Julian Mooren’s Post

Azure Spot VMs vs Reserved VMs – The Real Difference One of the most common questions I get is: “Why does Azure offer Spot VMs at up to 90% discount while Reserved VMs only give around 72%?” Here’s a simple explanation Azure Spot VMs :- Azure data centers always have some unused capacity. Instead of keeping that hardware idle, Microsoft offers it as Spot VMs at a very low cost. The trade-off is that these VMs can be evicted anytime if Azure needs the capacity back. When creating a Spot VM, you decide: Eviction type – Evicted only if capacity is gone, or if capacity is gone and price goes above your set limit. Eviction policy – After eviction, the VM can either stop/deallocate (you can try to start it again later) or be deleted. How to create a Spot VM :- Go to Azure Portal → Create Virtual Machine Under Basics → Pricing options, select Spot instance Choose eviction type and policy Complete VM creation as usual (You can also use Azure CLI with --priority Spot) Best for: Test environments, batch jobs, rendering, and simulations. Azure Reserved VMs :- Reserved VMs work differently. Here, you commit in advance for 1 or 3 years. In return, Azure gives you a discount (up to 72%) and guarantees that your capacity will always be available. How to purchase Reserved VM capacity :- Go to Azure Portal → Reservations Click Add → Select Virtual Machine Choose Region, VM size, and term (1 year or 3 years) Purchase the reservation. Any running VM that matches the size and region will automatically get the discount. Best for: Production systems, always-on workloads, and predictable environments. Real-Life Example :- Spot VMs are like last-minute cheap tickets – great deal, but you may lose your seat if someone else pays full price. Reserved VMs are like booking a season pass – you pay upfront, but your seat is always guaranteed. Final Takeaway Spot VM = Maximum savings, but no guarantee Reserved VM = Stable savings with guaranteed availability Many smart companies actually combine both: Reserved VMs for critical workloads Spot VMs for flexible or short-lived tasks That way, they get the best balance of cost and reliability. #Azure #AzureVM #CloudCostOptimization #AzureSpotVM #AzureReservedVM #MicrosoftAzure #CloudComputing #finops

☁️ Unlocking the Power of Azure Storage Services Microsoft Azure offers a variety of storage solutions designed to handle structured, unstructured, and semi-structured data at scale, securely and efficiently: Key Azure Storage Services: Blob Storage: Store massive amounts of unstructured data like images, videos, and documents. File Storage: Fully managed file shares accessible via SMB or NFS protocols. Queue Storage: Reliable messaging for decoupled application components. Table Storage: NoSQL key-value store for structured data. Disk Storage: Persistent, high-performance storage for Azure Virtual Machines. These services enable businesses to store, manage, and access data securely, ensuring scalability, durability, and cost-effectiveness. #MicrosoftAzure #AzureStorage #CloudComputing #DigitalTransformation #DataManagement

📘 DAY 26/30 — Azure Policy vs Azure Blueprints: What’s the Difference? When managing multiple resources and subscriptions, governance is key. That’s where Azure Policy and Blueprints come in. 🛡️ Azure Policy ● Enforces rules and effects on Azure resources ● Example: Disallow public IPs, require tags, or restrict VM SKUs ● Policies evaluate compliance continuously ● Supports initiative definitions (grouped policies) 📘 Azure Blueprints ● Think of it as a deployment template for full environments ● Bundles policy assignments, role assignments, ARM templates, and resource groups ● Ideal for repeatable and compliant deployments ● Blueprints can be locked to prevent tampering 💡 AZ-104 Tip: Expect scenario-based questions asking when to use Policy vs Blueprints — focus on their purpose: enforcement vs environment setup. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 📚 Today’s Learning Resources ▶️ What is Azure Policy? - https://lnkd.in/dPecQHjE ▶️ What are Azure Blueprints? - https://lnkd.in/d9qMgvRV 🧠 Tomorrow (Day 27): We move into Monitoring & Insights — exploring Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, and more. #AZ104Challenge #AzurePolicy #AzureBlueprints #CloudGovernance #LearnAzure

