diff --git a/azure-devops/asan-pipeline.yml b/azure-devops/asan-pipeline.yml
index 4879cc48d4..985520ff41 100644
--- a/azure-devops/asan-pipeline.yml
+++ b/azure-devops/asan-pipeline.yml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ stages:
       demands: ${{ variables.poolDemands }}
     variables:
     - name: workRoot
-      value: '$(x64PoolWorkRoot)'
+      value: '$(x64SlowPoolWorkRoot)'
       readonly: true
     jobs:
       - template: build-and-test.yml
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ stages:
       demands: ${{ variables.poolDemands }}
     variables:
     - name: workRoot
-      value: '$(x64PoolWorkRoot)'
+      value: '$(x64SlowPoolWorkRoot)'
       readonly: true
     jobs:
       - template: build-and-test.yml
diff --git a/azure-devops/config.yml b/azure-devops/config.yml
index 4cce273f81..b32d6469d4 100644
--- a/azure-devops/config.yml
+++ b/azure-devops/config.yml
@@ -5,13 +5,16 @@
 
 variables:
 - name: x64SlowPoolName
-  value: 'Stl-2026-07-15T0800-x64-Fasv6-Pool'
+  value: 'Stl-2026-07-18T1628-x64-Fasv6-Pool'
+  readonly: true
+- name: x64MediumPoolName
+  value: 'Stl-2026-07-18T1628-x64-Fasv7-Pool'
   readonly: true
 - name: x64FastPoolName
-  value: 'Stl-2026-07-15T0800-x64-Fasv7-Pool'
+  value: 'Stl-2026-07-18T1628-x64-Fadsv7-Pool'
   readonly: true
 - name: arm64PoolName
-  value: 'Stl-2026-07-15T0800-arm64-Dpdsv6-Pool'
+  value: 'Stl-2026-07-18T1628-arm64-Dpdsv6-Pool'
   readonly: true
 - name: poolDemands
   value: 'EnableSpotVM -equals false'
@@ -19,11 +22,18 @@ variables:
 - name: launchVsDevShell
   value: 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\18\Insiders\Common7\Tools\Launch-VsDevShell.ps1'
   readonly: true
-# The x64 SKUs Fasv6 and Fasv7 don't have local temporary storage, so they must use 'C:'.
-# When we can use Fadsv7, local temporary storage should be available as 'N:'.
-- name: x64PoolWorkRoot
+# The x64 SKU Fasv6 doesn't have local temporary storage, so it must use 'C:'.
+- name: x64SlowPoolWorkRoot
+  value: 'C:'
+  readonly: true
+# The x64 SKU Fasv7 doesn't have local temporary storage, so it must use 'C:'.
+- name: x64MediumPoolWorkRoot
   value: 'C:'
   readonly: true
+# The x64 SKU Fadsv7 has local temporary storage, available as 'N:' (for NVMe).
+- name: x64FastPoolWorkRoot
+  value: 'N:'
+  readonly: true
 # The arm64 SKU Dpdsv6 has local temporary storage, available as 'E:'.
 - name: arm64PoolWorkRoot
   value: 'E:'
diff --git a/azure-devops/create-1es-hosted-pool.ps1 b/azure-devops/create-1es-hosted-pool.ps1
index 037a33ea65..445e8f318b 100644
--- a/azure-devops/create-1es-hosted-pool.ps1
+++ b/azure-devops/create-1es-hosted-pool.ps1
@@ -9,11 +9,11 @@ Creates a 1ES Hosted Pool, set up for the STL's CI.
 See https://github.com/microsoft/STL/wiki/Checklist-for-Toolset-Updates for more information.
 
 .PARAMETER VMSku
-The VM SKU can be Fasv6, Fasv7, or Dpdsv6.
+The VM SKU can be Fasv6, Fasv7, Fadsv7, or Dpdsv6.
 #>
 [CmdletBinding(PositionalBinding=$false)]
 Param(
-  [Parameter(Mandatory)][ValidateSet('Fasv6', 'Fasv7', 'Dpdsv6')][String]$VMSku
+  [Parameter(Mandatory)][ValidateSet('Fasv6', 'Fasv7', 'Fadsv7', 'Dpdsv6')][String]$VMSku
 )
 
 $ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
@@ -21,33 +21,51 @@ $ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
 $CurrentDate = Get-Date
 $Timestamp = $CurrentDate.ToString('yyyy-MM-ddTHHmm')
 
