This is part of a series on Building an Azure Dev Test Lab for software development.
Azure has Data Centers located all over the globe. But not all Data Centers have all the same features or price structure. Before you begin to setup Azure services, make sure the Data Center you select for your Azure Products and Services support what you will need and that you know the pricing.
Where are Azure Data Centers Located?
The Microsoft Azure Global Infrastructure site [1] lists the Data Centers Azure provides. It is important to do a little and planning to know all the services you need from a data center before you begin to set something up.
Explore the Azure Global Infrastructure site to get more details.
Compliance and Data Residency
Knowing what specific country or standard compliance rules are required for storage, and data compliance are important for production data, but rarely so for a dev test lab. Azure Compliance [2] and Data Compliance [3] lists over 90 country specific compliance guidelines. This can be important when trying to conform to GDPR or other country specific data laws and guidelines.
Service Availability
Each Azure Data Center provides a different range of services. For example, the Central US and East US regions support Zonal DR with Azure Site Recovery , but East US and North Central US do not. Make sure that all the services you are planning on are supported within the Data Center where you plan on deploying.
Pricing
Azure Pricing [4] for example lists that West US 3 does not have an App Service F1 Free or D1 Shared plan option whereas West US 2 does.
Linux or Windows
Azure Pricing for Windows and Linux can vary significantly.
Azure App Service pricing for Windows (March 2023):
Azure App Service pricing for Linux [5] (March 2023):
For a Dev Test Lab, a Linux solution is going to be cheaper than a Windows one.
- Basic dev/test Linux: $12.41 / mo.
- Basic dev/test Windows: $54.75 / mo.
References
- [1] https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/explore/global-infrastructure/geographies/#overview
- [2] https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/explore/trusted-cloud/compliance/
- [3] https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/explore/global-infrastructure/data-residency/#overview
- [4] https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/app-service/windows/
- [5] https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/app-service/linux/