Final answer:
Copying several gigabits of data to Azure over a VPN does incur additional data transfer costs, as Azure charges for outbound traffic after certain thresholds are reached.
Step-by-step explanation:
When copying several gigabits of data to Azure from an on-premises network over a VPN, additional data transfer costs are indeed incurred. This is true because Azure, like many cloud services, charges for outbound data transfer over certain thresholds. In this context, when data is sent from your on-premises servers to Azure, you are effectively moving data out of your local network and into the Azure cloud environment, which is considered outbound traffic and subject to such charges.
Azure provides a detailed pricing model which includes charges for data transfer beyond the first few gigabytes each month. Although inbound data transfer (uploading to Azure) is typically free, outbound data transfer (downloading from Azure) can result in additional costs. These charges vary based on the amount of data transferred and the region of your Azure services.
When planning a migration or copying large amounts of data, it is crucial to understand these charges to avoid surprise costs on your Azure bill.