Tutorial / Cram Notes
Understanding storage tiers is essential for any Azure Administrator aiming to effectively manage Azure Storage accounts. Azure offers different storage tiering options which allow you to balance cost and performance by storing your data on different types of media according to how frequently you expect to access it. The primary storage tiers are Hot, Cool, and Archive.
Hot Tier:
This tier is optimized for storing data that is accessed frequently. It has higher storage costs compared to Cool and Archive tiers, but the access and transaction costs are lower. The Hot tier is ideal for data that you need to read from or write to often.
Cool Tier:
The Cool tier is a more cost-effective option for storing data that is infrequently accessed. It offers lower storage costs compared to the Hot tier but higher access and transaction costs. This tier is suitable for short-term backup and disaster recovery data or other infrequently accessed information that you anticipate will be required within a month or so.
Archive Tier:
The Archive tier provides the lowest storage costs and is intended for long-term storage of data that is accessed rarely and does not require immediate availability. The access and transaction costs are the highest among the storage tiers, and there is also a retrieval cost for data. This tier is suitable for compliance and archival data that may need to be preserved for years and accessed only for auditing purposes or other rare scenarios.
Configuring storage tiers in Azure involves creating or modifying blob storage to take advantage of these options. Here are the steps and examples to help you configure storage tiers within Azure Blob Storage.
Setting Default Account Tier:
When you create a new storage account, you can set the default access tier to Hot or Cool. This can be done through the Azure Portal, Azure PowerShell, or Azure CLI. The default tier affects all the blobs in that storage account unless a different tier is explicitly set at the blob level.
Example using Azure Portal:
- Go into the Azure Portal and create a new Storage Account or navigate to an existing one.
- Under the “Blob service” section, click on “Lifecycle Management”.
- Create a new rule or edit an existing one.
- In the rule, you can choose to move blobs to the Cool or Archive tier based on the blob’s age, last modified date, or other properties.
Example using Azure CLI:
az storage account create --name
Setting Tier on Blob-Level:
You can also set the storage tier at the individual blob level. This affords more granularity in how you manage your data.
Example using Azure Portal:
- Navigate to your storage account and click on “Blobs”.
- Select a container and then click on the specific blob.
- Under the “Overview” tab, click “Change tier”.
- Select the desired tier (Hot, Cool, or Archive) and click “Save”.
Example using Azure PowerShell:
Set-AzStorageBlobTier -Context $ctx -Container "mycontainer" -Name "myblob" -Tier Cool
Considerations When Using Storage Tiers:
- Blob Type Support: Not all types of blobs can be tiered to Cool or Archive; only block blobs and append blobs can be moved between these tiers.
- Minimum Duration: Keep in mind that there are minimum duration requirements for each tier. For instance, Cool tier requires the blob to be stored for a minimum of 30 days, and Archive for 180 days. Early deletion will incur charges.
- Data Redundancy: The storage tier does not affect the data redundancy level of your storage account; redundancy options such as LRS, GRS, or RA-GRS continue to apply.
- Performance Impact: Retrieving data from Cool and especially Archive tiers can take longer than retrieving data from the Hot tier. Access times can be in hours for the Archive tier.
By understanding and configuring Azure storage tiers, Azure Administrators can optimize their storage solutions for both cost and access requirements. Remember that a detailed cost analysis should be performed to ensure that the selected tier aligns with your organization’s budget and data access patterns.
Practice Test with Explanation
True or False: When configuring storage tiers in Azure, the ‘Hot’ access tier is generally more cost-effective for data that is accessed frequently.
- True
Answer: True
Explanation: The Hot access tier is optimized for storing data that is accessed frequently, and costs are lower for access operations but higher for storage.
Which of the following storage tiers is recommended for data that will be accessed infrequently but needs to have high performance when accessed?
- A) Hot
- B) Cool
- C) Archive
Answer: B) Cool
Explanation: The Cool access tier is optimized for data that is infrequently accessed, but requires fast access when needed, and has lower storage costs but higher access costs than the Hot tier.
True or False: You can change the access tier of a blob storage from ‘Hot’ to ‘Cool’ without incurring any costs.
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Changing the access tier of a blob storage incurs costs. There is a charge associated with the read and write operations that are required to move data between access tiers.
Which of the following options are valid when setting the default account access tier for Azure Blob storage? (Select two)
- A) Hot
- B) Cool
- C) Archive
- D) Premium
Answer: A) Hot, B) Cool
Explanation: When setting the default account access tier, you can only choose between Hot and Cool. Archive is not set as the default at the account level and Premium is a performance tier, not an access tier.
True or False: Once a blob is moved to the Archive storage tier, it is immediately available for read operations.
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Blobs in the Archive storage tier are not immediately available for read operations. There is a delay because the archive tier is designed for long-term storage of data that is rarely accessed.
Which Azure storage redundancy option is NOT supported for the Cool access tier?
