Azure Cost Management Tutorial

Step 1: Enable Cost Management

The first step in managing your Azure costs is to enable the Cost Management and Billing feature in the Azure portal. Here are the steps to do that:

  1. Log in to the Azure portal (https://portal.azure.com).
  2. Click on “Cost Management + Billing” in the left-hand menu.
  3. Click on “Cost Management” to open the cost management dashboard.
  4. If you are prompted to sign up for Cost Management, follow the prompts to enable it for your subscription.

Step 2: Create a Budget

Once you have enabled Cost Management, the next step is to create a budget. This will allow you to set spending limits for your Azure resources and receive notifications when you are approaching or exceeding those limits. Here’s how to create a budget:

  1. In the Cost Management dashboard, click on “Budgets” in the left-hand menu.
  2. Click on “Add” to create a new budget.
  3. Choose the scope of the budget (subscription, resource group, or resource) and give it a name.
  4. Set the budget amount and time period (e.g. $1000 per month).
  5. Choose the notification settings for your budget (e.g. email notifications when you reach 90% or 100% of your budget).
  6. Click “Create” to save your budget.

Step 3: View and Analyze Costs

Now that you have enabled Cost Management and created a budget, you can start viewing and analyzing your Azure costs. Here’s how to do that:

  1. In the Cost Management dashboard, click on “Cost Analysis” in the left-hand menu.
  2. Use the filters and groupings to analyze your costs by resource, service, region, or tag.
  3. Use the charts and graphs to visualize your cost trends over time.
  4. Click on individual resources or services to drill down into more detailed cost information.
  5. Use the “Export to CSV” button to export your cost data for further analysis.

Step 4: Use CLI Commands

Azure CLI is a powerful command-line interface for managing Azure resources, including cost management and billing. Here are some useful CLI commands for managing your Azure costs:

List all subscriptions

az account list --output table

Set the active subscription

az account set --subscription <subscription-id>

Create a budget

az consumption budget create --name <budget-name> --amount <budget-amount> --category cost --time-grain monthly --start-date <start-date> --end-date <end-date> --email-contact <email> --contact-group <contact-group-id>

List budgets

az consumption budget list --output table

Get budget details

az consumption budget show --name <budget-name>

Update a budget

az consumption budget update --name <budget-name> --amount <new-budget-amount>

Delete a budget

az consumption budget delete --name <budget-name>

Get cost analysis

az consumption usage list --query "[?tags.costcenter=='<cost-center>']" --start-date <start-date> --end-date <end-date> --interval Monthly --output table

Get cost by resource group

az consumption usage list --query "[?resourceGroup=='<resource-group>']" --start-date <start-date> --end-date <end-date> --interval Monthly --output table

Get cost by service

az consumption usage list --query "[?serviceName=='<service-name>']" --start-date <start-date> --end-date <end-date> --interval Monthly --output table

Get cost by region

az consumption usage list --query "[?meterRegion=='<region>']" --start-date <start-date> --end-date <end-date> --interval Monthly --output table

Get cost by tag

az consumption usage list --query "[?tags.<tag-name>=='<tag-value>']" --start-date <start-date> --end-date <end-date> --interval Monthly --output table

Get cost trend

az consumption usage list --query "[?tags.costcenter=='<cost-center>']" --start-date <start-date> --end-date <end-date> --interval Monthly --summarize --output table

These are just a few examples of the many CLI commands available for managing Azure costs. You can find more information on Azure CLI commands for cost management in the Azure documentation.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we covered the basics of Azure cost management and billing, including how to enable cost management, create a budget, view and analyze costs, and use CLI commands. By following these steps, you can gain greater visibility and control over your Azure costs, helping you to optimize your spending and achieve your business objectives.