Optimize your Azure costs

Manage your cloud spending and focus on what matters most to your business.

7 ways to optimize costs today

1. Shut down unused resources -
   Identify idle virtual machines (VMs), ExpressRoute circuits, and other resources with Azure Advisor. Get recommendations on which resources to shut down, and see how much you would save.


2. Right-size underused resources - Find underutilized resources with Azure Advisor—and get recommendations on how to reduce your spend by reconfiguring or consolidating them.


3. Reserve instances for consistent workloads - Get a discount of up to 72 percent over pay-as-you-go pricing on Azure services when you prepay for a one- or three-year term with reservation pricing.


4. Take advantage of the Azure Hybrid Benefit - AWS is five times more expensive than Azure for Windows and SQL Server. Save big when you migrate your on-premises workloads to Azure.


5. Configure autoscaling - Save by dynamically allocating and de-allocating resources to match your performance needs.


6. Set up budgets and allocate costs to teams and projects - Create and manage budgets for the Azure services you use or subscribe to—and monitor your organization’s cloud spending—with Azure Cost Management.


7. Choose the right Azure compute service - Azure offers many ways to host your code. Operate more cost efficiently by selecting the right compute service for your application.

Reference

• Azure well architected cost optimization: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/modules/azure-well-architected-cost-optimization/
• Cost Optimization: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/architecture/framework/cost/

Azure Services

Microsoft Compute product

Compute

Access cloud compute capacity, virtualization, and scale on demand—and only pay for the resources you use.

If you want to	Use this
Provision Linux and Windows virtual machines in seconds with the configurations of your choice	Virtual Machines
Achieve high availability by autoscaling to create thousands of VMs in minutes	Virtual Machine Scale Sets
Get deep discounts when you provision unused compute capacity to run your workloads	Azure Spot Virtual Machines
Simplify the deployment, management, and operations of Kubernetes	Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
Accelerate app development using an event-driven, serverless architecture	Azure Functions
Develop microservices and orchestrate containers on Windows and Linux	Service Fabric
Quickly create cloud apps for web and mobile with fully managed platform	App Service
Containerize apps and easily run containers with a single command	Container Instances
Cloud-scale job scheduling and compute management with the ability to scale to tens, hundreds, or thousands of virtual machines	Batch
Create highly available, scalable cloud applications and APIs that help you focus on apps instead of hardware	Cloud Services
Deploy your Azure virtual machines on a physical server only used by your organization	Azure Dedicated Host

Microsoft Container services

Container services

Accelerate your containerized application development without compromising security.

If you want to	Use this
Simplify the deployment, management, and operations of Kubernetes	Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
Quickly create powerful cloud apps for web and mobile	App Service
Easily run containers on Azure without managing servers	Container Instances
Cloud-scale job scheduling and compute management	Batch
Develop microservices and orchestrate containers on Windows or Linux	Service Fabric
Store and manage container images across all types of Azure deployments	Container Registry
Run fully managed OpenShift clusters, jointly operated with Red Hat	Azure Red Hat OpenShift

Microsoft Types of Databases on Azure

Databases on Azure

Fully managed, intelligent, and flexible cloud database services.

If you want to	Use this
Managed, intelligent SQL in the cloud	Azure SQL Database
Managed, always up-to-date SQL instance in the cloud	Azure SQL Managed Instance
Migrate your SQL workloads to Azure while maintaining complete SQL Server compatibility and operating system-level access	SQL Server on Virtual Machines
Build scalable, secure, and fully managed enterprise-ready apps on open-source PostgreSQL, scale out single-node PostgreSQL with high performance, or migrate PostgreSQL and Oracle workloads to the cloud	Azure Database for PostgreSQL
Deliver high availability and elastic scaling to open-source mobile and web apps with a managed community MySQL database service, or migrate MySQL workloads to the cloud	Azure Database for MySQL
Deliver high availability and elastic scaling to open-source mobile and web apps with a managed community MariaDB database service	Azure Database for MariaDB
Build applications with guaranteed low latency and high availability anywhere, at any scale, or migrate Cassandra, MongoDB, and other NoSQL workloads to the cloud	Azure Cosmos DB
Power fast, scalable applications with an open-source-compatible in-memory data store	Azure Cache for Redis
Accelerate your transition to the cloud using a simple, self-guided migration process	Azure Database Migration Service
Modernize existing Cassandra data clusters and apps, and enjoy flexibility and freedom with managed instance service	Azure Managed Instance for Apache Cassandra

Microsoft DevOps

DevOps

Deliver innovation faster with simple, reliable tools for continuous delivery.

