[!NOTE] This guide expands on the Cost Considerations section of the main contributing guide.
Full deployment testing incurs Azure costs. This guide provides cost transparency and optimization strategies.
[!NOTE] Cost estimates in this document were captured on 2026-02-03 and are subject to change. Use the Azure Pricing Calculator for current rates.
| Component | Estimated Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| AKS Control Plane | Free (tier) or ~$0.10/hour (standard) | Standard tier for production |
| GPU Node Pool | $3.06/hour per node | Standard_NC24ads_A100_v4 |
| System Node Pool | ~$0.50/hour | Standard_D4s_v3 |
| Storage Account | ~$20-30/month | General Purpose v2 |
| Key Vault | ~$0.05/month + operations | Secrets storage |
| PostgreSQL | ~$15-25/month | Flexible Server, Burstable tier |
| Redis Cache | ~$15-20/month | Basic tier |
| Log Analytics | ~$5-15/month | Based on ingestion volume |
Use smaller deployments:
# Single GPU node instead of default pool size
terraform apply -var="gpu_node_count=1"
# Public network mode (simpler, faster)
terraform apply -var="network_mode=public"
# Burstable database tiers
terraform apply -var="postgres_sku=B_Standard_B1ms"
Time-bound testing:
# Set auto-shutdown timer
az vm auto-shutdown -g <rg> -n <vm> --time 2200
# Use Azure Dev/Test subscription pricing (if available)
# 40-60% savings on compute resources
Immediate cleanup:
# Destroy all resources after validation
terraform destroy -auto-approve -var-file=terraform.tfvars
# Verify resource deletion
az group list --query "[?starts_with(name,'rg-robotics')].name" -o table
az group delete -n <rg> --yes --no-wait
# Check recent usage
az consumption usage list \
--start-date $(date -d '7 days ago' +%Y-%m-%d) \
--end-date $(date +%Y-%m-%d) \
--query "[].{Date:usageStart, Amount:pretaxCost, Currency:currency}" \
--output table
# Create budget alert
az consumption budget create \
--budget-name "PR-Testing-Monthly" \
--amount 100 \
--time-grain Monthly \
--category Cost \
--resource-group <rg>
| Contribution Type | Typical Cost | Recommended Testing |
|---|---|---|
| Documentation | $0 | Read-through, link check |
| Shell scripts | $0-10 | ShellCheck, minimal deployment |
| Terraform modules | $10-25 | Plan validation, short deployment |
| Training scripts | $15-30 | Single training job |
| Full infrastructure | $25-50 | Complete deployment cycle |
| Workflow templates | $15-40 | Workflow execution |
GPU VM costs vary by region. Use Azure Pricing Calculator to estimate costs for your target region.
| Region | Standard_NC24ads_A100_v4 Hourly Cost |
|---|---|
| East US | ~$3.06/hour |
| West US 2 | ~$3.06/hour |
| West Europe | ~$3.67/hour |
[!TIP] Test in regions with lower GPU costs when region-specific features are not being validated.