| name | proximity-placement-groups |
| description | Proximity Placement Groups — co-locate for ultra-low latency |
Proximity Placement Groups
When to use this skill
- Tightly-coupled multi-tier with sub-ms RTT needs
- HPC/SAP HANA
Key concepts
- PPG forces VMs to allocate in the same datacenter to minimize RTT (often <1ms).
- Trade-off: tighter allocation = higher allocation failure risk.
- Intent-based PPGs (specify VM SKUs and AZ) help the platform reserve correctly.
- Combine PPG + AZ if you need both ultra-low latency AND zonal resiliency.
- First VM you deploy 'anchors' the PPG to a DC — order of deployment matters.
Azure CLI examples
az ppg create -g <rg> -n ppg-app --type Standard --zone 1
az vm create -g <rg> -n vm-app --ppg ppg-app ...
Common pitfalls
- Using PPG just because it 'sounds better' — you constrain allocation for no real gain.
- Not specifying intent (SKUs/AZ) — platform can pick a DC that won't have your later SKU.
- Forgetting the anchor effect — start with the largest/rarest SKU first.
References
Validation-first: verify every Azure fact against the Microsoft Learn MCP server (cite the Learn URL); Learn overrides built-in knowledge. If no Learn MCP server is configured, flag the answer ⚠️ unverified and mark specs as indicative. Analysis only — verify against Microsoft documentation before applying.