Cloud infrastructure / Azure Virtual Machines (Linux) alternative

Azure Virtual Machines alternative for agent runtime state

Azure Linux VMs with persistent managed OS disks already retain the whole installed operating system and user files. They can deallocate compute between uses, and eligible configurations can hibernate memory. Compare the disk type, billing power state and growth workflow instead of assuming VMs only save a workspace.

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

When Azure Virtual Machines (Linux) fits

Choose Azure VMs for full-machine administration, Azure networking and workloads needing a particular OS, VM family or kernel capability. Retain that infrastructure flexibility when an application requires it.

When to consider Sandbox0

Consider Sandbox0 when you want the agent’s durable Linux runtime lifecycle, online automatic RootFS growth and supported paused-file operations through one service. Assess gVisor compatibility and preserve required Azure identity/network integrations separately.

Capabilities

Azure Virtual Machines (Linux) and Sandbox0: what persists?

Feature comparison with documentation and verification status
Environment and runtime lifetimeAzure Virtual Machines (Linux)Not established in this reviewSandbox0ttl 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 Virtual Machines (Linux)Persistent managed OS and data disks retain files; temporary/ephemeral choices differ.View evidence ↗Sandbox0The writable RootFS survives successful checkpoints, including software, system configuration, dependencies, and user data.Read documentation →
Whole RootFSAzure Virtual Machines (Linux)The persistent OS disk retains installed system state, beyond a selected workspace.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 Virtual Machines (Linux)Eligible hibernation preserves RAM; disk-only deallocation is a separate action.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 Virtual Machines (Linux)RAM is saved to the OS disk for supported hibernation configurations.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.

Azure VMs already persist the complete managed OS disk. The reviewed Linux guide supports qualifying data-disk expansion online, while OS growth has a separate deallocation/filesystem workflow. Sandbox0 integrates low-space-triggered growth of its mounted 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.

A separately orchestrated disk/helper-VM workflow can access suitable stopped VM disks, but is different from a managed full-RootFS file API. Azure prohibits changing attached disks/NICs while hibernated; preserve retained-memory consistency when planning access.

See paused file operations →

Stopped allocation and deallocation have different bills

A stopped allocated VM remains billed for compute. Deallocation releases the host lease and stops VM usage charges, while disks and networking can continue to cost money. Persistent managed OS disks retain system state; ephemeral OS and temporary disks are different storage choices.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗

Eligible hibernation already preserves running applications

Azure stores RAM in the persistent OS disk and deallocates the VM; supported applications resume when it starts again. Size/OS prerequisites apply, temporary-disk data is excluded, and disks/NICs cannot be modified while hibernated. Ordinary deallocation does not retain RAM.

Source 1 ↗

OS disk growth differs from online data-disk growth

The Linux disk guide’s no-downtime expansion feature is explicitly for data disks, with disk-type/size conditions. Do not apply that guarantee to the OS disk: follow the documented deallocation and partition/filesystem expansion workflow for its actual configuration.

Source 1 ↗

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 Virtual Machines (Linux)

Pricing reviewed 2026-10-19

Linux Standard_D2s_v5, East US PAYG
$0.096 per VM-hour
Official Linux D2s v5 Consumption meter; excludes Windows, Spot and Low Priority SKUs.
Rate source ↗
Deallocated / hibernated VM compute
$0 VM usage charge
Retained disks and networking resources continue billing.
Rate source ↗
OS/data disk and network resources
Separate Azure resource meters
Disk type/capacity, addresses, snapshots and traffic affect the full bill.
Rate source ↗

The reference VM rate is East US USD, not a universal resource-hour price. Stopped-allocated is still charged; deallocated and hibernated states differ. Hibernation needs supported size, OS and a suitable persistent OS disk, and resume capacity is not guaranteed.

Check current Azure Virtual Machines (Linux) 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 Virtual Machines (Linux)

  1. Record persistent versus ephemeral OS disk, temporary data, VM size/OS, actual power state and hibernation eligibility.
  2. Export required files from a consistent state and port compatible tools into Sandbox0; retain necessary Azure services and kernel-dependent hosts.
  3. Test whole-system persistence, growing RootFS, explicit memory recovery, paused files and total compute/disk/network costs.

Common questions

Is Sandbox0 a drop-in Azure Virtual Machines (Linux) 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/states-billing ↗learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/hibernate-resume ↗learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/linux/expand-disks ↗prices.azure.com/api/retail/prices ↗azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/virtual-machines/linux/ ↗Sandbox0 RootFS capacity →

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