F2 Capacity for Small Business

[rsanford]

Does the Fabric F2 Capacity really provide the capability effectively perfom  tasks.  There are many Small Business that serve in Consulting Capacities that use their environments to demostrate capabilites of Microsoft solutions (such as PowerBi) to their clients. However, does the pricing model really provide a suitable cost structure for these companies to showcase a varitey of Use Cases that represent their clients?

[v-nikhilan-msft · Accepted solution]

Hi @rsanford 
Thanks for using Fabric Community.
The Fabric F2 Capacity is designed to provide a range of capabilities, but its effectiveness can depend on the specific tasks and use cases.

The F2 Capacity can generate reports fast within the first minute or so, presumably because bursting comes into play to let F2 borrow and recruit more CPU resources. However, as the sustained load continues, Fabric starts scaling back and throttling CPU.
Notes on Fabric F2 Performance: Report Load – Prologika

The F2 Capacity could be a viable option for smaller organizations willing to make their start in the Fabric world.
Notes on Fabric F2 Performance: Warehouse ETL – Prologika

From a strictly Power BI user perspective, since they have to still use a Pro license there is no real benefit of an F2 over a Pro license.
As for the pricing model, Microsoft Fabric’s pricing model provides a valuable opportunity for cost-savings but requires careful planning.
Microsoft Fabric Pricing Scenarios - iLink Digital (ilink-digital.com)

Pros of F2 for Demos:

• Cost-effective for low usage: F2 has a fixed monthly cost and doesn't scale based on hourly usage. This can be attractive for consultants who only use it for occasional demos.
• Always Available: F2 doesn't require manual startup or suspension, ensuring it's ready for demos whenever needed.
• Decent Capacity: With 60 Capacity Units (CUs), F2 can handle basic Power BI demonstrations without performance issues.

Cons of F2 for Demos:

• Limited Capacity: F2 might struggle with complex Power BI reports or large datasets.
• No Cost Flexibility: The fixed cost might not be ideal if demos are infrequent. Consultants might pay for unused capacity.
• Not Designed for Bursting: F2 doesn't handle sudden spikes in usage well. If a demo requires more processing power momentarily, it could experience slowdowns.

Please refer to these links for more information:
https://sqlreitse.com/2024/01/10/microsoft-fabric-comparing-the-f2-with-the-preview-f64/
https://datamonkeysite.com/2023/08/05/first-look-at-fabric-f2/

Hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any further questions.

[v-nikhilan-msft]

Hi @rsanford 
We haven’t heard from you on the last response and was just checking back to see if your query has been resolved. Otherwise, will respond back with the more details and we will try to help.
Thanks

[v-nikhilan-msft]

Hi @rsanford 
We haven’t heard from you on the last response and was just checking back to see if your query has been resolved. Otherwise, will respond back with the more details and we will try to help.
Thanks