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Does an NVMe-tagged gallery image (DiskControllerTypes=SCSI,NVMe) work on older SCSI-based VM sizes like Standard_D2s_v5?

Praveen Goyal 0 Reputation points
2026-06-11T12:31:04.11+00:00

We have created an Azure Compute Gallery image tagged with DiskControllerTypes=SCSI,NVMe. The existing documentation covers how NVMe-only VM sizes require NVMe-tagged images, but there is no mention of backward compatibility — specifically, whether older SCSI-based VM sizes (e.g., D/Ev5 and older) can successfully use an image tagged with both SCSI and NVMe disk controller types.

We tested this with Standard_D2s_v5 using a Gen2 NVMe-tagged image and it worked successfully. However, we'd like official confirmation that:

  1. An image tagged with DiskControllerTypes=SCSI,NVMe is fully supported on older SCSI-based VM sizes.
  2. There are no known limitations or unexpected behaviors when using such an image on SCSI instances.

Could you please clarify and consider updating the documentation to cover this backward compatibility scenario?

Azure Virtual Machines
Azure Virtual Machines

An Azure service that is used to provision Windows and Linux virtual machines.

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  1. AI answer

    2026-06-11T12:31:29.68+00:00

    The available documentation does not state that NVMe‑tagged images (for example, DiskControllerTypes=SCSI,NVMe) are officially supported on older SCSI‑based VM sizes, nor does it describe their behavior on those sizes.

    The documented guarantees are:

    1. NVMe‑only VM sizes (for example, Da/Ea/Fav6 and newer, and series such as Dalsv6/Daldsv6/Dalsv7) require OS images that support NVMe. If an OS image does not support NVMe, deployment on these VM sizes fails with an error such as “The selected image is not supported for NVMe. See supported VM images.”
    2. Older generations (D/Ev5 or Fv2 and older) are documented as SCSI‑based. NVMe is not introduced for these older generations; NVMe support is introduced starting with newer generations (Da/Ea/Fav6 and newer) and specific series such as Ebsv5/Ebdsv5 and Lsv2/Lsv3/Lasv3.
    3. Generation 1 VMs are not supported with NVMe disks. NVMe disks are supported only on Generation 2 VMs.
    4. Some VM series (for example, Ebsv5) support both SCSI and NVMe interfaces; others (such as Dalsv6, Daldsv6, Dalsv7) explicitly require OS images that support NVMe and do not support Generation 1.

    The documentation also states that if the OS that is required does not support NVMe, a VM series that still has SCSI support must be used. It does not extend this to say that an image tagged for both SCSI and NVMe is validated or guaranteed to run without limitations on older SCSI‑only VM sizes.

    Because of this, the documentation in scope does not provide an official statement that:

    1. Images tagged with DiskControllerTypes=SCSI,NVMe are fully supported on older SCSI‑based VM sizes such as Standard_D2s_v5.
    2. There are no limitations or unexpected behaviors when such images are used on those SCSI‑based instances.

    For an authoritative confirmation and to request documentation updates for this backward‑compatibility scenario, the appropriate path is to open a support request or feedback item through Azure Support or the documentation feedback mechanism.

    References:

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