Azure Reserved Instances - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to specify the purchase of a reserved instance for a virtual machine.

Azure

az vm reservation purchase --vm-name [1] --reservation-term 1-year

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Alocation

BmyVM

CresourceGroup

DsubscriptionId

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using resource group name instead of VM name.

Using location or subscription ID where VM name is required.

The --vm-name parameter requires the name of the virtual machine to purchase a reserved instance for.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to list all reserved instances in a specific subscription.

Azure

az reservations reservation list --subscription [1]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789abc

BmyResourceGroup

Ceastus

DmyVM

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using resource group name instead of subscription ID.

Using location or VM name instead of subscription ID.

The --subscription parameter requires the subscription ID to list reserved instances under that subscription.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the command to update a reserved instance's scope to shared.

Azure

az reservations reservation update --reservation-id [1] --scope [2]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

AresourceGroup

Bsingle

Cshared

Dsubscription

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'resourceGroup' or 'subscription' as scope values, which are invalid.

Confusing reservation ID with scope value.

The --scope parameter accepts values like shared or single. To set the scope to shared, use shared.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to create a reservation order with a specific SKU and quantity.

Azure

az reservations reservation-order create --sku [1] --quantity [2]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

AStandard_D2s_v3

B5

CEastUS

DmyResourceGroup

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using location or resource group instead of SKU or quantity.

Entering quantity as a string instead of a number.

The --sku parameter specifies the VM size SKU, and --quantity specifies how many reserved instances to purchase.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to create a reservation order with a specific term, billing scope, and SKU.

Azure

az reservations reservation-order create --reservation-term [1] --billing-scope [2] --sku [3]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A1-year

B12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789abc

CStandard_F4s_v2

DmyResourceGroup

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using resource group name instead of subscription ID for billing scope.

Using invalid term values or SKU names.

The --reservation-term sets the duration, --billing-scope is the subscription ID for billing, and --sku is the VM size.

Practice

1. What is the main benefit of using Azure Reserved Instances?

easy

A. Automatically scale virtual machines up and down

B. Save money by pre-paying for virtual machines

C. Create virtual machines without any cost

D. Backup virtual machines to Azure Storage

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the purpose of Azure Reserved Instances

   Azure Reserved Instances allow you to pre-pay for virtual machines to get a discount compared to pay-as-you-go pricing.

2. Step 2: Compare options with this purpose

   Only Save money by pre-paying for virtual machines mentions saving money by pre-paying, which matches the main benefit.

3. Final Answer:

   Save money by pre-paying for virtual machines -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Reserved Instances = Pre-pay savings [OK]

Hint: Reserved Instances = pre-pay to save money [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing Reserved Instances with auto-scaling
• Thinking Reserved Instances are free
• Mixing backup features with Reserved Instances

2. Which Azure CLI command is used to purchase a Reserved Instance?

easy

A. az vm create

B. az vm start

C. az storage account create

D. az reservations reservation-order create

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify the CLI command for Reserved Instances

   The Azure CLI command to purchase Reserved Instances is under the 'az reservations' group, specifically 'reservation-order create'.

2. Step 2: Eliminate unrelated commands

   Commands like 'az vm create' create virtual machines, not reservations. 'az vm start' starts VMs, and 'az storage account create' creates storage accounts.

3. Final Answer:

   az reservations reservation-order create -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Purchase Reserved Instance = az reservations reservation-order create [OK]

Hint: Reservations commands start with az reservations [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using VM creation commands to buy reservations
• Confusing storage commands with reservations
• Trying to start VMs to create reservations

3. Given this Azure CLI command output snippet after buying a Reserved Instance:

{
  "id": "/subscriptions/123/resourceGroups/myRG/providers/Microsoft.Capacity/reservationOrders/abc123",
  "properties": {
    "term": "P1Y",
    "appliedScopeType": "Shared",
    "skuName": "Standard_D2s_v3"
  }
}

What does the "term": "P1Y" mean?

medium

A. The reservation lasts for 1 year

B. The reservation is for 1 month

C. The reservation is for 1 day

D. The reservation is permanent

Solution

1. Step 1: Interpret the term format

   The term 'P1Y' follows ISO 8601 duration format, where 'P' means period and '1Y' means 1 year.

2. Step 2: Match the term to options

   Only The reservation lasts for 1 year correctly states the reservation lasts for 1 year.

3. Final Answer:

   The reservation lasts for 1 year -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Term P1Y = 1 year reservation [OK]

Hint: P1Y means period of 1 year in ISO duration [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking P1Y means 1 month or 1 day
• Assuming term means permanent
• Ignoring ISO 8601 duration format

4. You tried to purchase a Reserved Instance but received an error: "Invalid scope type". What is the likely cause?

medium

A. You specified an unsupported scope type for the reservation

B. You forgot to specify the VM size

C. You used the wrong Azure CLI command

D. Your subscription has no active VMs

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the error message

   The error 'Invalid scope type' means the scope type parameter for the reservation is not valid or supported.

2. Step 2: Analyze other options

   Missing VM size or wrong CLI command would cause different errors. Having no active VMs does not cause this error.

3. Final Answer:

   You specified an unsupported scope type for the reservation -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Invalid scope type error = wrong scope parameter [OK]

Hint: Check scope type parameter when 'Invalid scope type' error appears [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming missing VM size causes this error
• Using wrong CLI command without checking scope
• Thinking no active VMs cause scope errors

5. You have a steady workload running 4 Standard_D2s_v3 VMs continuously. You want to save costs using Azure Reserved Instances. Which approach is best?

hard

A. Purchase 4 Reserved Instances for different VM sizes

B. Purchase 1 three-year Reserved Instance for Standard_D2s_v3 VM

C. Purchase 4 one-year Reserved Instances for Standard_D2s_v3 VMs

D. Use pay-as-you-go pricing and scale VMs manually

Solution

1. Step 1: Match workload to reservation quantity and term

   You have 4 steady VMs of the same size. Buying 4 Reserved Instances matching the VM size and quantity saves costs.

2. Step 2: Choose appropriate term length

   One-year term is common for steady workloads. Three-year is longer commitment but not required here. Different VM sizes do not match your workload.

3. Final Answer:

   Purchase 4 one-year Reserved Instances for Standard_D2s_v3 VMs -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Match VM count and size with Reserved Instances [OK]

Hint: Match Reserved Instances count and size to steady VMs [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Buying fewer Reserved Instances than VMs
• Choosing wrong VM sizes for reservations
• Ignoring steady workload benefits