Just a short hint, which can protect against unexpected costs.
Once you decide not to use a virtual machine you created on Microsoft Windows Azure, you should delete it from your account – and not just shut down. Do not be afraid, the virtual disk this VM used will not be destroyed – it is still existing in storage services part of your account. Only not used VM can and must be deleted.
The billing model of Microsoft Windows Azure is constructed to bill for a VM even if the machine isn’t running. That’s similar to car rent: if you rent a car, you have to pay the rent even if the car is just standing on the park place. No gasoline/mileage costs (computing, networking etc. in cloud computing terms) , but the rent.
So to avoid the bills for an unused VM just delete it after shut down. Remember: you can re-create this VM any time as long as the VHD this VM used is kept in the storage of your account (check the storage container(s) ).
This does mean: you pay only for the VHD left after the VM is deleted – this blob is residing in the storage and is calculated regarding your billing model. The bigger is the VHD the more you have to pay. So if you do not plan to re-create the VM (re-use it) later, you’d better delete the VHD too. Anyway, the costs for “parked” and not used VHD in the storage are incomparable lower than the costs of a not used but not deleted VM.
Enjoy!
