Azure Cost Saving Strategies

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Want to learn about some cost saving Azure strategies?  Here are some cost saving patterns

• Azure Hybrid Benefit (AHB)/Bring-your-own-license (BYOL)
• Learn how and where on-premises Windows Server and SQL
• Server licenses leveraged in Azure can reduce overall Azure commit from 30%-70%.

Azure Hybrid Benefit (AHB)

• Azure based program providing bring-your-own-license to Azure
• Available for Enterprise customers with Software Assurance
  • Software Assurance provides license mobility
• Products eligible for Azure Hybrid Benefit
  • Windows Server
  • Microsoft SQL Server

Potential savings AHB vs Azure Marketplace – 40%-70% savings pending workload

Azure Hybrid Benefit – Windows Server

Leverage on-premises license & pay the base compute rate for Linux

Windows Standard & Data Center Editions are covered

• Data Center Edition allows workloads to run “both” on-premises & in Azure
• Standard Edition can only be used on-premises “or” in the cloud
  • 31-day grace period while migrating on-premises workloads to Azure
• Core & License counts:
  • 16 – core licenses are entitled to 2 instances of up to 8 cores or 1 instance of up to 16 cores
  • VM’s >16 cores are available by stacking licenses
• Available across all Azure regions

Up to 50% savings pending usage and instance type

Azure Hybrid Benefit – Microsoft SQL Server

MS SQL instances eligible for Azure Hybrid Benefit

Azure SQL Database – “vCore-based” service tiers: 

• Managed Instance, Single Database and Elastic Pool
• OS licenses are not eligible for MS SQL PaaS services

SQL Server in Azure Virtual Machines (IaaS VM + SQL)

• AHB will be leveraged for the OS & MS SQL

DTU Azure SQL Database instances are “not” eligible 

• DTU instances are a license included model
• DTU’s can be converted to a vCore-based SKU

180-day grace period without any additional licensing costs 

Disaster Recovery & HA License Requirements

• Each IaaS or PaaS instance licensed with SQL Server supports the same number of passive failover instances
• Passive Instances must be truly “passive” IE – reporting, back-ups or read-only DB’s instances must be licensed

MS SQL Standard & Enterprise Editions are supported

Achieving Higher Savings with Azure SQL Elastic Pools & Reserved Capacity

SQL Reserved Instances

Upfront Commitment

• Possible additional savings up to 30% on top of AHB
• Period of 1-3 years
  • Higher savings achieved for a longer commitment
• Discount on compute costs
  • Specify performance tier and region

Cost Optimization Team Effort

• Automatic savings for qualifying SQL resources
  • Single databases, Elastic Pools, Managed Instances
  • Benefit for vCore billing model only

Billing model for your resources can be converted to vCore

SQL Elastic Pools

“SQL Database elastic pools are a simple, cost-effective solution for managing and scaling multiple databases that have varying and unpredictable usage demands.”

A container of compute/storage resources

• Shared by all databases within a pool
• Resources are Scalable
• Overall resources required is less than single databases

A better option for vCore conversion

• Single databases are typically not as cost effective to convert to vCore