How to calculate the license for Azure Local?

Nguyễn Trung Kiên 0 Reputation points
2026-07-29T04:40:47.46+00:00

According to this link:

https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/azure-local/

Azure charges based on the number of cores, but I'm wondering if I have a 32-core server but only activate 16 cores, and the OS recognizes 16 cores, will Azure Local automatically charge for 32 or 16 cores?

Azure Local
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  1. Andreas Baumgarten 132.8K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2026-07-29T05:36:21.4666667+00:00

    Hi @Nguyễn Trung Kiên ,

    it is required to license all existing physical CPU cores in Azure Local. No matter if the cores are activated/in use or not in Azure Local.

    Source: Do I have to license all physical cores?

    (If the reply was helpful please don't forget to upvote and/or accept as answer, thank you)

    Regards

    Andreas Baumgarten

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  2. AI answer

    2026-07-29T04:41:00.5133333+00:00

    Azure Local is billed based on physical processor cores present in the system, not on how many cores are activated for workloads or how many vCPUs are assigned to VMs.

    For a 32-core server, Azure Local billing is based on 32 physical cores. Limiting the OS to recognize or use only 16 cores does not change Azure Local billing.

    Key points:

    • Azure Local charges a flat rate per physical processor core.
    • The billing model does not use VM count or vCPU count.
    • For OEM licensing, every physical core in the machine must be licensed and dynamic core licensing is not supported.
    • For disconnected operations, the number of managed physical cores is entered, and billing is based on that total, including control plane cores.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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