GPU clouds / Azure GPU VMs (NC_A100_v4 reference) alternative

Microsoft Azure GPU VMs alternative for portable agent state

Azure GPU VMs supply specialized accelerators alongside full VM CPU/RAM and storage choices. A managed OS disk can already retain the complete installed system, while ephemeral OS/temp storage has different behavior. Keep GPU work on suitable accelerators and compare the portable agent orchestration stage separately.

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Reviewed 2026-10-19 · Published by the Sandbox0 team

When Azure GPU VMs (NC_A100_v4 reference) fits

Choose Azure GPU VMs for CUDA/model workloads, required accelerator memory and Azure integration. A100, H100 and T4 families have different hardware, features and availability; one SKU is not a quote for all GPU compute.

When to consider Sandbox0

Consider Sandbox0 for compatible Linux agents that coordinate GPU jobs and retain their own growing system state, with supported paused files. GPU inference/training stages can remain on appropriate external compute and keep their own billing lifecycle.

Capabilities

Azure GPU VMs (NC_A100_v4 reference) and Sandbox0: what persists?

Feature comparison with documentation and verification status
Environment and runtime lifetimeAzure GPU VMs (NC_A100_v4 reference)Stopped-but-allocated and Deallocated states have different compute billing. Retained managed disks do not promise uninterrupted GPU execution or VRAM restoration.View evidence ↗Sandbox0ttl and hard_ttl default to 0 (disabled). Configure idle pause and deletion policies for the same persistent sandbox identity; an idle running sandbox still accrues compute charges.Read documentation →
Persistent filesAzure GPU VMs (NC_A100_v4 reference)Managed OS/data disk choices retain system/job files; ephemeral OS and temporary disks have different guarantees.View evidence ↗Sandbox0The writable RootFS survives successful checkpoints, including software, system configuration, dependencies, and user data.Read documentation →
Whole RootFSAzure GPU VMs (NC_A100_v4 reference)A configured persistent managed OS disk holds the whole installed VM system; an ephemeral OS choice is different.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Persistence extends beyond /workspace to paths such as /usr/local, /etc, and /home. Runtime tmpfs and virtual filesystems are excluded.Read documentation →
Release compute, keep stateAzure GPU VMs (NC_A100_v4 reference)Deallocate/start can retain managed disks and release compute billing; this is not a GPU process-memory guarantee.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Pause compute between tasks; resume on available capacity. Default resume starts fresh processes from the saved filesystem.Read documentation →
Memory and process stateAzure GPU VMs (NC_A100_v4 reference)The reference family lacks live migration/memory-preserving updates; a general portable GPU/VRAM checkpoint contract is unestablished here.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Experimental memory checkpoints can preserve compatible process state. Use memory: true on both pause and resume on a compatible deployment. A filesystem checkpoint alone does not preserve running processes.Read documentation →

Online RootFS growth

On growth-enabled images, Sandbox0 automatically expands the writable RootFS as free space runs low, within a configured sparse logical ceiling up to 64 TiB. Agent processes keep running. Growth is enabled in the qualified Cloud region; confirm activation for other regions. Existing images and snapshots retain their captured storage geometry. The ceiling is logical capacity, not preallocated host disk.

A managed OS disk already provides complete installed-system persistence on the selected Azure GPU VM. Explicit disk/filesystem provisioning and temporary local-device capacity are different from an integrated automatic low-space policy for a compatible Linux agent’s durable RootFS.

Files while compute is paused

Sandbox0's Files API reads persistent files without resuming compute. Filesystem-only pauses also permit edits; retained-memory pauses are read-only and reject mutations with 409. SSH, SFTP, file watching, and runtime-only mounts require running compute.

Managed disk snapshots or helper mounts can support operator-designed access while the original guest is off. They need filesystem support and lifecycle coordination; the cited GPU VM offer does not define a native arbitrary paused whole-OS file API.

