In this blog, we are going to talk about Azure VM pricing. you will get to know all numerous options for Azure VM pricing, as well as a variety of VM types, features, and add-ons. Depending on your requirements, you can save money by carefully considering pricing options. Azure VM pricing is one of the most important topics for Microsoft Azure Administrator.
In this Blog, we are going to cover:
- What is an Azure VM?
- Types of Azure Virtual Machines
- The Fundamentals of Azure VM Pricing
- Pricing Models for Azure Virtual Machines
- Azure Virtual Machine Pricing Examples
- How Azure VM Billing and Usage Works
- How to Choose the Most Appropriate Azure VM Pricing Model
- Conclusion
- FAQ’s
What is an Azure VM?
Azure Virtual Machines (VM) is one of several types of scalable, on-demand computing resources provided by Azure.
Developers can use the Azure web or CLI interface to create virtual machine instances and easily configure capacity scaling.
Azure VM also enables users to create apps that automate scaling in response to changing needs and peak periods. It makes it simple to deploy virtual servers and manage storage, reducing the need for hardware investment and streamlining development processes. This guide will examine the costs of Azure VM pricing and provide a high-level overview of the various options available.
Virtual machines in Azure are commonly used for:
- Azure VMs create a computing resource with the configuration required to run an application during development and testing.
- Scaling applications in the cloud—because application demand varies, you can save money by running an application in a VM and adding more VMs, or shutting down instances that are no longer needed, based on actual demand.
- Extended data center—you can connect virtual machines in an Azure virtual network to your organization’s network.
Types of Azure Virtual Machines
In Azure, Microsoft offers a variety of virtual machine sizes. These are organized into “series,” with each supporting a specific use case.
Azure categorises virtual machines into five groups, as shown in the table below.
The Fundamentals of Azure VM Pricing
Typically, you choose a virtual machine (VM) when you require more control over the computing environment than the other options provide. This article discusses what you should think about before creating a VM, how to build one, and how to manage it. An Azure VM provides the flexibility of virtualization without the need to purchase and maintain the physical hardware that powers it. However, maintaining the VM by performing tasks such as configuring, patching, and installing the software that runs on it would be beneficial.
The following instance properties determine Azure VM pricing:
- Region: The machine’s physical location. Azure has 60 regions available in 140 countries worldwide.
- Operating system (OS): There are two operating systems (OS) available: Windows and Linux.
- Tier: Tier specifies the level of service provided by the instance.
- Instance Type: The type specifies the instance’s size or the number of resources allocated to it.
Pricing Models for Azure Virtual Machines
Azure VM assigns a service level tier to each instance, which influences the resources and services that can be consumed by the instance. Azure VMs can be purchased using one of several pricing models, which are detailed below.
Azure Free Tier:
Azure, like other cloud services, offers a free credit trial. Azure provides a free tier of $200 in Azure credits for the first 30 days, followed by a capped number of additional free services for the next 12 months. Services can be developed in any region that supports Azure. You can also create multiple instances while keeping the total within the specified limits. Every month for the next 12 months, you can receive 750 hours for B1s burstable virtual machines.
1) Pay As You Go: Microsoft charges you for each second that an Azure VM resource is active, so you only pay for what you use. This is the most adaptable option, and it is appropriate for instances that cannot be interrupted or short-lived workloads. You are not required to make a long-term commitment or pay in advance. You can adjust your compute capacity to meet the needs of your application and only pay an hourly rate for the instances you use. However, prices are usually higher than in other pricing models.
2) Reserved VM Instances: If you want to save money and know a VM will be needed for more than a year, you can save up to 72% by reserving a virtual machine instance. Reserving a VM secures a specific region for one or three years. Reserved instances can be returned and exchanged. You can also cancel a reserved instance early for a fee up to the yearly cap.
On the other hand, you can use a reserved instance for other VMs in the same resource region and group, such as pay-as-you-go VMs.
You can do the following with the reserved VM instances model:
- Cancel or exchange reservations as your business expands.
- Forecast and budget for one or three years with an upfront payment
- Get priority to compute capacity in Azure regions.
- Through instance size flexibility, you can gain automated control of Azure RIs.
- Pay for reserved VMs monthly rather than upfront, at no extra cost.
The following are some examples of RI use cases:
- Your application has a steady-state usage pattern.
- Your application may necessitate a reserved capacity.
- You can commit to using Azure VM for one or three years to keep computing costs low.
3) Spot Virtual Machines: If you want to save money and don’t need 100% uptime, or if you have the automation to deal with VM availability issues, Azure VM spot pricing is a good option. There is always some unused capacity in Azure data centers.
To ensure that data centers are used efficiently, Azure implemented spot pricing (spot VMs), which provides discounts of up to 90% off pay-as-you-go VM pricing. There are no up-front fees or long-term obligations. Spot VMs, on the other hand, are transient. If the data center requires more computer capacity or if the current price exceeds the initial agreed-upon price, Azure may evict or shut down spot VMs at any time. This makes running production workloads on spots difficult.
Spot Virtual Machines are appropriate for the following workloads:
- Continuous delivery and continuous integration workloads are examples of dev/test environments.
- Jobs requiring batch processing, visual rendering applications, or high-performance computing scenarios
- Analytics, big data, large-scale stateless applications, and container-based applications are all examples of this.
