi TJ Jones,

I have provided information to your question. Please tell us if it was helpful and feel free to reach out to us if you have any queries.

Thank you.
anashetty 1,145 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-12-16T00:56:37.8966667+00:00

Hi TJ Jones,

I hope you're doing well. Just checking in to see if you had a chance to see my response to your question. If you have any further queries, please do let us know.

2 answers

anashetty 1,145 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-12-10T08:09:31.77+00:00

Hi TJ Jones,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A Platform! Thank you for asking your question here.

NVMe temporary storage is ephemeral, meaning it resets every time the VM is stopped or deallocated. Even if you manually format and configure a swap file, this setup is lost when the VM is shut down or deallocated.

create a script to automatically format the NVMe storage and configure the swap file every time the VM starts. The swap file must be placed on the NVMe temporary storage after it is initialized. Use the Azure Custom Script Extension to deploy the script during VM provisioning. This extension ensures the script is executed on every VM boot.

Please let us know if you have any further queries. Thank you.
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1 person found this answer helpful.
Andrew Janke 65 Reputation points

2024-12-18T04:36:44.6333333+00:00

This is unexpected to me. Temporary storage may be ephemeral, but in previous Dd/Ed/H VM series generations with temporary storage, some sort of Azure management stuff automatically initializes the temporary storage, formats it, and maps it as the D: drive. I didn't see anything in the Dads v6 series doco or blog posts about the D/E v6 series about temporary storage working differently here. Or about NVMe-connected temporary storage in general working differently.

Is this by design on Microsoft's side? Or documented anywhere?

anashetty 1,145 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-12-20T06:58:02.15+00:00

Hi Andrew Janke,

Did you get a chance to look into my response, please reach out to me if you have further queries.

Andrew Janke 65 Reputation points

2024-12-20T08:32:42.0233333+00:00

Hi, @anashetty ,

That explains it all right. It's a bit of a bummer that users have to do this now. But that documentation is clear and direct, and just what I was looking for. Thanks!

Sorry for not replying sooner. I got an email notification about your reply when you first posted it, but your comment wasn't showing up on this web page for me until I tried viewing it again tonight.

Cheers,
Andrew

anashetty 1,145 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-12-23T01:01:14.08+00:00

Hi Andrew Janke,

Thanks for getting back with us, glad to know it helped for you. If you feel that your queries have been resolved, please accept the answer by clicking the "Upvote" and "Accept Answer" on the post.

Andrew Janke 65 Reputation points

2024-12-23T01:16:55.1633333+00:00

If you feel that your queries have been resolved, please accept the answer

I'm afraid I don't have the power to do that. This question was posted by another user, TJ Jones. I just dropped by to comment on it after finding it through googling when I was having a similar issue/query, and was interested some clarification and expansion on the original answer in regards to my particular use case.

I did give you a thumbs-up "Yes" vote for the "Was this answer helpful?" feedback that non-OPs can do. Hope that's good enough here. :) And I appreciate your attention to my question.

anashetty 1,145 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-12-23T05:53:53.4366667+00:00

Hi Andrew Janke,

Thank you for your comment.
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anashetty 1,145 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-12-19T02:02:09.2933333+00:00

Hi Andrew Janke,

The Dd/Ed/H series automatically initialized and formatted temporary storage, typically mapping it as the D: drive. The initialization and formatting of these disks are now the user's responsibility. Please refer to this document for detailed information How are temp NVMe disks in my Dl/D/E_v6 VMs different from remote NVMe disks.
If you have any further queries, please do let me know.

Thank you.
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NVMe based VM Temporary Storage Issues

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