Availability Zones for Notification Hub is too expensive. I want to minimize that

Question

Availability Zones for Notification Hub is too expensive. I want to minimize that

Joseph Yeo 20

Availability Zones for Notification Hub is too expensive. I want to minimize that.

Joseph Yeo 20 Reputation points

2025-05-06T13:33:20.83+00:00

Thanks for the explanation. If you could also tell me how to remove the additional AZ that would help. I don't want to recreate the hub as it is now live. All I need is the Baisc level of service but latest l=bill shows that AZ is costing us 20x the price.
Alekhya Vaddepally 1,255 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-06T13:50:23.4466667+00:00
Hi Joseph Yeo,

After fully reviewing the current platform capabilities, I want to share that Microsoft currently does not allow the availability of a notification hub to replace the area configuration, when it has been deployed. This setting applies during the initial provision and due to the underlying architecture, cannot be modified on any existing resources.

How ever, I completely understand how important it is to effectively manage the cost for your team. While we cannot disable the AZS on the current hub, there is a fully supported workaround that can help you achieve equal functionality at a very low cost

Create a new notification hub in the original level in an area without applied availability areas.

Gently migrate the traffic from your existing hub. Backend services can be updated to use a new hub without disrupting service.

Depending on your app and push platform, the client can be quietly registered, which ensures a spontaneous transition with minimal or no user effects.

Once valid is valid, the previous hub (with AZ cost) can be decommed, resulting in the ongoing cost saving.
Joseph Yeo 20 Reputation points

2025-05-07T05:47:53.51+00:00
Hi Alekhya,

Thanks for the detailed explanation. As I understand it, the resolution is to recreate the hub without the AZ. I can do this but I do not understand the impact on current users and if there is more development effort as well. The following is not clear to me:

Do I need to recreate tokens for the Apple APNS or can I just reuse the same settings as before? Meaning do I need to do some configuration on the Apple developer site?

Likewise for the Google FCM v1, do I need to regerate a new Private Key?

The notifications are used by both iOS and Android deployed devices. When we change the notification hub, won't these devices all need to regenerate tokens? How will they know that previous registrations are no longer valid? Do we need to update the deployment to a new version?
Sampath 2,930 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-07T06:49:33.99+00:00
Hi Joseph Yeo,

For Apple APNS Tokens You can be able to reuse the same settings as before, meaning no additional configuration on the Apple Developer site should be required. Apple’s push notification system does not require re-registering tokens unless there’s a major change in authentication.

You do not need to regenerate a new private key if you configure the new hub with the same credentials. However, ensure that your Firebase settings are correctly migrated.

Device Registrations & Token Expiry:

When switching to a new hub, devices will need to re-register to ensure they receive notifications from the new hub.

The previous registrations will not automatically expire, but they will no longer be valid for the new hub.

You may need to trigger a re-registration process within your app to ensure users are correctly subscribed to the new hub.

Deployment Updates – If your app relies on automatic registration , you may need to push an update to ensure devices register with the new hub. If your app manually handles registrations, you can trigger a refresh without requiring a full deployment.
Sampath 2,930 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-08T10:36:58.21+00:00

Hi Joseph Yeo, Let me know if you have any questions in the comments. Let know if helped in comments .Thank you.
Sampath 2,930 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-09T12:22:32.7466667+00:00

Hi Joseph Yeo, We still have not heard back from you.Let me know if you have any questions in the comments. Let know if helped in comments .Thank you.
Joseph Yeo 20 Reputation points

2025-05-09T12:28:54.92+00:00

Thank you Alekhya and Sampath,

You were correct. I managed to create a new hub using the same credentials and can confirm that both can work together. With regard to token and registration, we needed to change the app to allow it to force an update to create new tokens, but the notification hub itself worked well.

