Microsoft Azure- Disk Storage in Microsoft Azure

Azure Disk Storage is the only shared cloud block storage that supports both Windows and Linux-based clustered or high-availability applications via Azure shared disks. There are two types of Disks in Azure One is Managed Disks and the other is Unmanaged Disks.

Managed Disks:

• Simplest option
• Lower management overhead as Azure manages the storage accounts.
• Only LRS replication mode is currently available

Unmanaged Disks:

• DIY option
• Management overhead (20000 IOPS per storage account limit)
• Supports all replication  modes  (LRS, ZRS, GRS, RA-GRS)

Check out Storage redundancy types here.

VM Disk Storage Types:

Standard Storage – mostly used for General Work Loads like dev/test.

• Backed by HHD drives,
• Cost-Effective – Low Performance
• Offers Max throughput  – 60MB/S per disk
• Offers Max IOPS  – 500 IOPS per disk

Premium Storage – majorly used for Production Work Loads. 

• Backed by SSD drives,
• Offers Higher performance
• Offers Max throughput  – 250MB/S per disk
• Offers Max IOPS  – 7500 IOPS per disk

Disk SKU Offers Various Standards: 

1. Premium SSD Disks offer high-performance, low-latency disk support for I/O-intensive applications and production workloads.
2. Standard SSD Disks are a cost-effective storage option optimized for workloads that need consistent performance at lower IOPS levels. 
3. Standard HDD Disks can be used for Dev/Test scenarios and less critical workloads at the lowest cost.

Performance Tier

A baseline performance tier is set based on your provisioned disk size. You can set a higher performance tier when your application requires this to meet higher demand and return to the initial baseline performance tier once this period is complete. When upgrading the performance tier, you will be billed at the upgraded tier until you return to the baseline tier.

Premium SSD Disks to choose: 

Current Best Azure Disk Performance Tier for Quality Development and Production Environments.

• P10 – 500 IOPS, 100 MBps (default)
• P15 – 1100 IOPS, 125 MBps
• P20 – 2300 IOPS, 150 MBps
• P30 – 5000 IOPS, 200 MBps
• P40 – 7500 IOPS, 250 MBps
• P50 – 7500 IOPS, 250 MBps

Note: Changes to the disk size can be made only when the disk is unattached or the managing virtual machines are deallocated.

Cost Saving Tip: 

Before provisioning the disk check out the pricing details here. 

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