Azure

How much does Azure Cost?

MJandAR Azure , ,

In working with numerous deployments, from entry to Azure to full datacenter migrations to Azure, there are some fantastic tools to help with getting a baseline to the question, “How much will Azure cost me?”

These are probably commonly known, but if you stumble upon this and this is the first you’re hearing about it, then you’re in luck!

Microsoft Azure: Pricing Calculator

The first tool is more for getting a pretty good quote based on services you select (and yes, there is a scenario wizard to help, if you’re not sure). The Microsoft Azure Pricing Calculator will help define your needs for consumption in Azure and break it down to an anticipated monthly bill.

Microsoft Azure TCO Calculator

The second tool is the Azure Total Cost of Ownership Calculator. This will help you quickly compare the TCO of your on-premises infrastructure with a comparable Azure deployment and gives estimated savings you can realize by moving to Azure.

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Windows 10 in Azure

MJandAR Azure, Windows PowerShell

I came across a great post that answers a question I had;  “How can I run a Windows 10 VM in Azure?”.  Now, this isn’t a normal thing, but for me and testing things, sometimes it’s nice to have a clean workstation that is domain joined in my Azure network. This is not a cheap alternative to running it as a day-to-day used VM, but more for folks like me who want to run tests in a lab scenario. Josh Heffner’s blog post does a great job of explaining the technical ‘how-to’ of this.

How To Upload and Run a Windows 10 Enterprise VM in Azure

By | January 20, 2015
12 Comments

Running a workstation OS in the cloud may not be the most practical solution at this time, but it may prove useful in some test lab scenarios. While Azure does support plenty of server OS options that you can choose from a gallery and have up and running within minutes, Windows 7 and 8 images are currently only available to MSDN Subscribers. Azure does provide the capability to upload your own VHD to run on their platform, though. In this guide, we will create a Hyper-V VM with Windows 10 Enterprise Preview, prepare the VHD and upload it to Windows Azure, and connect to the Windows VM for use in the cloud. We will be using Windows 10 in this guide, but the steps are the same for Enterprise versions of Windows 7 and Windows 8.

Read More about this at Josh’s page…

Start-Up Company Free Resource

MJandAR Azure, Simple Observations, Tech Updates , , ,

New Start-up Companies, here is a free resource for you! Let Microsoft help you grow your business with BizSpark

BizSpark

Join BizSpark for Free and gain access to:

  • 3 years free access to Azure (up to $750/mo)
  • Works with Linux, Java, PHP, etc…
  • Build Virtual Machines, Web Applications, Store Data, Create Mobile Apps

Requirements?

  • Your business is less than 5 years old
  • Privately held
  • and less than $1 million annual revenue

I encourage all new small businesses looking to gain an edge in the technology portion of their business to look over this offering and take advantage of this fantastic offer!

To learn more about BizSpark and how it can help you.. please visit them directly, Don’t just take my word for it 😉

AADConnect’s new Features -Auto Upgrade

MJandAR Azure, Microsoft Office 365 , , ,

A colleague of mine posted a great article on the new features of Azure Active Directory Connect (AADConnect) that raises some caution flags -things to be aware of when installing this new version.  Please take a moment to review the items Mr. Crowley addresses as they may be helpful on your next AADConnect deployment… Continue reading →

AzureCon: IaaS proper sizing and cost

MJandAR Azure

Kyle is a class act and an Azure specialist -great information here…

Kyle Green

Today is Microsoft’s free event called AzureCon, I happened to stumble across a brief session that talks about planning migrations of on-premises servers to Azure IaaS and how to get the most out of your money when moving these services to Azure. I liked the breakdown in cost analysis and explanations on how using the same amount of resources for your VMs in Azure as you do on-premises can result in extra costs since your VMs may run more efficiently using Azure’s hardware.

Session: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/videos/azurecon-2015-azure-iaas-proper-sizing-and-cost/

Azure Cost Estimator Tool: http://blogs.technet.com/b/cbernier/archive/2015/03/26/microsoft-azure-cost-estimator-version-2-2.aspx

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