Inactive Azure Load Balancer
Anderson Oliveira
Service Category
Networking
Cloud Provider
Azure
Service Name
Azure Load Balancer
Inefficiency Type
Unused Resource
Explanation

Standard Load Balancers are frequently provisioned for internal services, internet-facing applications, or testing environments. When a workload is decommissioned or moved, the load balancer may be left behind without any active backend pool or traffic — but continues to incur hourly charges for each frontend IP configuration.Because Azure does not automatically remove or alert on inactive load balancers, and because they may not show significant outbound traffic, these resources often persist unnoticed. In dynamic or multi-team environments, this can result in a growing number of unused Standard Load Balancers generating silent, recurring costs.

Relevant Billing Model
  • Standard SKU incurs hourly charges per front-end IP configuration, regardless of traffic or backend association
  • Additional per-GB data processing charges apply to outbound traffic routed through the load balancer
  • Basic SKU is free but supports only limited functionality and scope
Detection
  • Review whether the load balancer has any backend pool associations
  • Assess whether any virtual machines or scale sets are currently linked to the backend pool
  • Evaluate if the load balancer is receiving or routing any traffic over a representative time period
  • Determine whether the resource was provisioned for a workload that has since been decommissioned
  • Confirm whether the load balancer serves a current business or operational purpose
Remediation
  • Delete load balancers that have no active backend pool and are no longer needed
  • Review associated resources (e.g., front-end IP configurations, probes, rules) to ensure they can be safely removed
  • Establish tagging or documentation standards to track ownership and intended usage
  • Incorporate load balancer cleanup into deprovisioning and environment hygiene workflows