Azure Local is a powerful hybrid cloud solution that seamlessly integrates on-premises infrastructure with Azure services, delivering a high-performance, scalable, and secure distributed hybrid infrastructure (DHI).
Because Azure Local combines on-premises clusters with full Azure cloud services, administrators need a mix of cloud-native and local tools. Microsoft provides a mix of modern and traditional tools to cover everything from high-level monitoring to low-level cluster management.
| TOOL | BEST FOR | KEY CAPABILITIES | WHEN TO USE IT |
| Azure Portal | Cloud-connected, Arc-enabled management. Observability and management from a single pane of glass | Provides single pane-of-glass management for VMs, billing, Azure services (Arc, Policy, Monitor, Update Security), RBAC, Azure Update, AVD for Azure Local, and AKS on Azure Local. | Use for daily infrastructure monitoring and management, hybrid and Arc VM workload, virtual desktop, and Kubernetes management, and infrastructure updates. |
| Windows Admin Center | On-premises cluster & OS management | Enables shared volume management and failover clustering troubleshooting. | Use for local server/cluster tasks and non-Arc VMs. |
| PowerShell | Automation & scripting | Supports updates, diagnostics, and bulk operations. | Use for repetitive tasks, automation, and advanced troubleshooting. |
| Microsoft Management Console (MMC) | Legacy custom / multi-tool admin | Host for dozens of snap-ins (Event Viewer, Device Manager, Services, Disk Management, Hyper-V Manager, Failover Cluster Manager), remote management, and custom console creation. | Use for general Windows administration, when you need a lightweight console with multiple snap-ins. |
| Hyper-V Manager | Local Hyper-V host & VM management (MMC snap-in) | Use for checkpoints, snapshots, Live Migration, and VM Console access. | Use for day-to-day management of individual Hyper-V hosts and VMs. |
| Failover Cluster Manager | High-availability clustering (MMC snap-in) | Use for managing configuration, roles, and failover monitoring. | Managing failover clusters, monitoring cluster health and failovers. |
1 / The Azure portal is quickly becoming the preferred management solution for Azure Local hybrid environments. It acts as a single pane of glass that lets you monitor and manage both Azure and Azure Local deployments, including virtual machines (VMs), databases, and Azure Arc-enabled resources.
It seamlessly integrates with Azure services such as Azure Arc, Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) on Azure Local, AKS on Azure Local, and Azure Site Recovery (Preview). You can also track billing, customize dashboards, and manage Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) directly in the portal. Within the Azure portal, you can also use Azure Update Manager with validated solution builder extension (SBE) update packages from Microsoft and DataON for one-click infrastructure-wide DataON hardware and Azure Local software updates.
Through Azure Arc, administrators can apply familiar Azure tools — Azure Policy, Azure Monitor, Microsoft Defender for Cloud, and more — to Azure Local, multi-cloud, and Kubernetes environments.
2 / Windows Admin Center is a browser-based remote management tool that lets you manage Windows Servers, clients, and clusters.
You can use it directly on the cluster or launch it as an extension inside the Azure portal (no inbound firewall ports required). It is especially useful for creating and managing non-Arc VMs, storage volumes.
3 / PowerShell is ideal for automation, scripting, and advanced administration. Microsoft provides dedicated Azure Local PowerShell modules for provisioning VMs, managing updates, running diagnostics, and performing bulk operations that are difficult or impossible in the GUI.
4/ Microsoft Management Console (MMC) provides system administrators with a unified interface for managing and configuring various system components. It hosts and displays administrative tools called “snap-ins,” which are used to manage software and network components, such as Event Viewer, Device Manager, Hyper-V Manager, Failover Cluster Manager, and Disk Management. Introduced in 1998, MMC has been a staple for system administrators for decades.
5/ Hyper-V Manager is a GUI tool and MMC snap-in that enables administrators to create, configure, and manage virtual machines (VMs) on a Hyper-V host, including allocating resources and managing storage. Microsoft encourages using the Azure portal with Azure Arc VM management where possible to gain full hybrid capabilities and centralized governance.
6/ Failover Cluster Manager is a robust tool and MMC snap-in for managing failover clusters, ensuring high availability and scalability for critical applications and services, such as SQL Server and Hyper-V. It allows administrators to configure, monitor, and maintain cluster resources, nodes, storage, and networks, facilitating seamless failover and minimizing downtime during hardware or software failures.
Chat with us if you’d like to learn more about Azure Local and tools for managing Azure Local.