-# | SKU    | Location       | Cores | Notes              |
-# |--------|----------------|------:|--------------------|
-# | Fasv6  | eastus2        |  4096 |                    |
-# | Fasv7  | australiaeast  |   740 |                    |
-# | Fasv7  | northeurope    |   640 |                    |
-# | Fasv7  | southeastasia  |   640 |                    |
-# | Dpdsv6 | australiaeast  |  2048 |                    |
-# | Dpdsv6 | southcentralus |  2048 |                    |
+# We use 16 cores for the prototype VM ($ProtoVMSize) because we don't need a ton of cores to run provision-image.ps1,
+# and this allows us to stay below our total regional vCPU quota when running create-1es-hosted-pool.ps1 for several
+# SKUs simultaneously. (Our regional vCPU quota is 100, "enforced across all VM series in a given region" as
+# https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/quotas/regional-quota-requests explains. We're creating individual prototype VMs,
+# outside of the 1ES Hosted Pools we prepare later, so the prototypes are subject to the limit of 100.)
+# As long as everything else matches, we can use the image captured from the prototype VM
+# to create a 1ES Hosted Pool with larger VMs ($PoolSkuName) without any issues.
+
+# | SKU    | Location       | Cores | Notes
+# |--------|----------------|------:|-------
+# | Fasv6  | eastus2        |  4096 |
+# | Fasv7  | australiaeast  |   740 |
+# | Fasv7  | northeurope    |   640 |
+# | Fasv7  | southeastasia  |   640 |
+# | Fadsv7 | australiaeast  |  2048 |
+# | Dpdsv6 | australiaeast  |  2048 |
+# | Dpdsv6 | southcentralus |  2048 |
 
 if ($VMSku -ieq 'Fasv6') {
   $Arch = 'x64'
-  $VMSize = 'Standard_F32as_v6'
-  $PoolSize = 64 # We have quota for 4096 cores (128 VMs), so we can have old and new pools of 64 VMs each.
+  $ProtoVMSize = 'Standard_F16as_v6'
+  $PoolSkuName = 'Standard_F64as_v6'
+  $PoolSize = 32 # We have quota for 4096 cores (64 VMs), so we can have old and new pools of 32 VMs each.
   $AvailableLocations = @('eastus2')
 } elseif ($VMSku -ieq 'Fasv7') {
   $Arch = 'x64'
-  $VMSize = 'Standard_F32as_v7'
-  $PoolSize = 20 # Locations where we have quota for at least 640 cores (20 VMs):
+  $ProtoVMSize = 'Standard_F16as_v7'
+  $PoolSkuName = 'Standard_F48as_v7'
+  $PoolSize = 13 # Locations where we have quota for at least 640 cores (13 VMs):
   $AvailableLocations = @('australiaeast', 'northeurope', 'southeastasia')
+} elseif ($VMSku -ieq 'Fadsv7') {
+  $Arch = 'x64'
+  $ProtoVMSize = 'Standard_F16ads_v7'
+  $PoolSkuName = 'Standard_F48ads_v7'
+  $PoolSize = 21 # We have quota for 2048 cores (42 VMs), so we can have old and new pools of 21 VMs each.
+  $AvailableLocations = @('australiaeast')
 } elseif ($VMSku -ieq 'Dpdsv6') {
   $Arch = 'arm64'
-  $VMSize = 'Standard_D32pds_v6'
-  $PoolSize = 64 # Locations where we have quota for at least 2048 cores (64 VMs):
+  $ProtoVMSize = 'Standard_D16pds_v6'
+  $PoolSkuName = 'Standard_D64pds_v6'
+  $PoolSize = 32 # Locations where we have quota for at least 2048 cores (32 VMs):
   $AvailableLocations = @('australiaeast', 'southcentralus')
 }
 
