Optimize Azure expenses for D365FO machines

It does not matter if you have one or multiple Azure machines used with D365FO, sooner or later the question of Azure cost optimization will come up. There are few ways how Azure expenses could be reduced:

1. Adjust virtual machine size
2. Use cheaper Azure region
3. Configure Auto-shutdown
4. Use Azure credits

Adjust virtual machine size

For sure, the more CPU / RAM / IOPS you have, the better. The question is - what is the optimal Azure VM size to use with D365FO. I used many different sizes, as for March 2019 the best VM size it terms of performace vs cost is DS12_V2 . It has 28 GB RAM, 4 CPU cores, 12800 IOPS and max 16 data disks. Current price to run such VM 24x7 for one month is around 2700 DKK (405 USD).

Use cheaper Azure region

Prices for Azure resources are different in different Azure regions and the difference could be quite substantial. Right now for DS12_V2 VM size "East US 2" is the cheapest Azure region in America and "North Europe" in Europe. azureprice.net is a good place to get detailed comparison.


Configure Auto-shutdown

Here everything is simple: the longer VM is up and running - the more it costs. Use Auto-shutdown to turn off a VM at a specific time. Optionally run my PowerShell script to find VMs without Auto-shutdown.

Use Azure credits

Microsoft provides monthly Azure credits for Visual Studio subscribers. Depending on subscription type, it could be 50, 100 or 150 USD per month. These credits should be associated to an Azure subscription to be used. Only one Azure credit type is allowed per subscription, make sure to use the largest benefit you have.

Leave a comment below if you know other ways to minimize Azure expenses.

Azure: find virtual machines without or with disabled Auto-shutdown using PowerShell

Auto-shutdown is a great feature to reduce Azure costs. However, I was not able to find a good way to get an overview which machine does not have Auto-shutdown enabled/configured while having a large number of virtual machines (VM) in multiple Azure subscriptions.

Found a nice PowerShell script at Stackoverflow.com and tweaked it a little bit to match my requirements. It works only for ARM machines, will not detect Classic ones.

Remember to run Connect-AzureRmAccount to establish Azure connection before running the script below:

###################
##:List all subs which are enabled
#$AllSubID = (Get-AzureRmSubscription | Where {$_.State -eq "enabled"}).SubscriptionId
### above might not work depends on account, just get all below.
$AllSubID = (Get-AzureRmSubscription).SubscriptionId
Write-Output "$(Get-Date -format s) :: List of Subscription below"
$AllSubID


$AllVMList = @()
Foreach ($SubID in $AllSubID) {
Select-AzureRmSubscription -Subscriptionid "$SubID"

##list all VMs
$VMs = Get-AzureRmVM
Foreach ($VM in $VMs) {
    $VM = New-Object psobject -Property @{`
        "Subscriptionid" = $SubID;
        "ResourceGroupName" = $VM.ResourceGroupName;
        "VMName" = $VM.Name}
        $AllVMList += $VM | select Subscriptionid,ResourceGroupName,VMName
        }
}

$AllVMList

## Get AutoShutdown info
Foreach ($VM in $AllVMList) {
    $ScheduledShutdownResourceId = "/subscriptions/$($VM.Subscriptionid)/resourceGroups/$($VM.ResourceGroupName)/providers/microsoft.devtestlab/schedules/shutdown-computevm-$($VM.VMName)"
    #Write-Output "$ScheduledShutdownResourceId"

    try {
        $VMShutdownInfo = get-AzureRmResource -ResourceId $ScheduledShutdownResourceId
    }
    catch
    {
        $VMShutdownInfo = $null
    }

    #Write-Output "$VMShutdownInfo"

    if ($VMShutdownInfo)
    {
        if ($VMShutdownInfo.properties.status -eq "Disabled")
        {
        Write-Output "$(Get-Date -format s) :: VM: $($VM.VMName) :: $($VM.ResourceGroupName) :: $($VM.Subscriptionid)"
        Write-Output "$(Get-Date -format s) :: VM: $($VM.VMName) :: status: $($VMShutdownInfo.properties.status); taskType: $($VMShutdownInfo.properties.taskType) ; timeZoneId: $($VMShutdownInfo.properties.timeZoneId) ; dailyRecurrence: $($VMShutdownInfo.properties.dailyRecurrence) ;  "
        }
    }
    else
    {
        Write-Output "$(Get-Date -format s) :: VM: $($VM.VMName) :: $($VM.ResourceGroupName) :: $($VM.Subscriptionid)"
        Write-Output "$(Get-Date -format s) :: VM: $($VM.VMName) :: status: Shutdown not set"
    }   
}
###Done