region consistency pass

Author: HeidiSteen

articles/search/search-create-service-portal.md

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ ms.custom:
   - references_regions
   - build-2024
 ms.topic: conceptual
-ms.date: 08/22/2024
+ms.date: 09/19/2024
 ---
 
 # Create an Azure AI Search service in the portal
@@ -87,25 +87,25 @@ Service name requirements:
 ## Choose a region
 
 > [!IMPORTANT]
-> Due to high demand, Azure AI Search is currently unavailable for new instances in West Europe. If you don't immediately need semantic ranker or skillsets, choose Sweden Central because it has the most data center capacity. Otherwise, North Europe is another option. Currently, there are also capacity constraints for Basic and Standard (S1) tiers within a given region.
+> Due to high demand, Azure AI Search is currently unavailable for new instances in some regions. 
 
 If you use multiple Azure services, putting all of them in the same region minimizes or voids bandwidth charges. There are no charges for data egress among same-region services.
 
 Generally, choose a region near you, unless the following considerations apply:
 
-+ Your nearest region is capacity constrained. West Europe is at capacity and unavailable for new instances. Other regions are [at capacity for specific tiers](search-sku-tier.md#region-availability-by-tier). One advantage to using the Azure portal for resource setup is that it provides only those regions and tiers that are available. You can't select regions or tiers that are unavailable.
++ Your nearest region is capacity constrained. For example, West Europe is at capacity and unavailable for new instances. Other regions are [at capacity for specific tiers](search-sku-tier.md#region-availability-by-tier). One advantage to using the Azure portal for resource setup is that it provides only those regions and tiers that are available.
 
 + You want to use integrated data chunking and vectorization or built-in skills for AI enrichment. Azure OpenAI and Azure AI services multiservice accounts must be in the same region as Azure AI Search for integration purposes. [Choose a region](search-region-support.md) that provides all necessary resources.
 
 + You want to use Azure Storage for indexer-based indexing or you need to store application data that isn't in an index. Debug session state, enrichment caches, and knowledge stores are Azure AI Search features that have a dependency on Azure Storage. The region you choose for Azure Storage has implications for network security. Specifically, if you're setting up a firewall, you should place the resources in separate regions. For more information, see [Outbound connections from Azure AI Search to Azure Storage](search-indexer-securing-resources.md).
 
 Here's a checklist for choosing a region:
 
-1. Is Azure AI Search available in a nearby region? Check the [supported regions list](search-region-support.md). Capacity-constrained regions are indicated in the footnotes.
+1. Is Azure AI Search available in a nearby region? Check the [supported regions list](search-region-support.md).
 
 1. Do you know which tier you want to use? Tiers are covered in the next step. Check [region availability by tier](search-sku-tier.md#region-availability-by-tier) to determine if you can create a search service at the desired tier in your region of choice.
 
-1. Do you need [AI enrichment](cognitive-search-concept-intro.md) or [integrated data chunking and vectorization](vector-search-integrated-vectorization.md)? Verify that Azure OpenAI and Azure AI services are [offered in the same region](search-region-support.md) as Azure AI Search. 
+1. Do you need [AI enrichment](cognitive-search-concept-intro.md) or [integrated data chunking and vectorization](vector-search-integrated-vectorization.md)? Verify that Azure OpenAI and Azure AI multiservice are [offered in the same region](search-region-support.md) as Azure AI Search. 
 
    Be aware that Azure AI Vision multimodal embeddings API, used for [integrated image vectorization](search-get-started-portal-image-search.md), must be accessed through an Azure AI multiservice account, but is available in a [smaller subset of regions](/azure/ai-services/computer-vision/overview-image-analysis#region-availability).
 

articles/search/search-region-support.md

@@ -9,13 +9,13 @@ ms.author: heidist
 ms.service: cognitive-search
 ms.topic: conceptual
 ms.custom: references_regions
-ms.date: 09/03/2024
+ms.date: 09/19/2024
 
 ---
 
 # Azure AI Search feature availability across cloud regions
 
-This article identifies the cloud regions in which Azure AI Search is available. It also lists which premium features are available in each region.
+This article identifies the cloud regions in which Azure AI Search is available. It also lists which premium features are available in each region. 
 
