Microsoft Dev Box now ready for developers to try cloud-powered workstations

Microsoft is now allowing developers to access a preview version of its Microsoft Dev Box cloud-powered workstations. The software giant announced Microsoft Dev Box earlier this year, and it’s effectively an easy way for developer to spin up powerful cloud PCs for testing applications. Dev Box includes apps and services designed specifically for developers to quickly access preconfigured workstations.

Windows 365 helps manage Microsoft Dev Box, and developers can now preview quickly accessing these Azure Virtual Desktop machines anywhere from a modern browser. Microsoft Dev Box machines will support any integrated development environment (IDE), software development kit (SDK), or tools that run on top of Windows.

Image: Microsoft

Developers will be able to preview a Microsoft Dev Box configured with eight virtual CPUs and 32GB of RAM. Businesses can try out the first 15 hours of free CPU and memory usage per month, alongside the first 365 hours of a 512GB storage SKU. Final pricing will mean developers and businesses only pay for what they use on a consumption-based model. Microsoft plans to charge organizations on a per-hour basis for compute and storage.

Microsoft Dev Box will support machines with up to 32 virtual CPUs and 128GB of RAM. Developers will be able to deploy dev boxes in their local Azure region and each machine is equipped with gigabit connection speeds. Microsoft has also created a portal for developers to organize dev boxes, which makes it ideal for managing legacy apps or older versions of apps for certain customers.