VM Scale set scale command is now available in the 0.10.1 Azure CLI release

Since we released the Azure VM Scale Set (VMSS) CLI set of commands at the end of Mar’ 2016, we received a lot of feedback for the need of a simple command for scaling in and scaling out a VMSS. We are thrilled to announce that with the 0.10.1 CLI release, we have the scaling command available.

Install the latest Azure CLI here and simply type the below to get started

$ azure vmss scale -h

The support for scaling allows horizontal scaling (out or in), i.e., is increasing or decreasing virtual machine’s (VM) in a VMSS. The new-capacity represents a target value for the number of VMs, and the scale set will create or delete VMs to match the new number.

Please note that when you scale in, VM’s with the highest ID’s are deleted first. If you have workloads running on specific VM’s which need to be left alone, consider manually deleting the VM’s by id ($ azure vmssvm delete …) rather than using the scaling command.

We hope that you will find this simple scaling command useful. Feedback is always welcome.