Azure Future Capacity Reservations have been added to the Product Terms – these “allow Customers to request capacity for specified Microsoft Azure resources in a specified region, with a scheduled start date and reservation term“.
This seems a way of alleviating concerns over lack of capacity in certain regions and giving Microsoft more information with which to make resource and capacity increase decisions.
How do they work?
- You request: A specific amount of Azure capacity, in a region, starting on a future date, for a set term.
- Microsoft decides: They can accept, reject, or modify the request, normally within 7 days.
- Availability: Microsoft tries to provide the capacity on the agreed start date. If they can’t provide all of it, they have 30 days to fulfil the remainder.
- You can’t change it: Once accepted, you can’t modify it during the 12 weeks before the start date or the 30-day fulfilment period.
- You pay for what they provide: Whether you actually use the capacity or not. Equally – you don’t pay for what they don’t provide.
- If Microsoft can’t provide it: You can cancel the unfulfilled portion after the 30-day fulfilment period.
- No compensation: Generally, Microsoft doesn’t owe you service credits for failing to provide the capacity.
- No discount: This is capacity assurance, not a price discount, and doesn’t give you dedicated hardware.
- You still have to do the admin: Subscription, quota, deployment and configuration requirements remain your responsibility.
- End of term: The reservation expires and subsequent usage is charged at the then-current consumption rates.
These sit in the portfolio alongside the still somewhat mysterious Azure Capacity Blocks – Microsoft Azure Capacity Blocks – Cloudy with a chance of Licensing
