Microsoft reveals pay-to-Ping plan for advanced Azure availability testing

Microsoft has done two very characteristic things: create a new type of Ping and signalled it will charge to use it. Microsoft currently offers a "URL Ping test" that it admits is "a bit of a misnomer" as it has nothing to do with the Internet Control Message Protocol's "Ping" command, which Reg readers will know is a fine way …

[Headley_Grange]

Grat Gadsby!

Coming next - the Microsoft Keyboard where you pay per key click. Popular keys, like 'e' will be more expensive and rationed at busy times with special offers on the less popular keys to help with load balancing.

[nematoad]

Hmm, I suppose that if MS can't charge you for breathing then the next best thing is to charge for using PING.

How useful all those added features are to people will show in time I suppose, though it does look as if MS are scraping the bottom of the barrel here with this proposal.

[Plest]

Start a charity to save MS!

So MS are going to charge you to run 3 lines of http calls in shell/powershell/c/python/<pick your fav> ?! Jeez, all the latest giveaway must have seriously emptied the MS coffers if they're desperate to sell you this!

[Ken Moorhouse]

Hope they think about security...

Can a ping be relayed, for example, so that someone else pays for it.

[FuzzyTheBear]

Cracker tool ?

Is Microsoft making life easier for crackers telling them what commands they can run remotely without the fuss of finding out for oneself ?

How convenient :D

[jockmcthingiemibobb]

I run libreNMS and smokeping but needed much more features (e.g. checks from multiple locations, dependencies plus SMS and call alerts) that would have involved way too much setup for the trifling $15 a month that nodeping charges)

[Anonymous Coward]

Embrace, Extend, Exterminate.

In other words, business as usual at Microsoft.