Unexpected increase of networking costs in Azure BLOB storage

Question

I've had pretty consistent costs of storage and networking costs in Azure BLOB over the last 12 months or so, but last month our bill was about 4x what it usually is. I tried submitted a ticket to Azure support and was told that this is because we are no longer using the "free" transfer and are now in a paid tier. Follow up questions about why this is the case since no changes were made led to this being technical support and apparently my plan no longer supports submitting a case and only can lead to Q&A assist. Does anyone know how to track down something like this?

Answer 1

Hello Mike,

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. I understand that you're currently facing an unexpected increase in storage and networking costs related to Azure BLOB storage, and your bill from the previous month was roughly four times higher than normal.

Firstly, I recommend you navigate to Cost Management + Billing section.

• And refine the selection based on the impacted storage account and the relevant timeframe, specifically the month during which the costs escalated and analyze the expenses categorized by resource, meter type (specifically "Data Transfer"), and location.
• Evaluate the daily or hourly cost patterns to identify the moment when the increase took place and set up cost alerts to notify you of unusual spending patterns in the future.

Post which download the detailed cost data and Utilize Excel to analyze the data. Look for patterns in the data transfer charges like (Increased data transfer volume, Changes in the data transfer location, unexpected data transfer meters)

Cross check the below pre-requisites

1. If you were previously benefiting from a free tier or promotional credits, verify if those have expired or if there have been changes to your subscription plan.
2. Review your Azure usage and billing reports to identify any spikes or changes in usage that could explain the cost increase. Look for any unusual patterns or activities that may have contributed to the higher costs.
3. Ensure that your subscription type has not changed. Sometimes, changes in the subscription plan can lead to different pricing structures. Review the limits and quotas associated with your current plan to see if you have exceeded any thresholds that would lead to additional charges.
4. Verify the configuration settings of your Azure Blob storage account and networking resources to ensure that there are no misconfigurations or unexpected changes that could be driving up costs.

I also understand that you were having difficulties finding a create support request option on Azure Portal. For Billing and subscription related issues, you can follow these steps and create a support request.

1.Go to Azure Portal -> Click on help+support -> create a support request

In the Support+troubleshooting pane on the right, type 'Billing' in the text box -> Select Billing and click on Next.

2.Select the subscription and click on Next. You will see some suggestions to resolve your issue. If none of those apply, please see the steps below.

3.Scroll down the suggestions and you will see an option to Contact support

4.Select Billing and provide the details requested.5.If you see the solutions again, click on 'return to support request'. 6.Click on 'Next' and then you will be able to create the billing support ticket.

Please be informed that On February 12th, there was a change to the Azure Developer Support plan benefits. The plan now includes the ability to ask questions on Q&A and receive prioritized answers by a Microsoft representative. Our team would be happy to answer any technical questions you have. Please feel free to start a new thread for each question so we can engage with you as part of your Azure Developer Support Plan.

References:

Pricing calculator: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/calculator/?msockid=2009d5fe33106f6639eec0f632116e52

Plan and manage costs for Azure Blob Storage: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/common/storage-plan-manage-costs?toc=%2Fazure%2Fstorage%2Fblobs%2Ftoc.json&bc=%2Fazure%2Fstorage%2Fblobs%2Fbreadcrumb%2Ftoc.json

Hope the above answer helps! Please let us know do you have any further queries.

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