-$AvailableLocationIdx = 11 # Increment for each new set of pools, to cycle through the available locations.
+$AvailableLocationIdx = 12 # Increment for each new set of pools, to cycle through the available locations.
 $Location = $AvailableLocations[$AvailableLocationIdx % $AvailableLocations.Length]
 
 if ($Arch -ieq 'x64') {
@@ -213,13 +231,13 @@ Display-ProgressBar -Status 'Creating prototype VM config'
 if ($Arch -ieq 'x64') {
   $VM = New-AzVMConfig `
     -VMName $ProtoVMName `
-    -VMSize $VMSize `
+    -VMSize $ProtoVMSize `
     -DiskControllerType 'NVMe' `
     -Priority 'Regular'
 } else {
   $VM = New-AzVMConfig `
     -VMName $ProtoVMName `
-    -VMSize $VMSize `
+    -VMSize $ProtoVMSize `
     -DiskControllerType 'SCSI' `
     -Priority 'Regular' `
     -SecurityType 'TrustedLaunch' `
@@ -426,7 +444,7 @@ $PoolName = "$ResourceGroupName-Pool"
 $PoolProperties = @{
   'organization' = 'https://dev.azure.com/vclibs'
   'projects' = @('STL')
-  'sku' = @{ 'name' = $VMSize; 'tier' = 'StandardSSD'; 'enableSpot' = $false; }
+  'sku' = @{ 'name' = $PoolSkuName; 'tier' = 'StandardSSD'; 'enableSpot' = $false; }
   'images' = @(@{ 'imageName' = $ImageName; 'poolBufferPercentage' = '100'; })
   'maxPoolSize' = $PoolSize
   'agentProfile' = @{ 'type' = 'Stateless'; }
diff --git a/azure-pipelines.yml b/azure-pipelines.yml
index 9edfc85a9b..1979b1b2cd 100644
--- a/azure-pipelines.yml
+++ b/azure-pipelines.yml
@@ -10,15 +10,16 @@ pr:
   drafts: false
 
 stages:
+##### Phase 1: Initial Builds #####
   - stage: Code_Format
     dependsOn: []
     displayName: 'Code Format'
     pool:
-      name: ${{ variables.x64SlowPoolName }}
+      name: ${{ variables.x64MediumPoolName }}
       demands: ${{ variables.poolDemands }}
     variables:
     - name: workRoot
-      value: '$(x64PoolWorkRoot)'
+      value: '$(x64MediumPoolWorkRoot)'
       readonly: true
     jobs:
       - template: azure-devops/format-validation.yml
@@ -27,11 +28,11 @@ stages:
     dependsOn: []
     displayName: 'Build x64'
     pool:
-      name: ${{ variables.x64SlowPoolName }}
+      name: ${{ variables.x64MediumPoolName }}
       demands: ${{ variables.poolDemands }}
     variables:
     - name: workRoot
-      value: '$(x64PoolWorkRoot)'
+      value: '$(x64MediumPoolWorkRoot)'
       readonly: true
     jobs:
       - template: azure-devops/build-and-test.yml
@@ -49,11 +50,11 @@ stages:
     dependsOn: []
     displayName: 'Build x86'
     pool:
-      name: ${{ variables.x64SlowPoolName }}
+      name: ${{ variables.x64MediumPoolName }}
       demands: ${{ variables.poolDemands }}
     variables:
     - name: workRoot
-      value: '$(x64PoolWorkRoot)'
+      value: '$(x64MediumPoolWorkRoot)'
       readonly: true
     jobs:
       - template: azure-devops/build-and-test.yml
@@ -67,20 +68,20 @@ stages:
           configureTesting: false
           runTesting: false
 
-  - stage: Build_ARM64_Cross
+  - stage: Build_ARM64
     dependsOn: []
-    displayName: 'Build ARM64 (Cross)'
+    displayName: 'Build ARM64'
     pool:
-      name: ${{ variables.x64SlowPoolName }}
+      name: ${{ variables.arm64PoolName }}
       demands: ${{ variables.poolDemands }}
     variables:
     - name: workRoot
-      value: '$(x64PoolWorkRoot)'
+      value: '$(arm64PoolWorkRoot)'
       readonly: true
     jobs:
       - template: azure-devops/build-and-test.yml
         parameters:
-          hostArch: x64
+          hostArch: arm64
           targetArch: arm64
           targetPlatform: arm64
           analyzeBuild: true
@@ -89,33 +90,9 @@ stages:
           configureTesting: false
           runTesting: false
 
