NVMe based VM Temporary Storage Issues

Question

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?

Answer 1

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.

Answer 2

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.