Hi,

I have an A-Series, A0 at $18.22 ($0.025/hr) Azure Virtual Machine setup.

1. How much is the cost to update software in the virtual machine. For example, if I wish to do a Windows Update from the Virtual Machine's Control Panel, is there any cost associated with this?
2. If I wish to copy an installation file for Windows SQL Server 2014 from a Remote Desktop Connection, am I charged for the data transfer of this file?
3. I am wanting to setup IIS for a MVC 5 internet application with my own SQL Server 2014 installation. Are there any costs associated with setting this up and having it running?
4. Other than the $18.22 ($0.025/hr), what other costs are there?

Thanks in advance.

You will be charged for data transfer and for storage you use. And ofcourse for compute hours, in this case $0.025/hr.

First 5GB of outbound data is free, you will be paying only if you break this limit. All inbound data is free. So in your case, you will not be charged for copying file.

And for storage, you are charged for what is real data. If you have 1TB disk attached to your VM that is used 200GB and 800GB free, you will be charged for 200GB, not full size of disk you create.

My advice is that you don't try to install SQL Server 2014 on A0 VM. 768 MB of RAM is not nearly enough to run SQL Server.

So overall, you will be paying for Comupte Hours $0.025/hr, for storage you use and if you exceed 5 GB of outbound data. And again, don't install SQL Server on A0 VM.

What would be the minimum VM required to install SQL Server?

Minimum is 1GB but 4GB is recomended. You can find out more here:

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143506.aspx

If I download a Windows update in the VM, is this classified as outbound data?

Yes, that would be outbound data. But as your limit for outbound data is 5GB, update shouldn't be a problem.

In regards to paying for disk space used in a VM, is the cost part of the data at this resource: http://azure.microsoft.com/en-gb/pricing/calculator/?scenario=data-management

Specifically the Storage->Files section?