Thanks for the help and please consider this as the answer and go ahead an close the query/ticket.
Sampath 2,930 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-09T12:58:50.89+00:00

Hello @Joseph Yeo, To close this question, I need to convert the above comment into an answer, and you need to accept it and click yes. Let me know your thoughts.
Joseph Yeo 20 Reputation points

2025-05-09T13:22:02.8733333+00:00

I thought it already was an answer but please go ahead and accept it as an answer and I'll accept and click yes
Sampath 2,930 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-09T13:30:00.7766667+00:00

Hello @Joseph Yeo, Posted as summary. Thank you.
TP 119.3K Reputation points Moderator

2025-05-09T13:31:21.07+00:00

@Joseph Yeo Please double-check that your new notification hub has Availability zones: Disabled on Overview tab as shown below:

Some regions force it to Enabled even when you requested Disabled during deployment.

Accepted answer

1 additional answer

Your answer

Joseph Yeo 20 Reputation points

2025-05-06T13:33:20.83+00:00

Thanks for the explanation. If you could also tell me how to remove the additional AZ that would help. I don't want to recreate the hub as it is now live. All I need is the Baisc level of service but latest l=bill shows that AZ is costing us 20x the price.
Alekhya Vaddepally 1,255 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-06T13:50:23.4466667+00:00

Hi Joseph Yeo,

After fully reviewing the current platform capabilities, I want to share that Microsoft currently does not allow the availability of a notification hub to replace the area configuration, when it has been deployed. This setting applies during the initial provision and due to the underlying architecture, cannot be modified on any existing resources.

How ever, I completely understand how important it is to effectively manage the cost for your team. While we cannot disable the AZS on the current hub, there is a fully supported workaround that can help you achieve equal functionality at a very low cost

Create a new notification hub in the original level in an area without applied availability areas.

Gently migrate the traffic from your existing hub. Backend services can be updated to use a new hub without disrupting service.

Depending on your app and push platform, the client can be quietly registered, which ensures a spontaneous transition with minimal or no user effects.

Once valid is valid, the previous hub (with AZ cost) can be decommed, resulting in the ongoing cost saving.
Joseph Yeo 20 Reputation points

2025-05-07T05:47:53.51+00:00

Hi Alekhya,

Thanks for the detailed explanation. As I understand it, the resolution is to recreate the hub without the AZ. I can do this but I do not understand the impact on current users and if there is more development effort as well. The following is not clear to me:

Do I need to recreate tokens for the Apple APNS or can I just reuse the same settings as before? Meaning do I need to do some configuration on the Apple developer site?

Likewise for the Google FCM v1, do I need to regerate a new Private Key?

The notifications are used by both iOS and Android deployed devices. When we change the notification hub, won't these devices all need to regenerate tokens? How will they know that previous registrations are no longer valid? Do we need to update the deployment to a new version?
Sampath 2,930 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-07T06:49:33.99+00:00

Hi Joseph Yeo,

For Apple APNS Tokens You can be able to reuse the same settings as before, meaning no additional configuration on the Apple Developer site should be required. Apple’s push notification system does not require re-registering tokens unless there’s a major change in authentication.

You do not need to regenerate a new private key if you configure the new hub with the same credentials. However, ensure that your Firebase settings are correctly migrated.

Device Registrations & Token Expiry:

When switching to a new hub, devices will need to re-register to ensure they receive notifications from the new hub.

The previous registrations will not automatically expire, but they will no longer be valid for the new hub.

You may need to trigger a re-registration process within your app to ensure users are correctly subscribed to the new hub.

Deployment Updates – If your app relies on automatic registration , you may need to push an update to ensure devices register with the new hub. If your app manually handles registrations, you can trigger a refresh without requiring a full deployment.
Sampath 2,930 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-08T10:36:58.21+00:00

Hi Joseph Yeo, Let me know if you have any questions in the comments. Let know if helped in comments .Thank you.
Sampath 2,930 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-09T12:22:32.7466667+00:00

Hi Joseph Yeo, We still have not heard back from you.Let me know if you have any questions in the comments. Let know if helped in comments .Thank you.
Joseph Yeo 20 Reputation points

2025-05-09T12:28:54.92+00:00

Thank you Alekhya and Sampath,

You were correct. I managed to create a new hub using the same credentials and can confirm that both can work together. With regard to token and registration, we needed to change the app to allow it to force an update to create new tokens, but the notification hub itself worked well.

