Microsoft Azure → Amazon Web Services
AWS equivalent of Azure Extended Zones
The closest AWS equivalents of Azure Extended Zones are AWS Local Zones and AWS Wavelength.
About Azure Extended Zones
| Provider | Microsoft Azure |
|---|---|
| Status | Generally available Access is by request. Several services, such as Azure Virtual Desktop, are in preview inside extended zones even though they're GA in regions. |
| What it is | Small-footprint Azure extensions in metro areas or specific jurisdictions for low latency and data residency. VMs, scale sets, AKS, managed disks, and core networking are available, and the control plane stays in the parent region. |
| Documentation | learn.microsoft.com |
| Pricing | Official pricing page |
AWS mappings (2)
| Capability | AWS equivalent | Match |
|---|---|---|
| Metro edge locations | AWS Local Zones | Partial match |
| Compute inside telecom 5G networks | AWS Wavelength | No equivalent |
Hybrid, edge & VMware(2)
Metro edge locations Partial match
AWS Local Zones map to Azure Extended Zones. Both are small provider-run extensions of a parent region in metro areas, but Extended Zones are fewer, access is by request, and fewer services are offered.
- Footprint. Local Zones cover many metros worldwide, and you opt in per zone. Azure Extended Zones need an access request, and the list of zones is provided during that process.
- Services. Local Zones support EC2, EBS, VPC, ECS/EKS, and selected services (some zones add RDS, ElastiCache, FSx, Direct Connect). Extended Zones support VMs (A/B/D/E/F and NVadsA10 v5), scale sets, AKS, managed disks, premium storage, and core networking. Some services, such as Azure Virtual Desktop, are preview there.
Compute inside telecom 5G networks No equivalent
AWS Wavelength has no current Azure equivalent. Azure public MEC, Microsoft's carrier-edge offering, now lives only in Microsoft's "previous versions" documentation archive. Azure Extended Zones are the nearest current option, but they're metro sites, not inside carrier networks.
- Wavelength Zones sit in partner carriers' networks and are reached through a carrier gateway, extending a VPC with EC2, EBS, and EKS.
- Azure public MEC docs are archived. Private 5G edge needs on Azure are typically met with Azure Local or partner solutions.