Let’s focus on Azure SQL Database reservation today. If you have not read my other blog posts on VM, please read it here. You can save cost on SQL costs with Azure reserved capacity. It covers both for Azure SQL database and SQL Managed Instance. You must be owner of the subscription or EA admin if it is EA and you must a admin agent or sale agent to buy Azure Blob Storage reserved capacity.
Importantly, a reservation covers only the compute charges of the instances in the subscription, it does not cover for software, networking, or storage charges associated with the services. You may note the below points when you think about the reserving the Azure SQL database or SQL Managed Instance. It provides good amount of cost saving along with Azure Hybrid benefits.
- It is available for single or shared subscription.
- A reservation cannot be split across multiple subscription.
- As soon as you buy, the capacity charges that match the reservation attributes are charged at the discounted rates.
- vCore size flexibility helps you scale up and down within a performance tier and region.
You buy the reservation based on the performance tier for a specific region and hardware generation.
Note: It is not available for DTU based (basic, standard, or premium) database in the SQL Database.
You need to consider below points when you can exchange or refund or expiry of the Azure SQL Database reservations.
- No limits on the number of exchanges you can make.
- No fee applicable with an exchange.
- You can change a reservation property such as family, series, version, SKU, region, quantity, and term with an exchange.
- The new reservation that you purchase must be equal or greater value than prorated credit from the original reservation.
- A Storage reservation can be exchanged only for another Azure storage reservation.
- The new reservation purchased as part of exchange has a new term starting from the time of exchange.
- You a cancel reservation any time and you will get prorated refund based on the remaining term but there will be 12% early termination fee applicable.
- When it expires, the storage in the scope will be applied with PAYGO rate.
- You will get an email notification 30 days prior to the expiry.
It is interesting to know how Microsoft will process the dollars associated with cancel and refund.
For EA customers
- Money is added to the monetary commitment for exchanges and refunds if the original purchase was made using one.
- If the original purchase was made as an overage, Microsoft issues a credit memo
For PAYGO invoice payments
- The original reservation purchase invoice is canceled and then a new invoice is created for the refund.
- For exchanges, the new invoice shows the refund and the new purchase.
- If you only refunded a reservation, then the prorated amount stays with Microsoft and it’s adjusted against a future reservation purchase.
For PAYGO credit card payments.
- The original invoice is canceled, and a new invoice is created.
- The money is refunded to the credit card that was used for the original purchase
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