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For a quick, no-cost first pass at Azure Local hardware, start with Microsoft’s Azure Local Sizing Tool. For workload-led designs that also need network, GPU, Kubernetes, virtual desktop, or multi-site planning, consider Acuutech ScopeSys, a commercial tool. Neither output is a final architecture: validate workload data, hardware support, resiliency, networking, licensing, and operations before buying.
What HCI sizing needs to account for
Sizing a hyper-converged infrastructure cluster is more than adding up server CPU, memory, and raw disk capacity. The design must support the workloads under normal conditions and retain enough capacity and performance during maintenance or failures.
Start with the number and type of virtual machines, measured CPU demand, memory working sets, storage capacity, IOPS, latency and throughput, and network utilization. Include expected growth and planned workloads. Then account for disk layout, cache and capacity tiers, resiliency overhead, node count, failure domains, maintenance headroom, and backup or disaster-recovery requirements. GPU, Kubernetes, and virtual desktop workloads may add distinct capacity and configuration constraints.
A cluster can have enough raw terabytes yet still be short on usable storage after resiliency overhead, memory, CPU headroom, disk performance, or network bandwidth. A sizing tool can help expose some of those constraints, but only if its inputs represent real demand.
#1 Best Overall
1. Microsoft Azure Local Sizing Tool
The Microsoft Azure Local Sizing Tool is intended for initial hardware discovery and sizing. The July 2025 comparison describes it as free and says it uses vendors listed in Microsoft’s catalog. That makes it useful early in a project: you can explore candidate systems and check whether a basic configuration appears to match the stated requirements.
The reviewed workflow asks you to select a system type, service, and CPU-vendor preference before showing matching vendors and systems. Use the result as a starting point for discussion with an OEM or Microsoft partner—not as a complete bill of materials or proof that a design will perform as expected.
Where it helps
- Early feasibility checks and first-pass hardware discovery.
- Comparing candidate systems that appear in Microsoft’s catalog.
- Checking basic requirements before involving a reseller or partner.
Where to be cautious
The July 2025 comparison reported that the tool did not show network requirements and did not provide Kubernetes or GPU-partitioning detail. These are reported limitations at that time, not a guarantee that Microsoft’s tool has the same capabilities today. Check its current interface and documentation for the latest scope.
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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteA “No matching hardware to display” result does not, by itself, prove that Azure Local cannot meet the workload. It may mean the selected filters or combination of requirements do not match a listed configuration. Recheck vendor and CPU filters, node and resiliency assumptions, and disk, memory, and GPU constraints. Then confirm catalog eligibility and supported configurations with Microsoft or an authorized partner.
2. Acuutech ScopeSys
ScopeSys is a commercial solution-scoping tool positioned for more detailed Azure Local and Windows Server designs. Acuutech says it can model workloads and produce hardware and network configurations, including node counts, connections, and multi-site designs. Its advertised workload areas include Kubernetes, virtual desktops, and GPU acceleration.
The July 2025 comparison describes ScopeSys as paid, with monthly per-seat licensing; no current public price was provided in the reviewed sources. Ask Acuutech for current terms. The same comparison identifies detailed named-vendor coverage for Dell, Lenovo, HPE, and Cisco, with generic sizing for other vendors. It is therefore not synonymous with a universal, vendor-neutral catalog.
ScopeSys may be worth evaluating when a partner or organization needs repeated what-if analysis, workload-driven sizing, network scoping, multi-site planning, or output closer to a quote or orderable package. More detail does not guarantee a correct design: inaccurate utilization, incomplete requirements, or unsupported assumptions still produce unreliable recommendations.
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| Consideration | Microsoft Azure Local Sizing Tool | Acuutech ScopeSys |
|---|---|---|
| Cost signal | Described as free in the July 2025 comparison; verify current terms. | Commercial; the comparison describes monthly per-seat licensing. Request current pricing. |
| Primary use | Initial sizing and catalog-based hardware discovery. | Workload-led solution scoping and more detailed design workflows. |
| Vendor coverage | Systems listed in Microsoft’s catalog. | Detailed named coverage reported for Dell, Lenovo, HPE, and Cisco, with generic sizing for others. |
| Network and multi-site | The July 2025 comparison reported no network requirements in its output and limited multi-site design. | Acuutech advertises network equipment and connections, plus site-to-site, stretched, and hub-and-spoke scenarios. |
| Specialized workloads | The July 2025 comparison reported limited Kubernetes and GPU-partitioning detail. | Acuutech advertises Kubernetes, virtual desktop, and GPU-related modeling. |
| Best fit | Exploration, basic checks, and candidate-system discovery. | Complex presales, detailed scenarios, and quote- or order-oriented workflows. |
This is a feature comparison, not an independent benchmark or hands-on test of both products. Interfaces, catalogs, and capabilities can change; confirm current details with each provider.
