Azure SQL VMs backup cost estimates

Hello

Thank you for reaching out regarding the backup cost estimation for your Azure SQL Virtual Machines.

• To estimate the backup cost for SQL Server running on Azure VMs, please follow the steps below in the Azure Portal:
• Identify Protected SQL Workloads:
  1. Sign in to the Azure Portal.
  2. Navigate to Recovery Services Vaults.
  3. Select the Recovery Services Vault where the SQL VM backups are configured.
  4. Go to Backup Items.
  5. Select SQL in Azure VM.
  6. Note the following information:
     • Number of protected SQL instances.
     • Number of databases being backed up.
     • Size of each database.
• Review Backup Policy Configuration:
  1. Within the Recovery Services Vault, select Backup Policies.
  2. Open the policy assigned to the SQL workloads.
  3. Record:
     • Full backup frequency.
     • Differential backup frequency.
     • Transaction log backup frequency.
     • Retention settings for daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly backups.
• Check Vault Storage Redundancy:
  1. In the Recovery Services Vault, select Properties.
  2. Review the configured Backup Storage Redundancy:
     • LRS (Locally Redundant Storage)
     • GRS (Geo-Redundant Storage)
     • ZRS (Zone-Redundant Storage)
  This setting impacts the overall backup storage cost.
• Current Backup Storage Consumption:
  1. Open the Recovery Services Vault.
  2. Navigate to Backup Infrastructure or Backup Reports (if enabled).
  3. Review:
     • Total protected data size.
     • Backup storage consumed.
     • Growth trend, if available.
• Collect Required Information for Cost Estimation: following details:
  • Azure Region.
  • Number of SQL VMs.
  • Total SQL database size per VM (GB/TB).
  • Backup retention requirements.
  • Storage redundancy type (LRS/GRS/ZRS).
  • Estimated daily database growth or churn rate (if available).
  Estimate the Cost: Once the above information is available, you can use:
  • Azure Pricing Calculator : https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/calculator/

Regards,

Venkat.M

You need to evaluate two distinct pricing components: a Protected Instance Fee, which is a flat fee charged per database instance based on size, and Storage Consumption Costs, which are based on the amount of data stored in the backup vault.

Before calculating the cost, collect several metrics from your existing SQL Server instance. These include the size of the databases before compression and the number of database instances you run, the percentage of data that changes daily, and the size of daily transaction logs as a percentage of the database size. You also need to determine whether the backups will use Locally Redundant Storage or Geo-Redundant Storage. The price of LRS is lower, but GRS provides replication across regions.

The easiest way to obtain a concrete dollar estimate is through the Azure Pricing Calculator page at https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/calculator/. Navigate to the Azure Pricing Calculator, search for Azure Backup, and add it to the estimate. In the configuration panel, locate the Workload Type dropdown and select SQL Server in Azure VM.

Enter your environment details into the calculator, including the Azure region, SQL Server size, and number of workloads. If you use native SQL compression, you can keep Expected Compression at the default 80%, which reduces the billable backup storage footprint.

Set the desired retention policy, including the number of days for daily backups and the number of weeks or months for longer-term weekly or monthly backups. The calculator will then generate an estimated Average Monthly Backup Data size and provide a Total Monthly Cost breakdown.

If the above response helps answer your question, remember to "Accept Answer" so that others in the community facing similar issues can easily find the solution. Your contribution is highly appreciated.

hth

Marcin