New SSD-based instances for Azure VMs and Cloud Services

Microsoft announced today the general availability of a new series of Standard tier instances called the D-series for Virtual Machines and Cloud Services.

These instances have solid-state disk (SSD)-based local drives and faster processors relative to many of the A-series instances. The D-series instances can be used as VMs, as well as web or worker roles in Cloud Services, and are well suited for applications that demand faster CPU performance, local disk performance, or higher memories. Please note that the SSD drives in the D-series are non-persistent.