 ## Features subject to regional availability
 
@@ -57,22 +57,24 @@ You can create an Azure AI Search resource in any of the following Azure public
 | Canada East​​ ​ |  | ✅ | |
 | East US​ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
 | East US 2 ​ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
-| ​Central US​ <sup>1</sup>​ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
+| ​Central US​​ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
 | North Central US​ ​ | ✅ | ✅ | |
-| South Central US​ <sup>1</sup>​ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
+| South Central US​ <sup>2</sup>​ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
 | West US​ ​ | ✅ | ✅ | |
-| West US 2​ <sup>1</sup>​ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
-| West US 3​ <sup>1</sup>​ | ✅ | ✅ |✅ |
+| West US 2​ ​ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
+| West US 3​ <sup>2</sup>​ | ✅ | ✅ |✅ |
 | West Central US​ ​ | ✅ | ✅ | |
 
-<sup>1</sup> Currently, this region is at capacity for Basic and Standard (S1) tiers. Choose a higher tier or a different region.
+<sup>1</sup> This region has capacity, but some tiers are [not available](search-sku-tier.md#region-availability-by-tier). 
+
+<sup>2</sup> Currently, this region is at full capacity and not accepting new search services. 
 
 ### Europe
 
 | Region | AI integration | Semantic ranking | Availability zones |
 |--|--|--|--|
-| North Europe​​ <sup>1</sup>| ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
-| West Europe​​ <sup>2</sup>| ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
+| North Europe​​ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
+| West Europe​​ <sup>1, 2</sup>| ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
 | France Central​​ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
 | Germany West Central​ ​| ✅ |  | ✅ |
 | Italy North​​ |  |  | ✅ |
@@ -85,9 +87,9 @@ You can create an Azure AI Search resource in any of the following Azure public
 | UK South​ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
 | UK West​ ​|  | ✅ | |
 
-<sup>1</sup> Currently, this region is at capacity for Basic and Standard (S1) tiers. Choose a higher tier or a different region.
+<sup>1</sup> Currently, this region is at full capacity and not accepting new search services.
 
-<sup>2</sup> West Europe is at capacity for all tiers and isn't accepting any new search services. Additionally, the clusters used to run Azure AI Search don't have the [higher capacity partitions](search-limits-quotas-capacity.md#service-limits) that were brought online in April 2024. This means that search services deployed in this region have lower storage and computing capability.
+<sup>2</sup> This region runs on older infrastructure that has lower storage limits per partition at every tier. Choose a different region if you want [higher limits](search-limits-quotas-capacity.md#service-limits).
 
 ### Middle East
 
@@ -97,9 +99,9 @@ You can create an Azure AI Search resource in any of the following Azure public
 | Qatar Central​ <sup>1, 2</sup> |  |  | ✅ |
 | UAE North​​ | ✅ |  | ✅ |
 
-<sup>1</sup> Currently, this region is at capacity for Basic and Standard (S1) tiers. Choose a higher tier or a different region.
+<sup>1</sup> Currently, this region is at full capacity and not accepting new search services.
 
-<sup>2</sup> These regions run on older infrastructure that has lower capacity per partition at every tier. Choose a different region if you want [higher capacity](search-limits-quotas-capacity.md#service-limits).
+<sup>2</sup> This region runs on older infrastructure that has lower storage limits per partition at every tier. Choose a different region if you want [higher limits](search-limits-quotas-capacity.md#service-limits).
 
 ### Africa
 
@@ -123,25 +125,21 @@ You can create an Azure AI Search resource in any of the following Azure public
 | Korea Central | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
 | Korea South​ ​ |  | ✅ |  |
 
-<sup>1</sup> Currently, this region is at capacity for Basic and Standard (S1) tiers. Choose a higher tier or a different region.
+<sup>1</sup> This region has capacity, but some tiers are [not available](search-sku-tier.md#region-availability-by-tier). 
 
-<sup>2</sup> These regions run on older infrastructure that has lower capacity per partition at every tier. Choose a different region if you want [higher capacity](search-limits-quotas-capacity.md#service-limits).
+<sup>2</sup> This region runs on older infrastructure that has lower storage limits per partition at every tier. Choose a different region if you want [higher limits](search-limits-quotas-capacity.md#service-limits).
 
