Azure IoT Suite Solutions for learning

Getting Started

If you’ve provisioned any of the Microsoft Azure IoT Suite solutions, you know that by default they are architected for enterprise clients both in terms of scale and cost.

The unmodified pre-configured Remote Monitoring solution allocates premium Azure resources that managed to CONSUME ALL OF MY MONTHLY AZURE dollars ($150) in fewer than 48 hours. This is very unhelpful in terms of trying to use this pre-configured solution as a tool for learning and demonstration to clients. There is no indication of this fact anywhere in this or other associated articles. The Remote Monitoring preconfigured solution without change you will wind up with an Azure IoT Hub (S2) costing $500 / month and Azure App Service (PREMIUM).

In this article, I will show you how to keep a Microsoft Azure IoT Suite solution from using up your MSDN subscription budget of $150/month.

Provision Remote Monitoring Solution

1. Clicked on Get started

1. Clicked on “Create a new solution”

1. Clicked on Select for “Remote monitoring”

There is not a good explaination of what the various services, why you need them, how the overall architecture is designed, or the specific costs of the solution.

1. Filled out form and provisioned the solution

1. Clicked on Launch

1. Land at the dashboard of my remote monitoring solution

Modify the Architecture

With the solution provisioned we can now refactor the architecture to reduce the scale and cost.

1. Change the Storage account from GRS to LRS
2. Change the IoT Hub from an S2 to S1
3. Change the App Service plans from S1 to B1
4. Stop the webjob for simulated devices when not in use
5. Pause all but a few of the simulated devices when running