See paused file operations →

Persistent system storage is a configuration choice

NC_A100_v4 supports managed disk features and also ephemeral OS disks. Use the appropriate managed OS/data disks for retained system and job state; temporary/local storage is a different scope. Stopped-but-allocated versus Deallocated still changes compute billing.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗

Disk persistence does not guarantee GPU process continuity

The NC_A100_v4 feature table lists Live Migration and Memory Preserving Updates as unsupported. This is a family-specific maintenance boundary, not a statement about every Azure GPU product. Save workload-level progress as needed instead of inferring portable CUDA/VRAM recovery from retained disks.

Source 1 ↗

The selected price is for a complete VM

The East US NC24ads_A100_v4 reference has 24 vCPU, 220 GiB RAM and one 80 GB accelerator. The Retail API separates regular Linux/Windows consumption from Spot/Low Priority. Use the regular OS/SKU row and add disk/network and selected software costs.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗

Pricing

Compare billing models, then price your workload

CPU allocation, memory, billing minimums, disk, plan fees, and supported workload differ. These meters are not equal-performance machine quotes. Confirm region, resource units, and included allowances before estimating a total.

Azure GPU VMs (NC_A100_v4 reference)

Pricing reviewed 2026-10-19

East US NC24ads_A100_v4 Linux reference
$3.673 per VM-hour
Regular Consumption; complete selected VM, not a GPU-device-only fee.
Rate source ↗
Same SKU Windows reference
$4.777 per VM-hour
Different OS tariff; not the cheaper Linux, Spot or Low Priority row.
Rate source ↗
Retained managed disks/networking
Separate applicable resource charges
Deallocated compute does not make retained resources free.
Rate source ↗

Retail references are USD for the exact East US SKU and regular Consumption meter. Hardware quotas, stock, region, OS/license eligibility, contracts, Spot interruption policy, disk performance and network charges affect the total. No equal-throughput or universal savings claim follows from comparison with a Linux agent runtime.

Check current Azure GPU VMs (NC_A100_v4 reference) pricing ↗

Sandbox0

$0.015/GiB-hour compute (billed by the second at approximately $0.000004167/GiB-second), plus $0.02/GiB-month of retained incremental RootFS and memory checkpoint data. Shared base images and platform recovery retention are excluded; paused sandboxes accrue storage charges only.

Compute / GiB-hour
$0.015
Retained data / GiB-month
$0.02
Paused compute
$0.00

A 4 GiB agent, 100 running hours

$6.00 compute

4 GiB × 100 hours, billed by the second. Keeping 20 GiB of billable incremental data for a full billing month adds $0.40. CPU is derived from memory by the platform; choose a tier that fits your workload.

Understand storage billing →

Before migrating from Azure GPU VMs (NC_A100_v4 reference)

  1. Inventory GPU family/OS/region, quota, managed versus ephemeral disks, job checkpoints and the complete SKU/resource quote.
  2. Keep GPU/device-dependent stages on suitable compute and port compatible Linux agent orchestration plus required files.
  3. Test job handoff, persistent system tools, growth, paused files and combined GPU VM, disk/network and Linux runtime/storage costs.

Common questions

Is Sandbox0 a drop-in Azure GPU VMs (NC_A100_v4 reference) replacement?

Evaluate API compatibility and product scope. These products serve different core workflows, so a change may require a different architecture.

Does keeping files also keep a running agent?

Filesystem state and volatile process state are separate. Sandbox0 requires explicit compatible memory checkpoints to preserve running processes; its default filesystem resume starts fresh processes.

Sources and review scope

The Boat team's Battleships directory is the discovery source. References below describe the product and plan discussed on this page. Check current availability, regional terms and billing units before migrating. Where the cited material does not establish a capability or price, the comparison identifies that uncertainty.

Battleships research record ↗learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/sizes/gpu-accelerated/nca100v4-series ↗learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/states-billing ↗prices.azure.com/api/retail/prices ↗Sandbox0 RootFS capacity →

Related comparisons

Cerebrium Serverless Compute vs Sandbox0 →Crusoe vs Sandbox0 →DigitalOcean GPU Droplets vs Sandbox0 →Fluidstack vs Sandbox0 →Google Compute Engine GPU VMs vs Sandbox0 →Hetzner GPU servers vs Sandbox0 →