Retain Public Virtual IP Address?
azure, azure-virtual-machine
Solution
Yes, there is a way for you to do this, but you will still be charged compute charges. The Public IP is linked to the cloud service container the VM runs in and as long as something is running (or appears to be running) in that container than the VIP will stay assigned to you. You can shutdown the VM from within the VM itself.
Check out the following post by Keith Mayer for more info on this: http://blogs.technet.com/b/keithmayer/archive/2013/06/19/windows-azure-virtual-machines-there-s-more-than-1-way-to-shutdown-a-vm.aspx#.UqInbRwo5aQ
Currently leasing a VIP or having a fully assigned VIP that is just for you across deployments and such is not an option. They have been hearing this feedback for quite some time and from many people.
Problem
When you reboot an Azure Virtual Machine, its public virtual IP address does not change. However, if you shutdown the VM and then start it back up, it will receive a different public virtual IP address. This VM server is hosting a service which end users may need to create a firewall rule for. This may require them to have the public IP address of the server. Is there a method to keep the same public virtual IP address? Can Microsoft allow this on a per account / per VM / per subscription basis? Thanks