Azure DocumentationAzure Disk Storage Overview
Azure Disk Storage offers persistent block storage for Azure virtual machines. It's designed for scenarios requiring high performance, low latency, and reliability.
Key Features and Benefits
- High Performance: Supports a wide range of IOPS and throughput, configurable through different disk types.
- Durability and Availability: Data is replicated for protection against hardware failures, with options for zone redundancy.
- Scalability: Easily scale disk performance and capacity as your application needs grow.
- Security: Encrypts data at rest and in transit with options for customer-managed keys.
- Cost-Effectiveness: Various disk types cater to different performance and budget requirements.
Understanding Disk Types
Azure offers several disk types, each optimized for different workloads:
Ultra Disk Storage
PremiumHighest performance for demanding workloads like top-tier ERP, large relational databases, and high-transactional databases.
- Configurable IOPS and throughput
- Up to 128,000 IOPS
- Up to 2,000 MB/s throughput
Premium SSD
PremiumBalanced performance and cost for most production and development/test workloads. Great for SQL/MySQL/PostgreSQL databases, small/medium tier applications, and development/testing.
- High IOPS and throughput
- Consistent performance
- Durable and reliable
Standard SSD
StandardConsistent performance at a lower cost than Premium SSD. Suitable for web servers, lightly trafficked SQL/MySQL servers, and development/testing environments.
- Lower cost alternative
- Consistent performance
- Good for non-critical workloads
Standard HDD
StandardLowest cost, suitable for backups, non-critical, and infrequently accessed data. Ideal for archival, large media files, and disaster recovery scenarios.
- Most cost-effective
- Lower performance
- Best for archival
Common Use Cases
- Boot Volumes: Providing operating system storage for Azure Virtual Machines.
- Data Volumes: Storing application data, databases, and files.
- High-Performance Computing (HPC): Leveraging Ultra Disks for intensive computational tasks.
- Enterprise Applications: Hosting critical applications like SAP HANA, SQL Server, and Oracle databases.
- Big Data Analytics: Storing and processing large datasets.
Management and Operations
Azure Disk Storage can be managed through various tools:
- Azure Portal: A graphical interface for creating, attaching, detaching, and managing disks.
- Azure CLI: Command-line tools for scripting and automation.
- Azure PowerShell: Another powerful scripting option for Windows environments.
- Azure Resource Manager (ARM) Templates: For declarative deployment and infrastructure as code.
Key Concepts
- Managed Disks: Azure manages the storage accounts, enabling simplified management and higher availability.
- Disk Snapshots: Point-in-time copies of a disk that can be used for backup and disaster recovery.
- Disk Images: Custom images used to create multiple VMs with the same OS and application configuration.
- Availability Zones: Deploying disks across multiple availability zones within a region for higher resilience.
For detailed guidance on creating, configuring, and managing Azure Disk Storage, please refer to the official Azure documentation.