> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.soundchecklive.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Pricing Tiers

> Azure infrastructure pricing configuration

Infrastructure pricing tiers are configurable through Terraform variables, allowing optimal cost management across environments while maintaining appropriate performance levels.

## Current configuration

| Environment | App Service Plan | Database | Monthly Est. |
| - | - | - | - |
| **Dev** | B1 (Basic) | B\_Standard\_B1ms | \~\$25 |
| **QA** | B1 (Basic) | B\_Standard\_B2s | \~\$38 |
| **Prod** | P0v3 (Premium) | GP\_Standard\_D2s\_v3 | \~\$290 |

***

## App service plan options

### Basic tier (B1, B2, B3)

| Feature | Available |
| - | - |
| Cost-effective | ✅ |
| Custom domains | ✅ |
| SSL certificates | ✅ |
| Autoscaling | ❌ |
| Staging slots | Limited |

**Best for**: Development and testing environments

### Standard tier (S1, S2, S3)

| Feature | Available |
| - | - |
| Autoscaling | ✅ |
| Staging slots | Up to 5 |
| Daily backups | ✅ |
| Custom domains | ✅ |

**Best for**: Production workloads with moderate traffic

### Premium tier (P1v3, P2v3, P3v3)

| Feature | Available |
| - | - |
| Advanced autoscaling | ✅ |
| Staging slots | Up to 20 |
| Network isolation | ✅ |
| Premium performance | ✅ |

**Best for**: High-traffic production with advanced requirements

***

## Database SKU options

### Burstable tier (B\_Standard\_\*)

* ✅ Cost-effective for light workloads
* ✅ CPU credits for burst performance
* ❌ Limited baseline performance

| SKU | vCores | Memory | Storage | Price/mo |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| B\_Standard\_B1ms | 1 | 2 GB | 32 GB | \~\$12 |
| B\_Standard\_B2s | 2 | 4 GB | 32 GB | \~\$25 |

### General purpose (GP\_Standard\_\*)

* ✅ Consistent performance
* ✅ Higher IOPS
* ✅ Read replicas support

| SKU | vCores | Memory | Storage | Price/mo |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| GP\_Standard\_D2s\_v3 | 2 | 8 GB | 128 GB | \~\$110 |
| GP\_Standard\_D4s\_v3 | 4 | 16 GB | 256 GB | \~\$220 |

### Memory optimized (MO\_Standard\_\*)

* ✅ High memory-to-vCore ratio
* ✅ Best for analytics
* 💰 Highest cost

***

## Configuration

### Method 1: tfvars file

In `environments/{env}/terraform.tfvars`:

```hcl theme={null}
app_service_plan_sku = "S2"
database_sku = "GP_Standard_D4s_v3"
```

### Method 2: CLI override

```bash theme={null}
terraform apply \
  -var="app_service_plan_sku=P1v2" \
  -var="database_sku=MO_Standard_E2s_v3"
```

***

## Autoscaling requirements

> [!WARNING]
>
> Autoscaling requires Standard tier (S1+) or Premium tier. Basic tier does not support autoscaling.

| Environment | Tier | Autoscaling |
| - | - | - |
| Dev | B1 | ❌ Single instance |
| QA | B1 | ❌ Single instance |
| Prod | P0v3 | ✅ 1-10 instances |

***

## Cost optimization

### Development environments

```hcl theme={null}
# Minimal cost configuration
app_service_plan_sku = "B1"      # ~$13/month
database_sku = "B_Standard_B1ms" # ~$12/month
```

### Production environment

```hcl theme={null}
# Performance configuration
app_service_plan_sku = "P0v3"          # ~$178/month
database_sku = "GP_Standard_D2s_v3"    # ~$110/month
```

### Strategies

1. **Environment isolation** - Cheaper tiers for non-prod
2. **Scheduled scaling** - Consider dev/test shutdown automation
3. **Right-sizing** - Monitor usage and adjust SKUs
4. **Reserved capacity** - Consider reservations for prod

***

## Monitoring costs

### Azure cost management

Track spending by resource group:

* Navigate to **Cost Management + Billing**
* Filter by resource group (e.g., `dev01-cus-*`)
* Set up budget alerts

### Azure advisor

Get right-sizing recommendations:

* Check **Advisor → Cost** recommendations
* Review underutilized resources

***

## Files modified

| File | Purpose |
| - | - |
| `modules/platform/variables.tf` | App Service SKU variable |
| `modules/platform/main.tf` | Uses configurable SKU |
| `modules/database/variables.tf` | Database SKU variable |
| `modules/database/main.tf` | Uses configurable SKU |
| `environments/*/variables.tf` | Environment SKU variables |
| `environments/*/main.tf` | SKU values per environment |


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