Introduction
Microsoft released the Azure Site Recovery (ASR) Pricing Calculator which stands as a purpose-built tool to offer customers better visibility into Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for Azure-to-Azure (A2A) disaster recovery cost estimates. The release represents an important advancement which enables Azure Site Recovery (ASR) customers to maintain business continuity through easy replication and failover operations across Azure regions.
Until this point customers depended on the Deployment Planner for VMware to Azure scenarios. Microsoft has newly released a tool that addresses A2A DR setup needs by providing customers accurate cost estimates which they can match with their FinOps teams for budgeting and forecasting.
This section will outline essential features of the new calculator and describe all the cost factors involved in applying ASR for managed disks in Azure-to-Azure replication configurations.
What is Azure-to-Azure (A2A) Site Recovery?
Azure Site Recovery (ASR) delivers a comprehensive disaster recovery service for Azure VM workloads through its capability to replicate virtual machines from one Azure region to another. In A2A DR scenarios, ASR offers:
- Automated replication
- Application-consistent snapshots
- Orchestrated failover and recovery
- Easy testing without impacting production
The efficient management of costs demands complete understanding of all the pricing elements involved in these solutions. The ASR Pricing Calculator functions as a tool for estimating pricing that relies on usage statistics.
Introducing the ASR A2A Pricing Calculator
The ASR A2A Pricing Calculator deployed through Excel with built-in macros enables users to generate comprehensive expense reports and model deployment costs.
đź“Ą Download the ASR A2A Calculator
đź“© For support or feedback regarding the calculator, contact: [email protected]
Detailed Cost Components in A2A Disaster Recovery
| Cost Component | Description | Key Notes / Considerations |
| Protected Instance License Fee | Fixed fee charged per protected instance (VM or physical server). | Uniform across instance types; foundational cost of ASR. |
| Replica Storage Cost | Storage in the target Azure region that mirrors the source VM disks. | Based on disk size and type (Standard or Premium Managed Disks). Applies only to A2A. |
| Cache Storage Account Cost | Temporary storage in the source region used during replication. | – High Churn: Premium Block Blob – Normal Churn: General Purpose Storage Account |
| Storage Transaction Cost | Charges for read/write operations on cache and replica storage during replication, resync, or failover. | Higher during initial sync and VM disk additions. Depends on churn level post replication. |
| Network Egress Cost | Data transfer charges for replication traffic moving out of the source Azure region. | Compressed replication traffic reduces cost. Assume ~50% compression factor. |
| Snapshot Cost – Source | Snapshots taken from source VM disks for recovery point generation. | – Pv1 Disks: Incremental snapshots – Pv2 Disks: Full + incremental snapshots |
| Snapshot Cost – Target | Snapshots of replica storage in the target region for failover recovery. | Billed as Page Blob Snapshots based on capacity. |
| Temporary Source Disk Cost | Temporary disk created during initial replication, matching the source disk SKU and size. | Cost incurred for the time required to complete initial sync (e.g., 1TB = ~6 hrs). |
| Capacity Reservation (Optional) | Optional reservation of compute capacity in the target region to ensure availability during failover. | Not part of ASR pricing but relevant for guaranteed resource availability. |
| Disaster Recovery Drills | Cost from test failovers which create temporary target storage resources and snapshots. | Costs persist until cleanup. Frequency of drills impacts this cost. |
| Compute Capacity Cost | VM compute charges during test failovers or actual failover events. | Not incurred during normal operations or replication standby mode. |
Additional Considerations
đź“Ś Disaster Recovery Drills
The process of test failovers requires target storage disks which create additional storage costs unless a cleanup procedure is performed. Frequent test-run drills will result in minor added expenses.
đź“Ś Compute Capacity Cost
Incurred only during,
- Test failovers
- Actual failovers Otherwise, compute cost = zero in standby mode.
Benefits of Using the ASR Pricing Calculator
âś… Cost transparency before production rollout
âś… Scenario simulation across VM types, disk SKUs, churn levels
âś… Better alignment with FinOps and budget planning teams
âś… Ease of use with detailed estimations, graphs, and cost summaries
Conclusion
The evaluation of disaster recovery planning costs matches the significance of technical readiness in recovery operations. Organizations now have better control over their disaster recovery costs through Azure Site Recovery Pricing Calculator for Azure-to-Azure scenarios.
This calculator serves as a vital instrument to help IT and finance departments make strategic choices for disaster recovery within cloud strategies.
🔍 Plan smart. Recover smarter.
