SQL Azure: Is there a “per transaction” cost for Windows Azue SQL Database?

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Question: Is there a “per transaction” cost for Windows Azue SQL Database (SQL Azure)?

Short Answer: No

I recently answered the question on MSDN forum where the question was about Transactions and the associated cost in SQL Azure. As of now, There is no “per transaction” cost associated with SQL Azure. There are two parameters that affect your SQL Azure Bill: 1) Database Size 2) Outbound Data Transfer and an example of an outbound transfer would be data access by an application hosted outside of your Azure DB’s data-center.

If you want to read more about SQL Azure pricing, here’s the official resource:

https://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/pricing/details/#header-4

And here are some of the blog-posts that I’ve written on the same topic:

SQL Azure got a new pricing model!

SQL Azure: Indexes are very helpful but they cost $Money$

Getting started with SQL Azure – Part 3: Provisioning and Billing Model of SQL Azure << Paras Doshi

Top Five reasons to contribute on MSDN or StackOverflow forums

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Technical forums are places where you can sense that there’s a hope for humanity! No kidding. If you think about it, it’s a place where humans help each other out without expecting anything in return (in almost all cases), what I just said is a fact. So now if you agree that forums are a great place, How about contributing? So if you’re not contributing already, here are the five reasons that may prompt you to start contributing:

1. Help someone out.

2. Solve a real-world problem

[Thanks Florin Dumitrescu for pointing this out!]

3. Discover great resources on Inter-webs. This is so because, while answering questions – people drop awesome links in their answers and invariably they are great free resources:

[Thanks Hardik Pandya for pointing this out!]

4. Learn from other super-smart people and Network with them

5. Test (or “Validate”) your technical know-how

And One more:

Earn reputation (Build your Brand, they say)

What do you think? If you are already contributing on technical forums – what motivates you? And if you’re not contributing already – what’s stopping you? And I believe that everyone knows about tons of things which others are interested in. You just need to find a place to share that!