Overview
The SSV2 feature starts or stops Azure Virtual Machines instances across multiple subscriptions. It starts or stops virtual machines on user-defined schedules, provides insights through Azure Application Insights, and sends optional notifications by using action groups.
Azure offers an ARM template for deployment. So, you can easily deploy SSV2 using GitHub.
For more detail, please see the SSV2 docs.
Purpose of SSV2
The main purpose of using SSV2 is to save costs. By using Scheduled SSV2, we can turn on the VM only during business hours (ex. 9AM-6PM) and shut it down the rest of the time. Also, we can set the VM to automatically shut down when not in use by the Auto Stop function.
In this post, I focus on how much we can save VM resource costs using SSV2.
SSV2 scenario
In this test, I use only scheduled function.
: turn VM on at 9:00
: turn VM off at 18:00
SSV2 pricing
SSV2 uses various resources such as the Logic app, function app, Monitor, and Storage. Nevertheless, the monthly cost of SSV2 is not high.
For checking the monthly price, I set scheduled and auto-stop scenarios. My VMs turn on at 9AM and turn off at 6PM every day. Also, VMs turn off when VM CPU usage is under 5%. I checked the monthly price with this scenario.
I tested for 2 months and monthly costs are under $5. Below is the cost detail.
As you can see Logic app is the most expensive resource and storage, monitor is next.
Everyone's cost will be different because logic app settings, storage size, and function execution counts will be different case by case. However, I want to show the average SSV2 cost.
VM pricing comparison
There are many kinds of VM skus.
Currently, the cheapest VM is B1s and the price is $0.014/hour. In this sku, we can save $1.3.
|
Running Time (30days) |
VM(B1s) |
SSV2 resources |
Total |
|
24hrs |
$10.08 |
|
$10.08 |
|
9AM-6PM (9hrs) VM + SSV2 |
$3.78 |
$5 |
$8.78 |
The higher the VM sku, the more you can save.
If I use D3 VM, then I can save more.
|
Running Time (30days) |
VM(D3) |
SSV2 resources |
Total |
|
24hrs |
$403.2 |
|
$403.2 |
|
9AM-6PM (9hrs) VM + SSV2 |
$151.2 |
$5 |
$156.2 |
Conclusion
Everyone can easily use SSV2 function for VM cost deduction.
In my test, SSV2 monthly cost is around $5, but the monthly VM saving cost is more than $5. SSV2 is a good solution if you want to control VM on/off with VM usage time and usage.