How much does it cost to store 16KB data in Azure

Since my last post about Microsoft Azure, I had a chance to play with SQL Azure.  My plan was to get familiar with Database, Hosted Services and Storage Accounts, then I can upload some application or system image, and say “Hello World!” from Azure.

So as the first step, I created Database1 in the first SQL server in my subscription – Windows Azure Platform Introductory Special.

Then, in Database1, I created a very simple table and added two records.

After that, I just ran a couple of queries, and alright, I felt like I was working on a real SQL server.  How much space does it take to store this tiny table?  16 kilobytes, should be smaller than that, but okay, I guess used one smallest piece of storage space in Azure cloud.

Then I left this cloud for a while, because I am not a full time Microsoft Azure tester, I have other works to do.  But when I checked my account today, it gave me a little surprise – Microsoft charged me 2 bucks for using 16KB for less than a month, plus HST of course.

Okay, let put other stuff aside and do the simple math.

16KB/month = $1.98 (either USD or CAD, they’re 1:1 now) + tax

So if you had a 200MB database put into Microsoft’s Azure cloud, you would have to pay $24,750 every month plus tax.  In Ontario, it total charge would be $27967.50.

Remember, this is just the charge of the space in the cloud.  If you have traffic or transaction, there will be more charges.  If you have apps, more $$ to pay.  If you have a small or medium business, want to taste what high-tech will bring you, why not start with a real server?

Alright, as suggested by Microsoft, I am going to drop the SQL Server I created in the cloud.  I felt lucky that I didn’t upload a 200MB database in the first place, otherwise I could be bankrupt now.

Found another link today (Feb.27): http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en/windowsazurepurchasing/thread/d58147b2-ed20-4f8c-a6e1-5fc8f87e861a