If you want to	Use this
Services for teams to share code, track work, and ship software	Azure DevOps
Create a full continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipeline with just a few clicks for any application in any language deployed on a variety of Azure services.	Azure DevOps Projects
Automatically build, test, distribute, deploy, and monitor iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS apps—all in one place	Visual Studio App Center
Set up labs for a classroom, trials, development, or testing	Azure Lab Services
Get the granular, up-to-date monitoring data you need—all in one place	Azure Monitor
Create cloud environments with quick setup, reusable templates, cost management, and integration with existing toolchains	Azure DevTest Labs

Microsoft Developer tools

Developer tools

Build, debug, deploy, and manage cloud applications—using any platform or language.

If you want to	Use this
Get all the power and capabilities you need to easily develop, debug, deploy, manage, and diagnose cloud-scale applications on Azure, using a full-featured IDE	Visual Studio
Edit and debug code quickly with a lightweight code editor that runs on macOS, Linux, and Windows—streamlined for building and deploying Node.js and Java apps to the cloud—using serverless computing, containers, or managed Web Apps	Visual Studio Code
Download and install language-specific SDKs and tools for your platform of choice, including .NET, Java, Node.js, Python, and Go	SDKs
Access Visual Studio, Azure credits, Azure DevOps, and many other resources for creating, deploying, and managing applications.	Visual Studio Subscriptions
Fast, scalable parameter storage for app configuration	App Configuration

Azure Networking

Azure Networking

Connect and deliver your hybrid and cloud-native applications with low-latency, Zero Trust based networking services.

Services

Secure network infrastructure

Build and protect your virtual network infrastructure.

If you want to	Use this
Connect everything from virtual machines to incoming VPN connections	Azure Virtual Network
Balance inbound and outbound connections and requests to applications	Azure Load Balancer
Protect your applications from DDoS attacks	Azure DDoS Protection
Native firewall capabilities with built-in high availability and zero maintenance	Azure Firewall
Manage network security policy and routing centrally	Azure Firewall Manager
Private and fully managed RDP and SSH access to your virtual machines	Azure Bastion
Private access to services hosted on the Azure platform	Azure Private Link
Route incoming traffic for better performance and availability	Traffic Manager
Monitor and diagnose network issues	Network Watcher

On-prem and branch connectivity

Connect your on-premises datacenter and branches to the cloud.

If you want to	Use this
Add private network connectivity from your corporate network to cloud	Azure ExpressRoute
Connect business offices, retail locations, and sites securely with a unified portal	Azure Virtual WAN
Securely use the internet to access Azure Virtual Networks	Azure VPN Gateway
Choose how your traffic routes between Azure and the Internet	Routing preference

Remote work connectivity

Enable remote users to access internal resources

If you want to	Use this
Securely use the internet to access Azure Virtual Networks	Azure VPN Gateway
Connect business offices, retail locations, and sites securely with a unified portal	Azure Virtual WAN
Protect your applications from DDoS attacks	Azure DDoS Protection

5G and edge computing

Enable edge computing platforms and apps on 5G enabled devices.

If you want to	Use this
Provide real-time customer experiences with ultra-low-latency edge compute	Azure Edge Zones, Azure Edge Zones with carrier, Azure Private Edge Zones

Secure global app delivery

Build, secure, and deliver applications to serve a global user base.

If you want to	Use this
Accelerate the delivery of high-bandwidth content to customers worldwide	Azure CDN
Scalable, security-enhanced delivery point for global, microservice-based web applications	Azure Front Door
Manage traffic to your web applications with a web traffic load balancer.	Azure Application Gateway
Use a firewall service for web apps to help improve web app security	Azure Web Application Firewall
Ensure ultra-fast DNS responses and availability for your domain needs.	Azure DNS
Private access to services hosted on the Azure platform	Azure Private Link
Test how networking infrastructure changes will impact performance	Internet Analyzer

Storage

Storage

Massively scalable, secure cloud storage for your data, apps, and workloads.

