Renew the Azure EA token when it expires
!!! Starting July 1st 2015 Microsoft switched to the new version of the Azure EA portal. If you need to use the old version for any reasons please follow our description here!!!
The issued EA token expires every 6 months on a regular basis. There are no automated processes to renew the token directly from the 3rd party application. It would be more user friendly if Microsoft would offer this API but from security perspective is the best thing to secure your Azure usage data.
The following process describes step-by-step how the Azure EA token can be renewed and updated in the Azure Cost Monitor. This is only necessary when you have got a specific notification or warning from the Azure Cost Monitor:
Step 1: Visit the "Manage Access" section in the Azure EA portal
Visit the Azure EA portal via https://ea.azure.com and navigate to the Reports section in the sidebar menu
Step2: Visit the API Access Key Page
Select in the reports the API Access Key Page to become the option to generate an access token which gives the Azure Costs Monitor access to the spending information:
Step3: Generate a new token in the section "Usage Api Access Key"
Select the blue "Key" icon to generate a new primary or secondary token:
Step3: Copy the whole token
After generating the new token copy the whole token into the clipboard. Ensure that you got the whole content from the small text-box. The token is divided into three elements with a dot as delimiter. When you select the content in the text-box please ensure that the whole content is marked.
Step4: Visit the Azure Cost Monitor and update the token
Visit the Azure Cost Monitor via https://azure-costs.com and open the settings view for your EA contract. Paste the token from the clipboard into the text-box for the access token.
Save the settings and the Azure Cost Monitor will start using this token from now on. During the next sync cycle data should be received with the new token. If you need an immediate synchronisation just press the "Sync" button.
This process is only necessary when the Azure Cost Monitor notifies you via e-mail or via pop up in the portal. You should also update the token when it becomes necessary for security reasons. Feel free to renew to token as often as needed, that has no impact on the data the Azure Cost Monitor is managing.