-  - stage: Build_ARM64EC_Cross
+  - stage: Build_ARM64EC
     dependsOn: []
-    displayName: 'Build ARM64EC (Cross)'
-    pool:
-      name: ${{ variables.x64SlowPoolName }}
-      demands: ${{ variables.poolDemands }}
-    variables:
-    - name: workRoot
-      value: '$(x64PoolWorkRoot)'
-      readonly: true
-    jobs:
-      - template: azure-devops/build-and-test.yml
-        parameters:
-          hostArch: x64
-          targetArch: arm64
-          targetPlatform: arm64ec
-          analyzeBuild: true
-          buildBenchmarks: true
-          numShards: 1
-          configureTesting: false
-          runTesting: false
-
-  # This ARM64-native build will detect problems with the ARM64 pool as early as possible.
-  # The stage dependencies are structured to optimize the critical path.
-  - stage: Build_ARM64_Native
-    dependsOn: []
-    displayName: 'Build ARM64 (Native)'
+    displayName: 'Build ARM64EC'
     pool:
       name: ${{ variables.arm64PoolName }}
       demands: ${{ variables.poolDemands }}
@@ -128,7 +105,7 @@ stages:
         parameters:
           hostArch: arm64
           targetArch: arm64
-          targetPlatform: arm64
+          targetPlatform: arm64ec
           analyzeBuild: true
           buildBenchmarks: true
           numShards: 1
@@ -139,11 +116,11 @@ stages:
     dependsOn: []
     displayName: 'Configure Tests'
     pool:
-      name: ${{ variables.x64SlowPoolName }}
+      name: ${{ variables.x64MediumPoolName }}
       demands: ${{ variables.poolDemands }}
     variables:
     - name: workRoot
-      value: '$(x64PoolWorkRoot)'
+      value: '$(x64MediumPoolWorkRoot)'
       readonly: true
     jobs:
       - template: azure-devops/build-and-test.yml
@@ -155,13 +132,14 @@ stages:
           buildStl: false
           runTesting: false
 
+##### Phase 2: Primary Test Architectures #####
   - stage: Test_x64
     dependsOn:
       - Code_Format
       - Build_x64
       - Build_x86
-      - Build_ARM64_Cross
-      - Build_ARM64EC_Cross
+      - Build_ARM64
+      - Build_ARM64EC
       - Configure_Tests
     displayName: 'Test x64'
     pool:
@@ -169,7 +147,7 @@ stages:
       demands: ${{ variables.poolDemands }}
     variables:
     - name: workRoot
-      value: '$(x64PoolWorkRoot)'
+      value: '$(x64FastPoolWorkRoot)'
       readonly: true
     jobs:
       - template: azure-devops/build-and-test.yml
@@ -178,46 +156,53 @@ stages:
           targetArch: x64
           targetPlatform: x64
 
-  - stage: Test_x86
-    dependsOn: Test_x64
-    displayName: 'Test x86'
+  - stage: Test_ARM64
+    dependsOn:
+      - Code_Format
+      - Build_x64
+      - Build_x86
+      - Build_ARM64
+      - Build_ARM64EC
+      - Configure_Tests
+    displayName: 'Test ARM64'
     pool:
-      name: ${{ variables.x64SlowPoolName }}
+      name: ${{ variables.arm64PoolName }}
       demands: ${{ variables.poolDemands }}
     variables:
     - name: workRoot
-      value: '$(x64PoolWorkRoot)'
+      value: '$(arm64PoolWorkRoot)'
       readonly: true
     jobs:
       - template: azure-devops/build-and-test.yml
         parameters:
-          hostArch: x86
-          targetArch: x86
-          targetPlatform: x86
+          hostArch: arm64
+          targetArch: arm64
+          targetPlatform: arm64
 
-  - stage: Test_ARM64
+##### Phase 3: Secondary Test Architectures #####
+  - stage: Test_x86
     dependsOn:
-      - Build_ARM64_Native
       - Test_x64
-    displayName: 'Test ARM64'
+      - Test_ARM64
+    displayName: 'Test x86'
     pool:
-      name: ${{ variables.arm64PoolName }}
+      name: ${{ variables.x64SlowPoolName }}
       demands: ${{ variables.poolDemands }}
     variables:
     - name: workRoot
-      value: '$(arm64PoolWorkRoot)'
+      value: '$(x64SlowPoolWorkRoot)'
       readonly: true
     jobs:
       - template: azure-devops/build-and-test.yml
         parameters:
-          hostArch: arm64
-          targetArch: arm64
-          targetPlatform: arm64
+          hostArch: x86
+          targetArch: x86
+          targetPlatform: x86
 
   - stage: Test_ARM64EC
     dependsOn:
-      - Build_ARM64_Native
       - Test_x64
+      - Test_ARM64
     displayName: 'Test ARM64EC'
     pool:
       name: ${{ variables.arm64PoolName }}