What I'm trying to accomplish vs. What I'm being charged for...Help

Question

I'm trying to use Azure Free Account in a way that most probably are not used to seeing. I have a hobby of tracking and managing a statistics database for eSports on the side. I came across the free Azure account and it seemed like a good way to manage everything. My process looks like this:

1. A google sheet is populated via external API with the data I need.
2. I use the Azure Data Factory to Cast, Insert/Update, and Sink the data into my Azure SQL database.
3. I then manipulate the data to get what I need, and then I connect my PowerBI (separate instance that I pay for monthly) and feed the data into that tool to create neat visuals for our community.

My problem is this - based on some of my initial setup configurations, the Azure Firewall has eaten almost all of my $200 credit in a matter of a week or so. Keep in mind, the amount of data I am working with is a matter of MB, not GB, and I am only running the Cast/Sink process manually right now as I get it configured exactly how I need it.

Can someone explain if the Azure Firewall is necessary (I know it's likely recommended)? Any other ideas to help lower the costs? I'm afraid that this account and process will not be sustainable after my credit runs out, as this is a side hobby of mine, not a business.

Answer 1

Hi @Spencer Petrillo

Thanks for the Question and using Microsoft Q&A.

Can someone explain if the Azure Firewall is necessary

Azure Firewall is designed to protect your resources by filtering traffic based on rules you set. While it's a valuable tool for security, it might not be necessary for your use case, especially if you're only dealing with a small amount of data and not exposing your database to the internet. You could consider disabling it temporarily to see if it makes a difference in your costs.

Any other ideas to help lower the costs?

Ensure that your virtual machines and other resources are appropriately sized for your needs. Sometimes, smaller or fewer resources can handle your workload just as well.

Switch to the serverless tier to pay only for usage, especially if your database isn't always active.

Configure autoscaling to dynamically allocate and deallocate resources based on your performance needs.

Please refer to these Documentations that might help you:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/overview

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/manage/check-free-service-usage

Hope this helps. Do let us know if you any further queries.

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