☁️ Understanding the Core Architectural Components of Microsoft Azure Building and managing solutions in Azure starts with knowing its core components: Azure Regions & Availability Zones: Physically distributed datacenters ensuring high availability and disaster recovery. Resource Groups: Logical containers to organize, manage, and secure resources efficiently. Azure Virtual Network (VNet): Enables secure communication between resources in the cloud. Compute Services: Includes Virtual Machines (VMs), App Services, and Azure Functions for scalable processing. Storage Services: Offers Blob, File, Queue, and Table storage for structured and unstructured data. Azure Resource Manager (ARM): Provides consistent deployment and management across Azure resources. Identity & Access Management: Powered by Azure Active Directory for secure authentication and authorization. Understanding these components empowers professionals to design scalable, secure, and resilient cloud solutions. 🚀 #MicrosoftAzure #CloudArchitecture #AzureServices #DigitalTransformation #CloudComputing

Top 3 reliability actions you need to take for your Azure deployments that sadly many customers are not! AND an amazing new resource to help educate and implement. https://lnkd.in/g9BKB4Ej 00:00 - Introduction 01:18 - 1, Use Availability Zones 05:32 - 2, Network gateway SKUs 07:06 - 3, Network connectivity 13:28 - Reliability Guidance Hub 17:12 - Summary 18:02 - Close #azure #microsoft

Great info here as always! In the last few years I’ve seen so many deployments of zonal resources to networks with non-zonal gateways and it’s not always something people think to check. Typically the gateway was deployed years back on a standard (non-zonal) SKU and forgotten about, because it just works it’s not looked at again. Not much point deploying zonal resources if your network connectivity dies with the affected zone.

Microsoft’s private global network spans 60+ Azure regions and hundreds of thousands of miles of fiber, including record-breaking systems like MAREA (200 Tbps) and Amitié (AI-scale data transfers). #Azure #CloudComputing #Microsoft

Important Update for Azure Platform Engineers: Enterprise Scale is moving to Azure Verified Modules (AVM) Big news for everyone using Terraform for Azure Landing Zones! Microsoft has officially started a 12-month deprecation notice for the widely-used terraform-azurerm-caf-enterprise-scale module, effective from 1st August 2025. The future is Azure Verified Modules (AVM) for Landing Zones. This marks a strategic shift towards a more modular, composable, and standardised approach to building your Azure platform. What this means for you: ▶️ New Projects: You should start all new landing zone deployments using the AVM modules. ▶️ Existing Deployments: You have a 12-month window to plan and migrate your existing Enterprise Scale environments to AVM. Having worked with Enterprise Scale since its inception, I've seen its power and its challenges first-hand. I'm excited about this evolution to AVM and am already focused on making this transition smooth for organisations. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If your team is looking for guidance on setting up a new landing zone with AVM or needs a strategic partner to migrate from your existing Enterprise Scale deployment, I am available to help. Feel free to send me a DM or connect. 🔗 Deprecation Notice Link: https://lnkd.in/eQ5DqnND #Azure #Terraform #AzureLandingZones #AVM #AzureVerifiedModules #CloudAdoptionFramework #IaC #PlatformEngineering #CloudArchitecture #MicrosoftAzure

Scale to thousands of VMs automatically with Scale Sets or Compute Fleet—zero manual ops. See options to deploy your Azure VMs. https://lnkd.in/gNf69NWM Build and run everything from simple web apps to AI supercomputing by matching each workload to the right Azure VM in minutes. Know exactly what you’re provisioning by decoding the naming format to see CPU type, memory, storage, and features before deployment. Use free tools like Azure Migrate to right-size and plan. #VMSetup #azure #microsoftazure #azuretutorial #azurevm #virtualmachine

💡 Demystifying Azure Storage Account Every application and business process today depends on data — but managing that data securely, reliably, and cost-effectively in the cloud is where Azure Storage Account stands out. 🔹 Key Features You Should Know: Data Services: Support for Blobs (unstructured), Files (SMB/NFS shares), Queues (messaging), Tables (NoSQL), and Disks (VM storage). Redundancy Options: Choose between LRS, ZRS, GRS, and RA-GRS to balance cost vs. resilience. Security First: Built-in encryption, Azure AD-based access, and private endpoints ensure data confidentiality. Lifecycle Management: Automate tiering between Hot, Cool, and Archive to reduce costs without losing accessibility. Scalability & Durability: Store petabytes of data with 11 nines (99.999999999%) durability for mission-critical workloads. 🔑 Pro Tip: Combine Storage Account with Azure Monitor for visibility and Azure Policy to enforce governance across multiple subscriptions. From app logs to backups, big data analytics to file shares, Azure Storage Account is the backbone of cloud-native and hybrid solutions. 💭 Which redundancy model are you using today — and why? (LRS, ZRS, or GRS?) #Azure #CloudComputing #DataStorage #Microsoft #Tech