Azure Virtual Machine Pricing Examples
Azure VM pricing is extremely complex, so getting a concrete example of pricing can be beneficial. Let’s take a look at the pricing options for various types of Linux VMs in the West US region.
D2s v3 VM
- Hardware: 2 vCPUs, 8 GB RAM, 16 GB local storage
- Pay-as-you-go price: $0.09600 per hour
- Spot price: $0.0497 per hour
- 3-year reserved instance price: $0.0369 per hour
D8s v3 VM
- Hardware: 8 vCPUs, 64 GB RAM, 128 GB local storage
- Pay-as-you-go price: $0.384 per hour
- Spot price: $0.1986
- 3-year reserved instance price: $0.1474 per hour
D32s v3 VM
- Hardware: 32 vCPUs, 128 GB RAM, 256 GB local storage
- Pay-as-you-go price: $1.536 per hour
- Spot price: $0.7942
- 3-year reserved instance price: $0.5896 per hour
D64s v3 VM
- Hardware: 64 vCPUs, 256 GB RAM, 512 GB local storage
- Pay-as-you-go price: $3.072 per hour
- Spot price: $1.5883
- 3-year reserved instance price: $1.1792 per hour
How Azure VM Billing and Usage Works
Azure records a “unit of usage” for every second an Azure VM is running. A full second is the smallest billing increment that an Azure VM can technically use. When billing time arrives, these seconds are totaled and assigned a monetary value that is rounded down to the nearest minute.
For example, if you run a VM for five minutes and 30 seconds, Microsoft would only charge you for five minutes. All Azure virtual machine billing is rounded to the nearest minute.
How to Choose the Most Appropriate Azure VM Pricing Model
- Determine the level of performance required. Storage or computation? Memory?
- Choose the best region. It’s always best to choose the region closest to the VM’s intended end-users, but keep in mind that different regions will cost more than others.
- Record any existing Windows licenses you have for your on-premises systems (if picking a Windows VM). You could be eligible for Azure hybrid benefit pricing.
- Choose a payment method. A summary of your options is provided below.
- Azure Hybrid Benefit
Pay as you go – Most expensive, but most flexible
1 year reserved – Average around ~40% savings, but locked in for 1 year
3-year reserved – Average around ~60% savings, but locked in for 3 years
Spot Instances – Average around ~80% savings, but least reliable as VMs can be evicted at any time - Standard Pricing
Pay as you go – Most expensive, but most flexible
1 year reserved – Average around ~20% savings, but locked in for 1 year
3-year reserved – Average around ~30% savings, but locked in for 3 years
Spot Instances – Average around ~70% savings, but least reliable as VMs can be evicted at any time
Conclusion
There are numerous options for Azure VM pricing, as well as a variety of VM types, features, and add-ons. Depending on your requirements, you can save money by carefully considering pricing options.
Consider Reserved Instances, Spot Instances, or Azure Hybrid Benefits to save money over time. Mapping your environment and VM requirements to Azure VM pricing will assist you in finding the ideal combination!
FAQ’s
Q.1)How much does it cost to run an Azure virtual machine?
Ans.)A pay-as-you-go B2s instance with the Azure Hybrid Benefit costs about $36.43 per month, according to the Microsoft pricing calculator. However, if an organization creates a one-year B2S instance, the monthly cost drops to $21.33.
Q.2)How can I check that I have properly stopped a virtual machine and that I am not being billed for it?
Ans.)The Stop-AzVM PowerShell cmdlet also puts the machine in the Deallocated state, so it is not being billed while it is shut down.
Q.3)If I have instances in two different regions, how am I charged for data transfers?
Ans.)Because the Amazon EC2 instance and Amazon S3 bucket are in the same region, there will be no data transfer fees. The GET Request will be charged to the bucket's owner. ($0.0004 for every 1000 requests) Aside from that, the fact that the bucket is associated with a different AWS account has no bearing on the cost.
Q.4)Can I use my existing Windows Server or Linux Server licenses on Azure?
Ans.)Furthermore, Azure Hybrid Benefit is applicable to active and unused on-premises Red Hat or SUSE Linux subscriptions, allowing you to use your existing Linux workloads on Azure while only paying for virtual machine infrastructure costs.
Q.5)What are the 3 pricing models of Azure?
Ans.)Pricing Models in Azure
Microsoft allows you to pay for Azure VMs and other cloud resources in three ways: pay-as-you-go, reserved instances, and spot instances.
References/Related
- [AZ-104] Microsoft Azure Administrator Certification Exam: Everything You Need To Know
- Microsoft Azure AD Connect
- Virtual Networks In Microsoft Azure: VNet Peering, ExpressRoute, VPN Gateway
- Azure ExpressRoute Vs Azure VPN Gateway
- Microsoft Azure VNet Peering (Microsoft Official)
- [AZ-104] Roles And Responsibilities Of A Microsoft Azure Administrator
- [AZ-104] Region, Availability Zone, Availability Sets and Fault Domain, Update Domain In Microsoft Azure
Next Task For You
Begin your journey toward Mastering Azure Cloud and landing high-paying jobs. Just click on the register now button on the below image to register for a Free Class on Mastering Azure Cloud: How to Build In-Demand Skills and Land High-Paying Jobs. This class will help you understand better, so you can choose the right career path and get a higher paying job.
Leave a Reply