Thanks for the help and please consider this as the answer and go ahead an close the query/ticket.
Sampath 2,930 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-09T12:58:50.89+00:00

Hello @Joseph Yeo, To close this question, I need to convert the above comment into an answer, and you need to accept it and click yes. Let me know your thoughts.
Joseph Yeo 20 Reputation points

2025-05-09T13:22:02.8733333+00:00

I thought it already was an answer but please go ahead and accept it as an answer and I'll accept and click yes
Sampath 2,930 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-05-09T13:30:00.7766667+00:00

Hello @Joseph Yeo, Posted as summary. Thank you.
TP 119.3K Reputation points Moderator

2025-05-09T13:31:21.07+00:00

@Joseph Yeo Please double-check that your new notification hub has Availability zones: Disabled on Overview tab as shown below:

Some regions force it to Enabled even when you requested Disabled during deployment.

Answer 1

Hello Joseph Yeo,

When Notification Hubs are deployed with Availability Zones (AZs), your service benefits from higher uptime and fault tolerance by spreading resources across physically separate datacenters. However, this can lead to additional infrastructure and networking charges , especially in scenarios with high volumes of push notifications.

If high availability via AZs is not a strict requirement for your workload (e.g., non-critical notifications or tolerant of minor downtime), you may consider:

Using the Standard Tier instead of Premium, which provides reliable performance at a lower cost, and does not include zone charges by default.
Deploying in regions where AZs are optional or not enforced, which helps minimize overhead costs.
Ensure you provision only what’s necessary to avoid paying for unused capacity.
Exploring alternative architectures, such as Azure Event Grid, Azure Functions, or third-party push providers, if they better align with your cost-performance needs.

For detailed pricing:

Azure Notification Hubs Pricing

Availability Zones Overview

APNS Token Reuse & Hub Migration Guidance:

Regarding the Apple Push Notification Service (APNS):

Existing credentials can be reused across hubs. No reconfiguration is required on the Apple Developer portal as long as the authentication method (key or certificate) remains unchanged.
Private key regeneration is not required if you're configuring a new hub with the same credentials.
Ensure Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) settings are also correctly migrated when applicable.

Device Registration Considerations:

When switching to a new hub, devices must re-register to start receiving notifications from it. Registrations from the old hub are not automatically transferred or valid for the new one.
If your app uses automatic registration, a client update may be necessary to ensure the registration targets the new hub.
For manual registration flows, you can trigger the update without requiring a full app release.

Relevant documentation:

Configure Notification Hub for PNS

Conclusion:

You’ve correctly implemented a solution where the new hub uses the same credentials, and confirmed that both hubs function concurrently. It was also appropriate to update the app to handle token regeneration, ensuring proper registration.

Please "Accept the answer" and click "Yes" . So it can be helpful for others with similar questions.

Answer 2

Hi Joseph Yeo,

When the notification hub is configured with availability areas, your service extends into several physically different data centers within an ago region. Although it increases flexibility and uptime, it also introduces additional infrastructure and networking costs, which can be noticeable over time - especially if you are sending large amounts of push notifications.
If high availability with AZS is not a strict requirement for your use case (eg, non-masculine or non-oblivious-time information), you can choose to deploy notification hubs in a field or tier that does not use availability areas or avoids zone excesses to reduce the extra charges.

Here's how you can reduce the cost:

Use the standard level (instead of premium, if applied): provides a good balance of standard performance and costs, and the zone is not applied by excess default.
Post in areas where AZs are optional or not used: not all areas support or apply AZS. You can consider deploying in areas with low -cost overheads.
Evaluate your throughput units (TUS): Make sure you are only paying for throughput units that you really need. Many customers are more on this and pay more.
Consider alternative architecture if appropriate: Depending on your use, alternative services such as azure event grid, Azure functions, or even third-party push services can provide better cost-defense.
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/notification-hubs/
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/reliability/availability-zones-overview?tabs=azure-cli
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/notification-hubs/
if you have any further concerns or queries, please feel free to reach out to us.

Share via

Availability Zones for Notification Hub is too expensive. I want to minimize that

1 additional answer

Your answer