Users are looking for ways to optimize their compute cost on Azure. When we talk about compute costs, we are mostly referring to virtual machines. Here are 5 questions you should ask yourself before spinning up new virtual machines in your environment and steps to take to help you reduce your VM cost:
Q1 – Does your VM have few (two to three) peak times during the day and stay almost idle for the rest of the day?
Select a B-series VM size for your virtual machine. Click here for more information.
Q2 – Do you need this VM for a DEV environment? Is it Ok if your VM gets shut down at times?
Deploy a Spot Virtual Machine. Click here for more information.
Q3 – Are you sure about your VM size decision? Did you make your VM size decision based on the amount of CPU and Memory?
– Review different VM series categories and compare their benefits and pricing. Windows – Linux
– Be aware that VMs from different series with the same amount of CPU and Memory could have different prices. – don’t rely only on CPU and Memory.
– For a quick comparison of prices you can use: http://www.azureinstances.info/ (not official from Microsoft but quite up-to-date and handy in my experience)
Q4 – Will these VMs potentially be running for the next 1 or 3 years?
Use Reserved Virtual Machine Instances to get discount up to 72 percent. Click here for more information.
Q5 – Will your VM be running Windows or SQL Server?
Use Azure Hybrid Use Benefit (AHUB) and bring Windows Server and SQL Server on-premises licenses with Software Assurance to Azure. Click here for more information.