Azure Reserved Instances - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What is an Azure Reserved Instance?

An Azure Reserved Instance is a way to pre-pay for virtual machines for a one- or three-year term to save money compared to pay-as-you-go pricing.

beginner

How does Azure Reserved Instances help with cost management?

By committing to use a virtual machine for a longer time, you get a discount of up to 72% compared to pay-as-you-go prices, helping you save money on cloud costs.

intermediate

Can you change the virtual machine size after buying an Azure Reserved Instance?

Yes, Azure Reserved Instances allow instance size flexibility within the same VM family, so you can switch sizes without losing your reservation benefits.

intermediate

What happens if you stop using a Reserved Instance before the term ends?

You still pay for the full term because you committed to it, but you can exchange or cancel the reservation with some conditions and possible fees.

beginner

What types of Azure resources can you buy Reserved Instances for?

You can buy Reserved Instances for virtual machines, SQL Database compute capacity, Azure Cosmos DB throughput, and other services that support reservations.

What is the main benefit of Azure Reserved Instances?

A Free technical support

B Unlimited resource usage

C Lower cost by pre-paying for resources

D Automatic scaling of resources

Azure Reserved Instances offer cost savings by pre-paying for virtual machines or other resources for a fixed term.

How long can you commit to an Azure Reserved Instance?

A No commitment needed

B 1 month or 6 months

C 5 years only

D 1 year or 3 years

Azure Reserved Instances require a commitment of either 1 year or 3 years.

Can you exchange or cancel an Azure Reserved Instance?

A No, once bought it cannot be changed

B Yes, with some conditions and possible fees

C Yes, anytime without fees

D Only if you upgrade to a bigger VM

Azure allows exchanges or cancellations of Reserved Instances but with conditions and possible fees.

Which of these is NOT a service you can buy Reserved Instances for?

A Azure DevOps Pipelines

B Azure SQL Database compute

C Virtual Machines

D Azure Cosmos DB throughput

Azure DevOps Pipelines is a service but does not support Reserved Instances.

What flexibility do Azure Reserved Instances offer?

A Instance size flexibility within the same VM family

B Use for any Azure service

C Switch regions without restrictions

D Change VM family anytime

Reserved Instances allow instance size flexibility within the same VM family.

Explain what Azure Reserved Instances are and how they help reduce cloud costs.

Think about paying upfront for a discount.

Describe the flexibility and limitations of Azure Reserved Instances regarding changes after purchase.

Consider what you can change and what you cannot.