Azure Pricing and TCO Calculator

Azure moves development expenses from Capital Expenditures (CapEx) for setting up and maintaining facilities to Operating Expenditures (OpEx) for renting infrastructure as needed, including computation, storage, networking, and other types.

Microsoft Azure Calculator is a tool that allows users to estimate the cost of using various Azure services, such as virtual machines, storage, and networking. The calculator can be used to create customized scenarios, compare costs across different services, and generate detailed cost reports. It can also be used to estimate the costs of migrating workloads to Azure. Microsoft Azure Calculator helps customers better understand and manage their Azure costs.

Factors affecting OpEx Costs

There are several factors affecting OpEx Costs, some of them are:

Type of Resource

In Microsoft Azure, a resource is a manageable item that is used to perform operations in Azure. Examples of resources include virtual machines, storage accounts, and virtual networks. Each resource belongs to a resource group and has a unique type and name. The type of a resource defines the operations that can be performed on it, such as starting and stopping a virtual machine.

Consumption

In Microsoft Azure, “Consumption” refers to the usage-based pricing model for certain services, where you pay for what you use on a pay-as-you-go basis. This model is mainly used in serverless services like Azure Functions, Azure Logic Apps, Azure Event Grid, and Azure API Management. With the Consumption plan, you don’t need to provision and manage any infrastructure, and you only pay for the resources and bandwidth that your app uses. This can be a cost-effective option for apps with unpredictable or varying usage patterns.

Type of Subscription

There are several types of subscriptions available in Microsoft Azure, each with its own set of features and pricing options, These include:

• Pay-As-You-Go: This is the most common type of subscription, where users pay for the resources they use on a monthly or hourly basis.
• Free: This type of subscription is available for a limited period and provides a limited set of features and services at no cost.
• Enterprise Agreement: This type of subscription is designed for large organizations that want to purchase Azure services on a pre-paid, contract basis.
• Cloud Solution Provider (CSP): This type of subscription is for partners who resell Azure services to their customers.
• Free Trial: This type of subscription is for users who want to try Azure services for free for a limited period.
• Education: This type of subscription is for students and educators who want to use Azure services for educational purposes.
• MSP: This type of subscription is for Managed Service Providers who want to provide Azure services to their customers.
• Government: This type of subscription is for organizations and agencies that operate in government and need to comply with specific regulatory and compliance requirements.

Marketplace of Azure

Azure Marketplace is an online marketplace that provides various services and products that are built on top of the Microsoft Azure platform. These services and products can include virtual machines, web applications, and other software solutions that have been created by Microsoft or by third-party vendors. Users can browse and search for products, read reviews, and then deploy them to their Azure subscription. The Marketplace also includes a feature that allows users to easily create and manage their custom images and services, which can be shared with other users. 

Maintenance

Maintenance in Microsoft Azure refers to the ongoing upkeep and management of Azure resources, such as virtual machines and storage accounts. This includes tasks like applying software updates, monitoring the health of resources, and performing backups. Azure provides several built-in mechanisms for performing maintenance tasks, such as Azure Update Management, Azure Backup, Azure Monitor, and Azure Automation. These tools can help you automate and schedule maintenance tasks, and monitor the health of your resources. Additionally, Azure also provides various options for handling maintenance on virtual machines, such as performing planned maintenance or using availability sets to ensure high availability.

Geography  

Azure geography refers to the physical location of data centers and associated services within the Microsoft Azure public cloud platform. Each geographic region is made up of one or more regions, which are used to deploy resources such as virtual machines and storage accounts. Users can choose the geographic location for their resources to ensure compliance with data sovereignty laws, minimize latency, or meet other business needs.

Pricing and Total Cost of Ownership Calculators

You can use two calculators to better understand possible Azure costs. the Pricing Calculator and the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) calculator. Both calculators may be used through the internet, and both allow you to build out a configuration.  however, The two calculators perform very different functions.

Pricing Calculator

The Azure Pricing Calculator is a tool provided by Microsoft that allows users to estimate the cost of using Azure services. It allows users to select the services they plan to use, specify the configuration and usage details, and then calculate the estimated cost based on the current prices for those services.

The pricing calculator provides a detailed breakdown of the costs associated with each service, including the cost per hour or month. It also allows users to compare the costs of different services and configurations, and to estimate the total cost of running a specific workload on Azure.

Users can also use the pricing calculator to estimate costs for different Azure regions, as prices can vary depending on the location of the data center where the services are hosted.

