Will a Server help me

Question

Hello,

I want to see if a server would help me and appreciate your thoughts and comments. I'm 1 person using 1 desktop PC at home. I have 2 questions (which I believe are related) and appreciate your thoughts and comments.

What I want to do and my needs

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I'm interested in making an improvement to something by changing 1 variable as well as combinations of variables and analyze the results. Kind of like this:

I want to increase 'x' and see what happens.
I want to increase 'x' and 'y' and see what happens.
I want to increase 'x', 'y' and 'z' and see what happens.

There will be a lot of variables and calculations.

My questions

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• Would a server or virtual server help me and if so does Azure have something in the 25 always free products? I want to start slow and keep things as simple as possible.
• If you have a server are you able to use some sort of specialized networking that would get info that a typical internet search might not find?

Thank you very much for your time and help.

Sincerely,
John

Answer 1

Hi @John

First in Azure you have a concept called "VM Scale sets" where the number of VM instances can automatically increase or decrease in response to demand or a defined schedule.

Refer : https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machine-scale-sets/overview

Azure free account gives you $200 credit for first 30 days. After the 30 days and up to 12 months after sign-up, you can only use a limited quantity of some services—not all Azure services are free

Please refer to the below link and see what are the services which will be available for next 11 months and how you can avoid consumption.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/manage/create-free-services

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/manage/avoid-charges-free-account

--please don't forget to upvote and Accept as answer if the reply is helpful--

Thanks,

Answer 2

@John Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A.

Regarding your first question, I understand that you want to know if you can use an Azure VM for your requirement. However, I am not very clear on your requirement, can you please explain further regarding the same so I can suggest a solution accordingly?

Regarding your second question- If you have a server are you able to use some sort of specialized networking that would get info that a typical internet search might not find?

An Azure VM gives you the flexibility of virtualization without having to buy and maintain the physical hardware that runs it. However, you still need to maintain the VM by performing tasks, such as configuring, patching, and installing the software that runs on it.

Azure virtual machines can be used in various ways. Some examples are:

• Development and test – Azure VMs offer a quick and easy way to create a computer with specific configurations required to code and test an application.
• Applications in the cloud – Because demand for your application can fluctuate, it might make economic sense to run it on a VM in Azure. You pay for extra VMs when you need them and shut them down when you don’t.
• Extended datacenter – Virtual machines in an Azure virtual network can easily be connected to your organization’s network.

The number of VMs that your application uses can scale up and out to whatever is required to meet your needs. However, you choose a VM when you need more control over the computing environment than the other choices offer.

Please read this document regarding Overview of Azure VM to get more details regarding the same.

Please let me know further so we can help you accordingly. Thank you!