Azure Virtual Machine (incl. Reserved Instances)
Author: Ronald Fung
Creation Date: 2 June 2023
Next Modified Date: 2 June 2024
A. Introduction
Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances is a pricing model offered by Microsoft Azure that enables customers to save money on their virtual machine (VM) workloads by reserving capacity in advance. With Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances, customers can make a one-time payment to reserve a VM for a specified time period, typically one or three years, and receive a significant discount on the hourly rate for that VM.
This pricing model is particularly useful for customers with predictable VM workloads or long-term usage requirements, as it allows them to save money on their Azure bills while still maintaining the flexibility and scalability of the Azure platform. With Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances, customers can also take advantage of the Azure Hybrid Benefit, which enables them to use their existing on-premises Windows Server or SQL Server licenses to save even more money on their Azure bills.
Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances offers several benefits, including cost savings, flexibility, scalability, and ease of use. By reserving capacity in advance, customers can save up to 72% on their Azure bills, compared to on-demand VM pricing. Customers can also easily modify or cancel their reservations, providing flexibility and scalability for changing business needs. And with Azure’s intuitive management portal, customers can easily manage their reservations and track their usage to ensure they are getting the most value from their investment.
Overall, Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances is a powerful and cost-effective pricing model for customers with predictable VM workloads or long-term usage requirements. By reserving capacity in advance and taking advantage of the Azure Hybrid Benefit, customers can save money on their Azure bills while still benefiting from the flexibility and scalability of the Azure platform.
B. How is it used at Seagen
As a biopharma research company using Microsoft Azure, you can use Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances to save money on your virtual machine workloads. Here are some ways you can use Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances:
Reserve capacity: Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances allows you to reserve capacity in advance for a specified time period, typically one or three years, and receive a significant discount on the hourly rate for that virtual machine.
Predictable workloads: Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances is particularly useful for customers with predictable virtual machine workloads or long-term usage requirements, allowing you to save money on your Azure bills while still maintaining the flexibility and scalability of the Azure platform.
Azure Hybrid Benefit: Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances allows you to take advantage of the Azure Hybrid Benefit, which enables you to use your existing on-premises Windows Server or SQL Server licenses to save even more money on your Azure bills.
Cost savings: By reserving capacity in advance, you can save up to 72% on your Azure bills, compared to on-demand virtual machine pricing.
Flexibility: Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances provides flexibility and scalability for changing business needs, allowing you to easily modify or cancel your reservations as needed.
Intuitive management portal: With Azure’s intuitive management portal, you can easily manage your reservations and track your usage to ensure you are getting the most value from your investment.
Overall, by leveraging Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances, you can save money on your virtual machine workloads, particularly if you have predictable workloads or long-term usage requirements. By reserving capacity in advance, taking advantage of the Azure Hybrid Benefit, and using Azure’s intuitive management portal, you can effectively manage your Azure bills and make data-driven decisions that support your biopharma research efforts.
C. Features
Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances is a pricing model offered by Microsoft Azure that enables customers to save money on their virtual machine workloads by reserving capacity in advance. Here are the key features of Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances:
Cost savings: By reserving capacity in advance, customers can save up to 72% on their Azure bills, compared to on-demand virtual machine pricing.
Predictable workloads: Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances is particularly useful for customers with predictable virtual machine workloads or long-term usage requirements, allowing them to save money on their Azure bills while still maintaining the flexibility and scalability of the Azure platform.
Azure Hybrid Benefit: Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances allows customers to take advantage of the Azure Hybrid Benefit, which enables them to use their existing on-premises Windows Server or SQL Server licenses to save even more money on their Azure bills.
Flexibility: Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances provides flexibility and scalability for changing business needs, allowing customers to easily modify or cancel their reservations as needed.
Intuitive management portal: With Azure’s intuitive management portal, customers can easily manage their reservations and track their usage to ensure they are getting the most value from their investment.
One-time payment: Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances requires a one-time payment to reserve capacity in advance, simplifying billing and reducing administrative overhead.
Multiple VM sizes: Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances supports multiple virtual machine sizes, allowing customers to choose the size and configuration that best meets their needs.
Multiple regions: Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances is available in multiple regions, allowing customers to reserve capacity in the regions that best meet their needs.
Overall, Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances offers a powerful and cost-effective pricing model for customers with predictable virtual machine workloads or long-term usage requirements. By reserving capacity in advance, taking advantage of the Azure Hybrid Benefit, and using Azure’s intuitive management portal, customers can effectively manage their Azure bills and make data-driven decisions that support their biopharma research efforts.
D. Where Implemented
E. How it is tested
Testing Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances involves verifying that the reserved capacity is properly configured and that you are effectively saving money on your virtual machine workloads. Here are some steps you can take to test Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances:
Verify configuration: Verify that Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances is properly configured and integrated with your Azure account and virtual machines.
Test cost savings: Test Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances by comparing the cost of your reserved capacity to the cost of on-demand virtual machine pricing, ensuring that you are effectively saving money on your Azure bills.
Test predictable workloads: Test Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances by verifying that your virtual machine workloads are predictable and align with your reserved capacity, ensuring that you are effectively utilizing your reserved capacity.
Test Azure Hybrid Benefit: Test Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances by verifying that you are taking advantage of the Azure Hybrid Benefit, allowing you to use your existing on-premises Windows Server or SQL Server licenses to save even more money on your Azure bills.
Test flexibility: Test Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances by verifying that you can easily modify or cancel your reservations as needed, providing flexibility and scalability for changing business needs.
Test intuitive management portal: Test Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances by verifying that you can easily manage your reservations and track your usage using Azure’s intuitive management portal.
Overall, testing Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances involves verifying that the reserved capacity is properly configured and that you are effectively saving money on your virtual machine workloads. By taking these steps, you can ensure that you are effectively using Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances to manage and save money on your cloud-based applications and services and make data-driven decisions that support your biopharma research efforts.
F. 2023 Roadmap
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G. 2024 Roadmap
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H. Known Issues
As with any software or service, there may be known issues or limitations with Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances that users should be aware of. Here are some of the known issues with Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances:
Limited availability: Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances may not be available in all regions or for all virtual machine sizes, which may impact its ability to effectively serve all customers.
Complexity: Configuring and managing Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances can be complex, requiring careful attention to virtual machine capacity, workloads, and usage patterns.
Limited flexibility: While Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances provides flexibility and scalability for changing business needs, customers may still experience some limitations in terms of modifying or canceling their reservations.
Limited customization: Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances may not support all custom configurations or images, which may impact its ability to support certain workloads or applications.
Cost optimization: Optimizing costs in Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances can be complex, requiring careful management of virtual machine capacity and usage patterns.
Security and compliance: Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances provides advanced security and compliance features, but users must ensure that their virtual machines are properly secured and compliant with relevant regulations and policies.
Overall, while Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances offers a powerful and cost-effective pricing model for managing virtual machine workloads in the cloud, users must be aware of these known issues and take steps to mitigate their impact. This may include carefully monitoring availability, complexity, flexibility, customization, cost optimization, security and compliance, and other factors that impact the performance, availability, and scalability of their cloud-based applications and services. By taking these steps, users can ensure that they are effectively using Azure Virtual Machines Reserved Instances to manage and save money on their cloud-based applications and services and make data-driven decisions that support their biopharma research efforts.
[x] Reviewed by Enterprise Architecture
[x] Reviewed by Application Development
[x] Reviewed by Data Architecture