Best Practices for Performance and Affordability

Losing control of your spend in Azure is ridiculously easy – like absolutely crazy easy. A few months ago, I set up a test environment in Azure to experiment with new features and test workloads. I created several Azure SQL databases with generous resource allocations, which were pretty dumb backends to some Azure App Services which were the thing I was actually testing. Over the next few weeks, I worked through different tests, the databases continued to run, and every now and then I hit a bottle neck and bounced the resource up. One day, everything stopped. I was using a test account which had a $250\month budget, and I had spent the lot in a few days.

I had underestimated the potential costs, and not kept an eye on it, never scaling back down once I’d worked around my bottleneck. I had done, in short, what so many people do in Azure. This situation serves as a classic example of how easy it can be to overspend in Azure if you’re not actively managing and optimizing your database resources. In my case it didn’t matter too much, it just meant I had to wait until the end of the month for my budget to reset. I was also working at a pretty small scale, but I have seen, and heard of people who hit this problem at alarmingly large scales.

Azure SQL Database is a powerful, scalable solution, but if not managed properly, the costs can quickly spiral out of control. So I thought I would share a few strategies for maintaining high performance while keeping your spending in check.

1. Choose the Right Service Tier

Azure SQL Database offers multiple service tiers and performance levels, such as Basic, Standard, and Premium, each designed for different workloads. The key to cost optimization is selecting the right tier for your workload. For test and development environments, avoid Premium or Business Critical tiers unless you truly need the high performance. Instead, opt for Basic or Standard tiers, which offer more cost-effective solutions for lower workloads.

In my example above, I had chosen a lower-tier service but then scaled it up. By understanding the needs of your application, you can select the appropriate service tier that ensures performance without inflating your costs, but if you do choose to scale up, work out that new cost and be sure that you are happy keeping paying it. If not think about when you have higher needs and scale only then, which brings us to our next point.

2. Scale Resources Based on Demand

Azure SQL Database allows you to scale resources up or down depending on the workload. For example, you can scale up during high-demand periods (like running large queries or processing data) and scale down when the demand is low (such as during off-hours or when the database is idle).

In the case of the test account, I didn’t scale down after tests were completed. Instead of manually resizing the databases, I could have automated the scaling process using Azure Automation or scheduled tasks to reduce resources when the system wasn’t actively being used. The Serverless Tier is actually really great for this if you don’t want to go through the manual process of doing it yourself.

3. Utilize Reserved Instances

For long-term projects, using Azure’s Reserved Instances can help reduce costs significantly. By committing to a one- or three-year term, you can lock in discounted rates compared to pay-as-you-go pricing. Reserved Instances are an excellent choice for production databases that run continuously, as the cost savings can be substantial over time.

4. Monitor Usage and Set Alerts

Azure provides built-in tools like Azure Cost Management and Azure Advisor that can help you monitor usage and track costs in real-time. Setting up alerts when usage reaches certain thresholds can prevent you from overspending unexpectedly. I’ve now taken to setting up budget alerts on my test accounts because honestly – the chance of me getting called onto something else 2 seconds after I scale up a database I fully intend to scale back down are pretty high.

5. Cleanup Unused Databases – Automatically?

Lastly, it’s important to manage resources that are no longer in use. For temporary or test environments, make sure to regularly clean up unused databases. You can automate this cleanup process to prevent old, idle databases from consuming unnecessary resources and driving up costs.

Conclusion

I know it sounds simple – but the biggest thing you can do to optimize costs is to look at the costs. It’s honestly the not paying attention that is the biggest danger. If you are looking you are very likely to see places that you can trim expense, but the biggest danger of a cloud spend is that you don’t look at the numbers as you go – only when you get the bill at the end of the month.