If you want to	Use this
High-performance, durable block storage for Azure Virtual Machines	Azure Disk Storage
Massively scalable and secure object storage for cloud-native workloads, archives, data lakes, high-performance computing, and machine learning	Azure Blob Storage
Massively scalable and secure data lake for your high-performance analytics workloads	Azure Data Lake Storage
Simple, secure, and serverless enterprise-grade cloud file shares	Azure Files
Enterprise file storage, powered by NetApp	Azure NetApp Files
Appliances and solutions for offline data transfer to Azure​	Azure Data Box
Store unstructured data that is completely tamper-proof and can be cryptographically verified	Microsoft Azure Confidential Ledger

Security

Security

Strengthen the security of your cloud workloads with built-in services
Protect data, apps, and infrastructure quickly with built-in security services in Azure that include unparalleled security intelligence to help identify rapidly evolving threats early—so you can respond quickly. Implement a layered, defense in-depth strategy across identity, data, hosts, and networks. Unify security management and enable advanced threat protection across hybrid cloud environments.

If you want to	Use this
Unify security management and enable advanced threat protection for workloads in the cloud and on-premises	Security Center
Safeguard cryptographic keys and other secrets used by cloud apps and services	Key Vault
Protect your Azure resources from denial of service threats	Azure DDoS Protection
Control and help secure email, documents, and sensitive data that you share outside your company	Azure Information Protection
Protect your applications from common web vulnerabilities and exploits with a built-in web application firewall	Application Gateway
A fully managed and unified remote attestation service to validate multiple Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) in Azure	Microsoft Azure Attestation
Store unstructured data that is completely tamper-proof and can be cryptographically verified	Microsoft Azure Confidential Ledger

Web

Web

Build powerful, intelligent web applications.

If you want to	Use this
Build on a fully-managed platform to: Develop and deploy web apps at any scale using .Net Core, Java, Docker, Node.js, and more. Launch websites quickly, with broad CMS support from the Azure Marketplace. Accelerate your feature updates using built-in CI/CD.	App Service
Accelerate the delivery of high-bandwidth content—from applications and stored content to streaming video—to customers worldwide.	Content Delivery Network
Encode, store, and stream video and audio at scale. Deliver broadcast and over-the-top (OTT) video. Use media analytics to gain insights about video files.	Media Services
Implement a fully-managed search service that helps you avoid issues with index corruption, scaling, service availability, and service.	Azure Cognitive Search
Add real-time functionality to your web app, such as chat room, co-authoring, live dashboard, and instant broadcasting.	Azure SignalR Service
Add maps, search, routing, and current traffic conditions to your apps with geospatial services.	Azure Maps
Ensure ultra-fast DNS responses and ultra-high availability for all your domain needs.	Azure DNS
Optimize delivery from application server farms while increasing application security with a web application firewall.	Application Gateway
Easily build real-time messaging web applications using WebSockets and the publish-subscribe pattern	Azure Web PubSub

Identity and access management (IAM)

Identity and access management (IAM)

Secure access to your resources with Azure identity and access management solutions.
Protect your applications and data at the front gate with Azure identity and access management solutions. Defend against malicious login attempts and safeguard credentials with risk-based access controls, identity protection tools, and strong authentication options—without disrupting productivity.

If you want to	Use this
Provide identity and access management for cloud and hybrid environments	Azure Active Directory
Consumer identity and access management in the cloud	Azure Active Directory External Identities
Join virtual machines in Azure to a domain without deploying domain controllers	Azure Active Directory Domain Services

Integration Services

Integration Services

Seamlessly integrate applications, data, and processes for your enterprise.

If you want to	Use this
Create workflows and orchestrate business processes to connect hundreds of services in the cloud and on-premises	Azure Logic Apps
Connect on-premises and cloud-based applications and services to implement highly secure messaging workflows	Service Bus
Publish your APIs securely for internal and external developers to use when connecting to backend systems hosted anywhere	API Management
Connect supported Azure and third-party services using a fully managed event-routing service with a publish-subscribe model that simplifies event-based app development	Event Grid
Simplify complex orchestration problems with an event-driven serverless compute platform	Azure Functions
Visually integrate data sources to construct ETL and ELT processes and accelerate data transformation, using 90+ pre-built connectors to manage data pipelines and support enterprise workflows	Azure Data Factory

Analytics

Analytics

A comprehensive set of solutions that turn your data into actionable insights.

