Zone Redundancy Comes to API Management Standard v2

Microsoft has introduced zone redundancy to the Standard v2 tier of its Azure API Management service. This feature, announced by Sreekanth Thirthala, distributes service capacity across multiple availability zones within a supported region, offering protection against datacenter-level failures without the need to upgrade to an enterprise tier.

The cost difference is significant, with Standard v2 starting at $700 per month for one unit, compared to $2,801 for Premium v2 and $2,795 for classic Premium. However, the Service Level Agreement (SLA) differs, with Premium tiers guaranteeing 99.99% availability (requiring deployment in at least two availability zones or regions), while Standard v2 has a slightly lower SLA of 99.95%.

Importantly, Standard v2 cannot be enabled on an existing APIM instance; it must be configured during the creation of a new Standard v2 instance. Microsoft's documentation still recommends Premium (classic) or Premium v2 for availability zone support, though it clarifies that availability zones are not supported in Basic v2 and Standard v2.

The pricing comparison is further complicated by the fact that Premium SLA requires at least one unit in two or more availability zones, while Standard v2 provides zone redundancy at the lower commitment level. However, this feature does not guarantee capacity, and Microsoft advises over-provisioning for teams that need guaranteed capacity, as there is no assurance that requests for more capacity in another availability zone will succeed.