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Microsoft Azure Network Adapter overview

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Learn how to use the Microsoft Azure Network Adapter (MANA) component of Azure Boost to improve the performance and availability of virtual machines (VMs) in Azure. MANA is a next-generation network interface that provides stable forward-compatible device drivers for Windows and Linux operating systems. MANA hardware and software are engineered by Microsoft and take advantage of the latest advancements in cloud networking technology.

Compatibility

MANA supports several VM operating systems. Although your VM might be running a supported operating system, you might need to update the kernel (Linux) or install drivers (Windows) to leverage MANA or the latest features.

MANA maintains feature parity with previous Azure networking features. VMs run on hardware with both Mellanox and MANA NICs, so existing mlx4 and mlx5 support still needs to be present.

Supported Azure Marketplace images

Several Azure Marketplace images have built-in support for the Ethernet driver in MANA.

Linux

  • Ubuntu 20.04 LTS
  • Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
  • Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.10
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4
  • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4
  • Debian 12 "Bookworm"
  • Oracle Linux 8.0 UEK R7
  • Oracle Linux 9.0 UEK R7

Note

Newer MANA features are under active development and Linux distribution vendors partner with Microsoft to update their kernels with upstream changes. Cadence of updates varies by distribution vendor. The newer you distribution and kernel is, the more likely it is to have the latest updates.

Windows

  • Windows Server 2019
  • Windows Server 2022
  • Windows Server 2025

Custom images and legacy VMs

To maximize performance, we recommend using an operating system that supports MANA. If the operating system doesn't support MANA, network connectivity is provided through the hypervisor's virtual switch. The virtual switch is also used during some infrastructure servicing events where the Virtual Function (VF) is revoked.

DPDK on MANA hardware

For information about using DPDK on MANA hardware, see Microsoft Azure Network Adapter and DPDK on Linux.

Note

A 6.2 or later kernel is required for RDMA/InfiniBand and Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK). If you use an earlier Linux image from Azure Marketplace, you need to update the kernel.

Evaluating performance

Differences in VM types, operating systems, applications, and tuning parameters can affect network performance in Azure. For this reason, we recommend that you benchmark and test your workloads to achieve the expected network performance.

For information on testing and optimizing network performance in Azure, see TCP/IP performance tuning for Azure VMs and Virtual machine network bandwidth.

Getting started with MANA

Tutorials for each supported OS type are available to help you get started:

Next steps