Rank #3
A practical sizing workflow
- Define the target platform. Decide whether the project is for Azure Local or Windows Server HCI, and identify whether it includes conventional VMs, containers, virtual desktops, GPUs, or a migration. These platforms share HCI concepts but are not interchangeable in management, deployment, licensing, or support.
- Build a workload baseline. Inventory VMs and application owners. Where possible, collect peak or 95th/99th-percentile CPU use, memory working sets, storage capacity and performance, and network throughput. Include dependencies, busy periods, and planned growth. Allocated vCPU, RAM, and disk describe provisioning—not necessarily actual demand.
- Set failure and maintenance assumptions. Specify the node, disk, rack, network, or site failures the design must tolerate, and whether it must retain performance during maintenance. Define required recovery-time and recovery-point objectives. A cluster that remains online after a failure may still be unusable if it has no performance headroom.
- Run a first pass in Microsoft’s tool. Explore matching catalog systems using the relevant system, service, and CPU preferences and your basic capacity and resiliency assumptions. Treat the result as an initial candidate, not a purchase specification.
- Investigate missing matches. Relax overly restrictive filters where appropriate and recheck node count, resiliency, disk, memory, and GPU assumptions. Confirm whether a combination is unsupported or simply absent from the current catalog; do not read an empty result as a verdict on the platform.
- Use deeper design support when warranted. For substantial or complex projects, use ScopeSys, an OEM or partner sizing service, or an experienced architect to examine workload mix, network topology, site design, GPUs, VDI, and Kubernetes. Choose a method suited to the project rather than assuming one tool covers every requirement.
- Validate before procurement. Confirm current hardware validation and compatibility for firmware, drivers, disks, NICs, and switches. Review licensing, support, power, cooling, rack space, backup, and disaster recovery. Model maintenance and failure cases, then consider a proof of concept for unusual or performance-sensitive workloads.
Common sizing mistakes
Counting raw storage as usable storage
Usable capacity depends on the chosen mirror or parity layout, node count, reserved and rebuild space, cache or tiering, failures, and system overhead. A third-party S2D Capacity Calculator advertises estimates for node configuration, tiers, resiliency, drive capacity, cache, and reserve capacity. It can serve as a supplementary storage sanity check, not as Microsoft hardware validation, network design, or a complete architecture.
Using allocations instead of observed demand
Sizing every VM at its configured maximum can lead to overbuilding; assuming allocated resources are always available can lead to underbuilding. Use measured utilization and account for peak periods, application dependencies, and growth. Avoid adding arbitrary buffers without an explicit reason and failure scenario.
Forgetting maintenance headroom
Capacity that works only when every node is online may not support planned maintenance or a node outage. Model the required failure case and check that remaining nodes can carry both the workload and its performance requirements.
Leaving out network traffic
Storage and VM traffic share the infrastructure, and replication can add significant east-west traffic. Include measured throughput, latency needs, redundancy, and traffic patterns in network design. There is no universal switch speed that can be prescribed without workload data and validated design guidance.
Rank #4
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Treating vendor or tool output as independent validation
OEM tools can be useful for building configurations in that OEM’s portfolio; compare proposals with the Microsoft catalog and an independent design review where appropriate. ScopeSys is a commercial product, and Acuutech’s capability statements are its own product claims—not independent proof that a resulting design will be correct.
Which tool should you choose?
Choose Microsoft’s tool for an exploratory, conventional-VM project when you want a free first pass and already have the expertise to finish the design. Consider ScopeSys or professional partner-led sizing when the project has meaningful capital risk, repeated presales needs, multiple sites, demanding network requirements, GPUs, VDI, or Kubernetes. If storage resiliency math is the immediate question, a capacity calculator can supplement—but not replace—the architecture work.
Whichever route you take, gather credible workload measurements, check current hardware eligibility, and validate the final design with the relevant OEM or Microsoft partner before ordering.
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