Azure Managed Disks - Standard SSD

Last updated: October 26, 2023

Introduction to Standard SSD Managed Disks

Azure Standard SSD Managed Disks offer a cost-effective storage solution for workloads that require consistent latency and IOPS, but do not need the extremely low latency or high throughput of Premium SSD or Ultra Disk. They are ideal for development and testing environments, smaller production workloads, and less performance-sensitive applications.

Managed Disks simplify disk management by handling availability, redundancy, and patching for you. Standard SSDs are built on solid-state drive (SSD) technology, providing a significant performance improvement over traditional hard disk drives (HDDs).

Key Features

Consistent Latency: Standard SSDs provide predictable, low latency performance suitable for many applications.
Scalability: Easily scale disk size and performance as your needs evolve.
Durability: All Managed Disks are durable and highly available, with built-in redundancy.
Cost-Effective: Offers a balanced price-performance ratio, making it an economical choice.
Data Encryption: Data at rest is automatically encrypted using Azure Storage Service Encryption.
Snapshots and Backups: Supports Azure's robust snapshot and backup features for data protection.

Common Use Cases

Standard SSD Managed Disks are well-suited for a variety of scenarios, including:

Development and Testing: Ideal for non-production environments where cost is a primary concern but performance better than HDD is desired.
Web Servers: Suitable for hosting static websites or web applications with moderate traffic.
Small to Medium Databases: Can be used for less performance-intensive databases or for databases that primarily serve read-heavy workloads.
Line-of-Business (LOB) Applications: For applications that don't require extreme I/O performance.
Sample or Demo Environments: Cost-effective for showcasing applications or solutions.

Performance Characteristics

Standard SSDs offer a balanced performance profile. The specific IOPS and throughput vary by disk size. Here's a general overview:

IOPS (Input/Output Operations Per Second): Standard SSDs typically offer IOPS ranging from 300 up to 1200.

Throughput (MB/s): Throughput can range from 90 MB/s up to 320 MB/s.

For detailed performance specifications based on disk size, please refer to the Managed Disk performance tiers documentation.

Note on Performance

While Standard SSDs offer consistent performance, they are not designed for mission-critical, high-transaction workloads that demand the lowest possible latency and highest IOPS/throughput. For those, consider Premium SSD or Ultra Disk.

Pricing

Pricing for Standard SSD Managed Disks is based on the provisioned capacity of the disk and the amount of data transferred. Azure offers a pay-as-you-go model, and you are charged for the provisioned disk size, regardless of how much data you actually store on it.

For the most up-to-date pricing information, please visit the Azure Managed Disks pricing page.

Getting Started

You can create and attach Standard SSD Managed Disks to your Azure Virtual Machines through the Azure portal, Azure CLI, PowerShell, or Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates.

Example using Azure CLI:

                    
# Create a Standard SSD Managed Disk
az disk create \
  --resource-group MyResourceGroup \
  --name MyStandardSSDDisk \
  --sku StandardSSD_LRS \
  --size-gb 128 \
  --zones 1

# Attach the disk to a Virtual Machine
az vm disk attach \
  --resource-group MyResourceGroup \
  --vm-name MyVM \
  --name MyStandardSSDDisk \
  --new
                    
                

Refer to the Azure documentation for creating disks for detailed instructions.

Important Considerations

Disk Size: Choose a disk size that meets your performance and capacity needs. Larger disks generally offer higher IOPS and throughput.
Data Redundancy: Standard SSDs are available in LRS (Locally Redundant Storage), ZRS (Zone Redundant Storage), and GRS (Geo-Redundant Storage) options, offering different levels of data protection.
Migration: If you are migrating from unmanaged disks or older storage types, plan your migration strategy carefully.
Monitoring: Monitor disk performance metrics in Azure Monitor to ensure your applications are performing as expected.

Tip

For applications that experience spiky I/O patterns, consider caching strategies or optimizing your application's I/O behavior to maximize the benefit of Standard SSD performance.