If you want...	Use this
Limitless analytics service with unmatched time to insight	Azure Synapse Analytics
A fully managed, fast, easy and collaborative Apache® Spark™ based analytics platform optimized for Azure	Azure Databricks
A fully managed cloud Hadoop and Spark service backed by 99.9% SLA for your enterprise	HDInsight
A data integration service to orchestrate and automate data movement and transformation	Azure Data Factory
Open and elastic AI development spanning the cloud and the edge	Machine Learning
Real-time data stream processing from millions of IoT devices	Azure Stream Analytics
A fully managed on-demand pay-per-job analytics service with enterprise-grade security, auditing, and support	Data Lake Analytics
Enterprise grade analytics engine as a service	Azure Analysis Services
A hyper-scale telemetry ingestion service that collects, transforms, and stores millions of events	Event Hubs
Fast and highly scalable data exploration service	Azure Data Explorer
A simple and safe service for sharing big data with external organizations	Azure Data Share
End-to-end IoT analytics platform to monitor, analyze, and visualize your industrial IoT data at scale	Azure Time Series Insights
A secure, high-throughput connector designed to copy select Microsoft 365 productivity datasets into your Azure tenant	Microsoft Graph Data Connect

Reference

• Azure Compute Services: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/product-categories/compute/
• Azure Container Services: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/product-categories/containers/
• Azure Security services: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/services-technologies
• Microsoft Azure Tips And Tricks: https://microsoft.github.io/AzureTipsAndTricks/

Azure Portals

List of Portals used in Azure World.

Azure Portals	Description
https://portal.azure.com/	Main Azure Portal
https://preview.portal.azure.com	Preview Portal
https://aad.portal.azure.com	Azure AD Portal - This is a subset of the main Azure Portal
https://devicemanagement.portal.azure.com	Microsoft 365 Device Management - This is a subset of the main Azure Portal
https://ea.azure.com	Enterprise Account Portal
https://www.microsoftazuresponsorships.com	BizSpark Credits
https://account.azure.com/Subscriptions	PAYG Subscriptions
https://resources.azure.com/	Reosurce Explorer
https://shell.azure.com	Cloud Shell Only
https://manage.windowsazure.com	Old Portal (Killed)
https://account.activedirectory.windowsazure.com/usermanagement/multifactorverification.aspx	Multi-factor Authentication
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/status/	Azure Status - Public page showing health of all Azure services (useful if you can't log in to the portal)
https://securitycenter.windows.com	Windows Defender ATP
https://portal.atp.azure.com/	Windows Defender ATP Other portal

Useful Microsoft Links

• List of Azure DevOps Organisations: https://aex.dev.azure.com
• Visual Studio Subscriptions Administration: https://manage.visualstudio.com
• Services Hub (Premier Support Portal): https://serviceshub.microsoft.com/databoard
• My Visual Studio & MSDN Benefits: https://my.visualstudio.com

Reference

• Azure SLA: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/support/legal/sla/summary/
• Azure Support plan: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-in/support/plans/
• Azure how to: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLasX02E8BPBKgXP4oflOL29TtqTzwhxR

SLA summary for Azure services

Service-level agreements (SLAs) describe Microsoft’s commitments for uptime and connectivity. The SLA for individual Azure services are listed below.

Reference

• Azure SLA: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/support/legal/sla/summary/
• Azure Support plan: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-in/support/plans/
• Azure how to: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLasX02E8BPBKgXP4oflOL29TtqTzwhxR
• Azure app service plan to: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-in/pricing/details/app-service/windows/

Azure Cli

The Azure command-line interface (Azure CLI) is a set of commands used to create and manage Azure resources. The Azure CLI is available across Azure services and is designed to get you working quickly with Azure, with an emphasis on automation.

Get list of commands in csv file

Get-Command | Export-Csv -Path .\AzCommands.csv

clear
      
#List of resource group
az group list
      
#Create VM using CLI
PS /home/cloud> az vm create `
>> --name LabVM1 `
>> --resource-group 72-ed951e1f-accessing-and-using-the-azure-cloud-sh `
>> --image UbuntuLTS `
>> --admin-username azureuser `
>> --generate-ssh-keys


#Vm list
az vm list

#Get Resource Group List
Get-AzResource

#Get Storage account
Get-AzStorageAccount

#Get VM
Get-AzVM

#Get Azure resource by  resource type
Get-AzResource | ft

#remove Azure VM (Provide Azure VM Name and ResourceGroup)
Remove-AzVM

      

Reference

• Azure CLI Overview: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/cli/azure/?view=a
• Azure CLI Reference: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/cli/azure/reference-index?view=azure-cli-latest
• Azure PowerShell Overview: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/azure/overview?view=azps-1.6.0
• Quickstart for Bash in Azure Cloud Shell: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cloud-shell/quickstart
• Quickstart for PowerShell in Azure Cloud Shell: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cloud-shell/quickstart-powershell