 ## Azure Government regions
 
-All of these regions support [higher capacity tiers](search-limits-quotas-capacity.md#service-limits). 
-
-None of these regions support Azure [role-based access for data plane operations](search-security-rbac.md). You must use key-based authentication for indexing and query workloads.
-
 | Region | AI integration | Semantic ranking | Availability zones |
 |--|--|--|--|
 | Arizona | ✅ | ✅  | |
 | Texas |  |  |  |
-| Virginia | ✅ | ✅  | ✅ |
+| Virginia <sup>1</sup> | ✅ | ✅  | ✅ |
 
-## Azure operated by 21Vianet
+<sup>1</sup> Currently, this region is at full capacity and not accepting new search services.
 
-You can install Azure AI Search in any of the following regions. If you need semantic ranking or AI enrichment, choose a region that provides the feature.
+## Azure operated by 21Vianet
 
 | Region | AI integration | Semantic ranking | Availability zones |
 |--|--|--|--|
@@ -152,7 +150,7 @@ You can install Azure AI Search in any of the following regions. If you need sem
 | China North 2 <sup>1</sup> |  |  | |
 | China North 3 | | ✅ | ✅ |
 
-<sup>1</sup> These regions run on older infrastructure that has lower capacity per partition at every tier. Choose a different region if you want [higher capacity](search-limits-quotas-capacity.md#service-limits).
+<sup>1</sup> These regions run on older infrastructure that have lower storage limits per partition at every tier. Choose a different region if you want [higher limits](search-limits-quotas-capacity.md#service-limits).
 
 <!-- ## Early Update Access Program (EUAP)
 
@@ -169,5 +167,6 @@ These regions
 
 - [Azure AI Studio region availability](/azure/ai-studio/reference/region-support)
 - [Azure OpenAI model region availability](/azure/ai-services/openai/concepts/models#model-summary-table-and-region-availability)
+- [Azure AI Vision region list](/azure/ai-services/computer-vision/overview-image-analysis#region-availability)
 - [Availability zone region availability](/azure/reliability/availability-zones-service-support#azure-regions-with-availability-zone-support)
 - [Azure product by region page](https://azure.microsoft.com/explore/global-infrastructure/products-by-region/?products=search)

articles/search/search-sku-tier.md

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ author: HeidiSteen
 ms.author: heidist
 ms.service: cognitive-search
 ms.topic: conceptual
-ms.date: 08/22/2024
+ms.date: 09/19/2024
 
 ---
 
@@ -53,7 +53,9 @@ You can find out more about the various tiers on the [pricing page](https://azur
 
 ## Region availability by tier
 
-Currently, several regions are at capacity for Basic and Standard (S1) tiers and can't be used for new search services. If you use the Azure portal to create a search service, the portal excludes any region-tier combinations that aren't available.
+The supported [regions list](search-region-support.md) provides the locations where Azure AI Search is offered.
+
+Currently, several regions are at capacity for specific tiers and can't be used for new search services. If you use the Azure portal to create a search service, the portal excludes any region-tier combinations that aren't available.
 
 | Region | Disabled tier (SKU) due to over-capacity |
 |--------|------------------------------------------|
@@ -93,7 +95,7 @@ Tiers determine the  maximum storage of the service itself, plus the maximum num
 Tier pricing includes details about per-partition storage that ranges from 15 GB for Basic, up to 2 TB for Storage Optimized (L2) tiers. Other hardware characteristics, such as speed of operations, latency, and transfer rates, aren't published, but tiers that are designed for specific solution architectures are built on hardware that has the features to support those scenarios. For more information about partitions, see [Estimate and manage capacity](search-capacity-planning.md) and [Reliability in Azure AI Search](search-reliability.md).
 
 > [!NOTE]
-> Higher capacity partitions became available in selected regions starting in April 2024. A second wave of higher capacity partitions released in May 2024. If you're using an older search service, consider creating a new search service to benefit from more capacity at the same billing rate. For more information, see [Service limits](search-limits-quotas-capacity.md#service-limits)
+> Higher capacity partitions became available in selected regions starting in April 2024. A second wave of higher capacity partitions released in May 2024. If you're using an older search service, consider creating a new search service to benefit from more capacity at the same billing rate. For more information, see [Service limits](search-limits-quotas-capacity.md#service-limits). To check the age of your search service, see [How to check service creation date](vector-search-index-size.md#how-to-check-service-creation-date).
 
 ## Billing rates