Why start with a map
When a stakeholder says "we need Azure on-prem", they could mean any of about ten products. Some only manage servers you already own. Some put a Microsoft-validated stack or a whole Azure control plane in your building. Some are a box that gets couriered to you and then sent back. Choosing goes wrong when people mix these up, and old names make it worse: someone asks for "Azure Stack HCI" when the product is now called Azure Local.
This level gives you a one-page map. Later levels go deep on each service. For now you only need to know where each one sits and what it does, in one line.
The one-page map
| Group | Service | One line | Former / related names |
|---|---|---|---|
| Management planes | Azure Arc | Projects servers, Kubernetes clusters and SQL Server running anywhere (on-prem, AWS, GCP) into Azure as resources, so Policy, Monitor, Defender and RBAC apply to them | Arc-enabled data services: PostgreSQL retired 14 Jul 2025 |
| Azure stack on your site | Azure Local | A hyperconverged cluster on validated partner hardware that runs VMs and AKS on-prem, managed through Arc and billed per physical core | Azure Stack HCI (renamed 19 Nov 2024) |
| Azure Stack Hub | An integrated system from an OEM that runs a local instance of Azure Resource Manager, the portal and a set of IaaS and PaaS services, and it can run fully disconnected | App Service on Stack Hub: no new installs from 30 Sep 2026, retires 30 Sep 2029 | |
| Metro and telecom edge | Azure Extended Zones | Small Azure footprints in a metro area or jurisdiction for low latency or data residency. Microsoft runs them and you deploy to them like a region | Earlier material calls this family Azure Edge Zones |
| Rugged and edge devices | Azure Stack Edge (Pro GPU, Pro 2, Pro R, Mini R) | A device Microsoft supplies, ordered as an Azure resource, for compute, GPU inference and storage gateway work at the edge. The R models are rugged | Pro FPGA retired 29 Feb 2024. Managed IoT Edge on the device retired 31 Mar 2024 (run IoT Edge in a Linux VM instead) |
| IoT | Azure IoT Hub | A cloud service that connects, authenticates and messages devices at scale | |
| Azure IoT Operations | Data services (an MQTT broker, connectors, data flows) running on your Arc-enabled Kubernetes cluster at the site. Generally available since 19 Nov 2024 | ||
| Data transfer and gateways | Azure Data Box | A physical appliance shipped to you for offline bulk transfer into (or out of) Azure | Data Box Heavy retired. 80 TB Data Box being replaced region by region by Data Box 120 / 525 |
| Azure File Sync | Keeps Windows file servers synced with Azure Files, with cloud tiering, so the server works as a cache | ||
| Azure Storage Mover | A managed migration service: an agent VM near the source copies SMB, NFS or S3 data straight to Blob or Azure Files |
Gotcha: "Azure Stack" is not one product. The brand used to cover HCI, Hub and Edge. Only HCI was renamed (to Azure Local). Hub and Edge kept their names, but they are different products with different owners, hardware and use cases.
The one distinction that matters most
Ask one question of every service: does it only manage what I already have, or does it put Azure-run infrastructure or a control plane on my site?
- Manage from the cloud. Azure Arc, and File Sync's management side. Nothing new arrives in your rack. You install an agent on hardware you already run, and Azure gets a resource you can govern. Your team still patches and runs the box.
- Bring Azure to the site. Azure Local (Azure-managed software on hardware you buy), Azure Stack Hub (a local copy of the Azure control plane) and Azure Stack Edge (a device Microsoft supplies). You are now hosting part of Azure.
- Microsoft's site, closer to you. Extended Zones. Nothing lands on your premises.
- A box that comes and goes. Data Box ships to you for a transfer, then goes back.
An analogy: Arc is a remote-management contract for your existing fleet of cars. Azure Local and Stack Hub are a franchise garage built in your car park. Extended Zones is a branch garage that opens down the road.
Walkthrough: find the map in your own tenant
Most hybrid services show up as normal ARM resource types, so Azure Resource Graph can show you which groups you already use.
# One-time: add the Resource Graph extension to the Azure CLI
az extension add --name resource-graph
# Count hybrid and edge resources by type across every subscription you can read
az graph query -q "
resources
| where type in~ (
'microsoft.hybridcompute/machines', // Arc-enabled servers (management plane)
'microsoft.kubernetes/connectedclusters', // Arc-enabled Kubernetes (management plane)
'microsoft.azurestackhci/clusters', // Azure Local (type keeps the old HCI name)
'microsoft.databoxedge/databoxedgedevices', // Azure Stack Edge devices
'microsoft.devices/iothubs', // IoT Hub
'microsoft.iotoperations/instances', // Azure IoT Operations
'microsoft.storagesync/storagesyncservices', // Azure File Sync
'microsoft.storagemover/storagemovers') // Azure Storage Mover
| summarize count() by type" -o table
Example output from a mid-sized estate:
Type Count_
------------------------------------------ ------
microsoft.hybridcompute/machines 412
microsoft.kubernetes/connectedclusters 6
microsoft.azurestackhci/clusters 2
microsoft.storagesync/storagesyncservices 1
This estate is heavy on the management plane (412 Arc servers), with two Azure Local clusters on site and one File Sync service.
Pitfall: resource types and CLI names often keep the old product name. Azure Local clusters are still
Microsoft.AzureStackHCI/clusters, and Stack Edge sits underMicrosoft.DataBoxEdge. Search docs and scripts by both the old and the new name.
Note: Azure Stack Hub resources live in the Hub's own local ARM endpoint, not in the public Azure tenant, so this query won't list them. That alone tells you Hub is a separate control plane.
Retirements to keep on your radar
- Arc-enabled PostgreSQL: retired 14 Jul 2025. Indirect mode for SQL Managed Instance enabled by Azure Arc: retired September 2025.
- Stack Edge Pro FPGA: retired 29 Feb 2024. Managed IoT Edge on Stack Edge: retired 31 Mar 2024.
- Data Box Heavy: retired. The 80 TB Data Box is being replaced by the 120 TB and 525 TB models.
- App Service on Stack Hub: no new installs from 30 Sep 2026, full retirement 30 Sep 2029.
Before you put a name in a design document, check it against this list.
Key takeaways
- There are six groups: management planes (Arc), Azure stack on site (Local, Stack Hub), metro edge (Extended Zones), rugged and edge devices (Stack Edge), IoT (IoT Hub, IoT Operations), and data transfer and gateways (Data Box, File Sync, Storage Mover).
- Azure Stack HCI is now Azure Local (19 Nov 2024). Stack Hub and Stack Edge kept their names.
- Arc manages what you already have. Local, Hub and Stack Edge bring Azure onto your site. Extended Zones bring Azure near your site.
- IoT Hub runs in the cloud. IoT Operations runs on your Arc-enabled Kubernetes cluster.
- Resource types often keep old names. Check retirements before you write a product into a design.