- A) Locally-redundant storage (LRS)
- B) Zone-redundant storage (ZRS)
- C) Geo-redundant storage (GRS)
- D) Read-access geo-redundant storage (RA-GRS)
Answer: D) Read-access geo-redundant storage (RA-GRS)
Explanation: All redundancy options, including LRS, ZRS, and GRS, support the Cool access tier. However, the Cool tier support for RA-GRS was not originally provided but has been updated over time. Always check the latest Azure documentation for such specifics as capabilities may change.
True or False: Azure Blob storage lifecycle management policies allow you to transition blobs between access tiers automatically based on their age and frequency of access.
- True
Answer: True
Explanation: Azure Blob storage lifecycle management policies enable the automatic transitioning of blobs between access tiers and deletion of blobs based on specified rules regarding the age and frequency of access.
Can you revert a blob that has been moved to the Archive tier back to the Hot or Cool tier?
- A) Yes, but with a delay
- B) Yes, without any delay
- C) No, it’s not possible
Answer: A) Yes, but with a delay
Explanation: A blob moved to the Archive tier can be rehydrated back to the Hot or Cool tier, but this process involves a delay while the data is made accessible again.
What kind of data is the Archive storage tier designed for?
- A) Data that is accessed frequently
- B) Data that is accessed occasionally but requires high performance
- C) Data that needs to be stored for long-term retention and is rarely accessed
Answer: C) Data that needs to be stored for long-term retention and is rarely accessed
Explanation: The Archive storage tier is designed for data that is rarely accessed and needs to be retained for long periods of time, such as data required for compliance or archival purposes.
True or False: Changing the access tier of a storage blob from Cool to Hot is typically more costly than changing from Hot to Cool.
- True
Answer: True
Explanation: Generally, changing the access tier from Cool to Hot can be more expensive than going from Hot to Cool due to higher costs of read operations needed to move data out of the Cool tier.
Which of the following options would incur the least cost for storage but the highest cost for access?
- A) Hot tier with LRS redundancy
- B) Cool tier with ZRS redundancy
- C) Archive tier with GRS redundancy
Answer: C) Archive tier with GRS redundancy
Explanation: Although GRS provides a higher level of data durability, the Archive tier typically incurs the least cost for storage space while having the highest access costs among the access tiers.
True or False: Azure Blob storage does not support automatic tiering of blobs in a General-purpose v1 (GPv1) storage account.
- True
Answer: True
Explanation: Automatic tiering of blobs is a feature supported in General-purpose v2 (GPv2) and Blob storage accounts only. GPv1 accounts do not support tiering or lifecycle management policies.
Interview Questions
What are storage tiers in Azure Blob Storage?
Storage tiers in Azure Blob Storage are used to manage and optimize storage costs by providing different storage options with varying performance levels and pricing.
How many storage tiers are available in Azure Blob Storage?
There are two storage tiers available in Azure Blob Storage Hot and Cold.
What is the difference between Hot and Cold storage tiers?
Hot storage tier is optimized for frequently accessed data with low latency and high throughput performance. It has higher storage costs compared to the Cold storage tier. Cold storage tier is optimized for infrequently accessed data and has lower storage costs. It has higher access costs compared to the Hot storage tier.
Can data be moved between storage tiers in Azure Blob Storage?
Yes, data can be moved between storage tiers in Azure Blob Storage using automated tiering, which moves data based on usage patterns, or manual tiering, which allows users to manually move data between tiers.
How can you configure storage tiers for new Blob Storage accounts in the Azure portal?
Storage tiers can be configured for new Blob Storage accounts in the Azure portal during the account creation process by selecting the desired tier during configuration.
Can you configure storage tiers for existing Blob Storage accounts?
Yes, storage tiers can be configured for existing Blob Storage accounts by changing the access tier property of the account in the Azure portal or using Azure PowerShell or Azure CLI.
What is the minimum duration for which data must be stored in a tier to avoid early deletion charges?
To avoid early deletion charges, data must be stored in a tier for a minimum of 30 days.
Can you use Lifecycle Management to automatically move data between storage tiers?
Yes, Lifecycle Management can be used to automatically move data between storage tiers based on defined rules and policies.
Can you change the access tier of a blob container?
Yes, the access tier of a blob container can be changed using Azure PowerShell or Azure CLI.
How can you monitor storage costs for different tiers?
Storage costs for different tiers can be monitored using the Azure portal, Azure Storage Explorer, or Azure Monitor, which provides detailed cost and usage reports.
Understanding how to configure storage tiers for the AZ-104 exam can be tricky. Any tips?
Switching between storage tiers is covered well in the official Microsoft documentation.
Can someone explain the difference between hot and cool storage in Azure?
Great blog post! This really helped me understand storage tiers.
I’m struggling with understanding the archive tier. Any pointers?
Anyone know if there’s a best practice for automating storage tier transitions?
How does the cost compare between the different storage tiers?
I appreciate the detailed explanations in this post.