what are the optimal ways to save cost in Azure resource utilization?

Question

Which resources to bring down during off-hours/weekends which would yield maximum savings.

Answer 1

Hello PAREKH, SANJAY,

Thank you for posting your query here!

Adding on to the previous comment, could you please share with us what specific Azure services you are using and would like to optimize the price of.

There are some general guidelines to save costs in Azure resource utilization. Here are some of the optimal ways to save costs in Azure:

1.  Use Azure Advisor: Azure Advisor is a free service that provides recommendations to optimize your Azure deployments. It helps you identify idle and underutilized resources, and provides cost recommendations from the Cost tab on the Advisor dashboard. You can optimize virtual machine (VM) or virtual machine scale set (VMSS) spend by resizing or shutting down underutilized instances. Advisor uses machine-learning algorithms to identify low utilization and to identify the ideal recommendation to ensure optimal usage of virtual machines and virtual machine scale sets. The recommended actions are shut down or resize, specific to the resource being evaluated.

2.  Use Azure Cost Management and Billing: Azure Cost Management and Billing provides a set of tools to help you monitor, allocate, and optimize your Azure costs. You can use it to track your spending, set budgets, and get recommendations for cost savings. You can also use it to analyze your usage patterns and identify areas where you can optimize your costs.

3.  Use Azure Automation: Azure Automation is a cloud-based automation and configuration service that provides a way to automate the creation, deployment, monitoring, and maintenance of resources in your Azure environment. You can use it to automate the shutdown and startup of virtual machines during off-hours or weekends to save costs. You can also use it to automate the resizing of virtual machines based on usage patterns.

4.  Use Azure Spot Virtual Machines: Azure Spot Virtual Machines are a cost-effective option for running non-critical workloads. They provide access to unused Azure compute capacity at a significant discount compared to pay-as-you-go rates. You can use them to run workloads that can tolerate interruptions and can be easily restarted.

5.  Use Azure Reserved Instances: Azure Reserved Instances provide a way to save costs by committing to a one- or three-year term for virtual machines. You can save up to 72% compared to pay-as-you-go rates by purchasing Reserved Instances. You can also use them to reduce costs for other Azure services, such as Azure SQL Database and Azure Cosmos DB.

6.  Use Azure Blob Storage Lifecycle Management: Azure Blob Storage Lifecycle Management provides a way to automatically transition blobs to a cooler storage tier or delete them when they are no longer needed. You can use it to save costs by moving infrequently accessed data to a cooler storage tier, such as Archive Storage, which is less expensive than other storage tiers.

7.  Use Azure Functions: Azure Functions is a serverless compute service that provides a way to run code on demand without having to manage infrastructure. You can use it to run code during off-hours or weekends to save costs. You can also use it to automate tasks, such as resizing virtual machines based on usage patterns.

 For Reference: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-au/pricing/calculator/

 

Please let us know if you have any further queries. I’m happy to assist you further.

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Answer 2

Hi Parekh,

I would say this is completely dependent on what the business requires. I think where you should take a look at is:

#1 What can be serverless? If there are functions or processes that can be done with serverless services such as Azure Functions or Databricks (for ETL), then you should look to use those services.

#2 Do your servers require to serve information 24/7? Do you have websites running? If so, then you should be noting which services require to be on all the time and which ones can be scheduled to shut down.

Have a read on serverless services:

Azure serverless

https://azure.microsoft.com/en-ca/solutions/serverless

Serverless Computing

https://azure.microsoft.com/en-ca/resources/cloud-computing-dictionary/what-is-serverless-computing

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