Understanding Microsoft Fabric Licensing
Hello everyone, I’m Atul Divekar, an IT professional with over 14 years of experience in the field. Today, we’re going to delve into the world of Microsoft Fabric and understand its licensing model.
Introduction to Microsoft Fabric Licensing
Microsoft Fabric utilizes a user-based licensing model, offering shared or dedicated capacities, with user accounts categorized as Free, Pro, or Premium Per User (PPU). In the realm of Microsoft Fabric, the type of capacity dictates access: shared capacity limits users to Power BI objects, while dedicated capacity (Fs) allows for Fabric objects.
Pricing Overview
Microsoft Fabric is billed per second with no commitment. In the future (date not yet known), Microsoft will also enable purchase of Fabric is M365, which will then be billed on a monthly or annual basis with a monthly commitment.
Capacity Units (CUs)
Microsoft Fabric offers a shared pool of capacity that powers all capabilities in Microsoft Fabric, from data modeling and data warehousing to business intelligence and AI experiences. The benefits of Fabric Capacity include simplified purchasing with a single pool of compute for every workload, the ability to use the same set of Capacity Units (CUs) wherever you have the need without pre-allocating capacity, and transparent monitoring through a centralized dashboard to monitor usage and costs.
Here’s a brief overview of the pricing for different capacity units
| SKU | Capacity unit (CU) | Pay-as-you-go |
|---|---|---|
| F 2 | 2 | $0.36/hour |
| F 4 | 4 | $0.72/hour |
| F 8 | 8 | $1.44/hour |
| F 16 | 16 | $2.88/hour |
| F 32 | 32 | $5.76/hour |
| F 64 | 64 | $11.52/hour |
| F 128 | 128 | $23.04/hour |
| F 256 | 256 | $46.08/hour |
| F 512 | 512 | $92.16/hour |
| F 1024 | 1024 | $184.32/hour |
| F 2048 | 2048 | $368.64/hour |
OneLake Storage
OneLake Storage is a single place to store all data. The benefits of OneLake storage include simplified purchasing with automatically provisioned single storage service for all workloads, a single copy of data across all the analytical engines of Fabric without moving or duplicating data, and persistent security means all data and governance tools are accessible in one place, helping reduce maintenance overhead.
Understanding the licensing model of Microsoft Fabric is crucial for making the most out of this powerful platform. It allows you to choose the right capacity and storage options based on your specific needs and budget.
Stay tuned for more insights into the world of data analytics. Until next time!
