Azure egress costs: What you should know

Introduction to Azure egress costs

As companies scale their IT infrastructure, managing cloud budgets effectively becomes vital. A significant, often overlooked factor in cloud expenses is Azure egress costs. These are the charges incurred when data is transferred from Azure to external locations, such as other clouds or the Internet. Despite careful cloud consumption planning, unexpected fees frequently arise due to hidden Azure egress pricing. Tata Communications allows businesses to decode these costs, highlighting critical scenarios, potential hidden extras, and strategies to optimise expenses. By addressing these overlooked areas, companies can better manage their cloud investments while ensuring scalability and efficiency.

What are Azure egress costs?

Azure egress charges refer to the fees incurred when data is transferred from Azure data centres to external locations, such as the Internet or other regions. These Azure egress fees vary based on critical factors like the traffic source location, destination, data volume, and originating zone. Analysing these cost components is imperative for optimising cloud expenses and ensuring predictable budget planning, enabling businesses to effectively manage resources and avoid costly surprises.

Types of Azure egress costs

Understanding egress cost Azure involves evaluating the scenarios where outbound data transfer charges apply.

• Within Virtual Network (VNET): Data transfers within the same VNET are free if resources are in the same subnet. Transfers between subnets remain free within the same VNET.
• VNET Peering: Charges apply for data ingress and egress between peered VNETs. Regional peering costs $0.01/GB for both inbound and outbound traffic. For global peering, charges depend on zones, starting from $0.035/GB.
• Between availability zones: While intra-zone transfers are free, inter-zone transfers cost $0.01/GB for both ingress and egress.
• Across regions: Transfers between Azure regions, like intra-continental traffic in North America, are charged $0.02/GB.

To manage these costs effectively, businesses can utilise the Azure egress cost calculator to estimate and plan their cloud expenses. Recognising these Azure egresses helps in making informed decisions for cloud budgeting.

Azure egress pricing breakdown

Understanding Azure ingress and egress costs is essential for managing cloud expenses effectively. Microsoft Azure's pricing for outbound data transfers (Microsoft Azure egress charges) varies by transfer type, source, destination, and volume.

Data transfer pricing overview

Within Azure network:

• Transfers within the same Availability Zone: Free.
• Transfers between Availability Zones: $0.01 per GB (both ingress and egress).
• From Azure Origin to Azure CDN or front door: Free.

Intra-continental transfers:

• North America/Europe: $0.02 per GB.
• Asia, Oceania, Middle East, and Africa: $0.08 per GB.
• South America: $0.16 per GB.

Example calculation:

For 15TB from North America and 8TB from South America:

• North America: $1,282.03.
• South America: $1,429.80.
• Combined monthly cost: $2,711.83.

Monitoring Azure egress costs ensures better budget control. Tools like the Azure Cost Calculator help businesses optimise their cloud investments.

Services impacting Azure egress costs

Understanding the factors influencing Azure egress cost is essential for managing cloud expenses effectively. Various services, methods, and configurations contribute to Azure egress pricing.

Azure native dynatrace service: This service can significantly impact Azure egress charges. When logs are produced and exported, the cost varies based on the Azure region of the log producer and its destination region. Monitoring configurations can directly influence these charges.

Data transfer methods: The method of data transfer plays a pivotal role in costs. Using Microsoft's premium global network comes with specific rates, often higher than those for transit via an ISP network. Selecting the optimal transfer route is critical to managing costs.

Cross-region data transfers: Moving data across Azure regions, such as from North America to Europe, triggers additional egress fees. As highlighted in Azure's regional pricing structures, the cost depends on the volume and the zones involved.

Availability Zones: Transfers between Availability Zones are billed at $0.01 per GB. However, data transfers within the same zone remain free, emphasising the importance of strategic resource placement.

Additional factors like pricing complexity, scalability needs, licensing fees, and Azure billing zones can further influence Azure egress pricing. Businesses must carefully assess these components and leverage tools like Azure cost calculator to optimise their spending.

Factors influencing Azure egress costs

Several vital factors shape Azure's egress charges, making cost management essential for businesses.

• The volume of data: Larger data transfers incur higher egress costs than Azure, emphasising the need for efficient data movement strategies.
• Destination: Transfers within the same Azure region are free, but cross-region or external transfers significantly increase costs.
• Service type: Services like Azure Data Lake Storage (ADLS) and Azure Data Factory (ADF) impact Azure egress fees, with costs varying by usage type.
• Storage tiers: Hot tiers have higher storage costs but lower egress fees, while cold and archive tiers offer cheaper storage but incur higher access and transfer charges.

Azure cost management tools

Azure Cost Management tools provide a comprehensive solution for monitoring, optimising, and forecasting cloud expenses. These tools are developed to help businesses obtain transparency into their spending, manage Azure egress costs, and make informed financial decisions. Here's how they empower businesses:

• Automation: Automates budget alerts and anomaly detection tasks to streamline financial operations and minimise manual effort.
• Budgeting and forecasting: Enables precise cost predictions and budget setting to control expenses effectively.
• Cost allocation: Assigns costs, including Azure egress charges, to specific projects or departments for improved transparency.
• Optimisation recommendations: Identifies underutilised resources and offers actionable suggestions like rightsizing and reserved instance optimisation to reduce costs.
• Custom reporting: Provides tailored reports to communicate cost performance clearly to stakeholders.

Conclusion

Choosing Tata Communications to optimise cloud expenses, including Azure egress cost and pricing, ensures a seamless experience with unmatched benefits. Their solutions are easy to configure and connect, providing businesses with dependable application performance that supports scalability. With cost optimisation exceeding 25%, Tata Communications empowers organisations to achieve significant savings while maintaining efficiency. Performance monitoring and analytics enable enhanced control, ensuring resources are used effectively without compromising quality.
Take control of your cloud expenses today and unlock unparalleled optimisation with Tata Communications Multi Cloud Connect Solutions. Call us for a free MCC trial to optimise your Azure egress costs and achieve maximum efficiency with cutting-edge solutions.