Look out for the Pricing calculator

Step 1: Go to the official price calculating page. There you can see the following details

• Products: Here you may select the Azure services you wish to include in your estimate. Most of your time will probably be spent here.
• Example: scenarios You can use these reference architectures, which are typical cloud-based solutions, as a starting point.
• Saved estimates: Here you’ll find your previously saved estimates.
• FAQs: Answers to commonly asked questions about the Pricing Calculator may be found here.

Step 2: Select the services you want to use. You can add services to your estimate by searching for them in the search bar or by browsing through the different categories. Choose the service from one of the following categories under the Products tab.

Category	Service
Compute	Virtual Machines
Databases	Azure SQL Database
Networking	Networking Application Gateway

Step 3: Scroll to the bottom of the page. Each service’s default configuration is mentioned for each. Under Virtual Machines, set these values:

Setting	Value
Region	West US
Operating system	Windows
Type	OS Only)
Tier	Standard
Instance	D2 v3
Virtual machines	2 x 730 Hours

Step 4: Enter the following settings under Azure SQL Database:

Setting	Value
Region	West US
Type	Single Database
Backup storage tier	RA-GRS
Purchase model	vCore
Service tier	General Purpose
Compute tier	Provisioned
Generation	Gen 5
Instance	8 vCore

Step 5: Set the following settings under Application Gateway:

Setting	Value
Region	West US
Tier	Web Application Firewall
Size	Medium
Gateway hours	2 x 730 Hours
Data processed	1 TB
Outbound data transfer	5 GB

Maintain the current values for the remaining parameters. Examine, communicate, and save your estimate. The overall estimated cost of running the solution is displayed at the bottom of the page. If you’d prefer, you may switch the currency option.

Note: The pricing calculator provides an estimate based on the current prices and it’s subject to change. It’s recommended to check the Azure website regularly for updated prices and review the costs before making any decisions.

Total Cost of Ownership Calculator (TCO)

It is a tool provided by Microsoft that helps users to estimate the costs of running their workloads on Azure, compared to running them on-premises or in another cloud platform. It allows users to compare the costs of different deployment options, including the costs for hardware, software, and support, as well as the costs for power, cooling, and other resources.

The TCO Calculator for Azure can help users to understand the long-term costs of running their workloads on Azure, including the costs for operating and maintaining the services, as well as the costs for scaling and expanding the services as needed. It can also help users to identify areas where they can reduce costs and optimize their resource usage.

Users can input information about their current infrastructure, usage, and expected growth and the TCO calculator will provide a comparison of costs between on-premises and Azure, including a breakdown of costs for computing, storage, and networking resources. The TCO calculator can be found on the Azure website, it’s a useful tool for organizations that are considering migrating to Azure and want to compare the costs and benefits of running their workloads in the cloud.

Look out for the TCO calculator:

Step 1: Go to the Azure TCO Calculator website

Step 2: To add a row of Windows Server virtual machines, choose Add server workload under Define your workloads.

Step 3: Set the value for each of the following options under Servers:

Setting	Value
Name	Servers: Windows VMs
Workload	Windows/Linux Server
Environment	Virtual Machines
Operating system	Windows
Operating System License	Datacenter
VMs	50
Virtualization	Hyper-V
Core(s)	8
RAM (GB)	16
Optimize by	CPU
Windows Server 2008/2008 R2	Off

Step 4: Select To build a second row of Linux VMs,  Afterward specify these options:

Setting	Value
Name	Servers: Linux VMs
Workload	Windows/Linux Server
Environment	Virtual Machines
Operating system	Linux
VMs	50
Virtualization	VMware
Core(s)	8
RAM (GB)	16
Optimize by	CPU

Step 5: Select Add storage from the Storage menu. Afterward, specify these options:

Setting	Value
Name	Server Storage
Storage type	Local Disk/SAN
Disk type	HDD
Capacity	60 TB
Backup	120 TB
Archive	0 TB

Step 6: Set the Outbound bandwidth to 15 TB under Networking and choose Next.

Adjust expectations: You choose your currency here. You keep the remaining fields’ default values in place for simplicity.

View the report: To view the summary, scroll to the bottom. You may compare executing your workloads on Azure with doing so in a data center.

Note: The TCO Calculator provides an estimate based on the information provided and it’s subject to change. It’s recommended to review the costs before making any decisions and consult with Azure experts to validate the results.