Understanding Azure Storage Access Tiers: Hot, Cool & Archive Explained with Animation

Azure Storage Account Access Tier Explained Using Animations:

Topic coved :
What is meant by the Azure storage access tier?
Types of Azure storage account access tyers
use of each tyers, and how it impacts the performance and cost of an organization

"Learn all about Azure Storage Access Tiers—Hot, Cool, and Archive—in this animated video designed to make cloud storage easy to understand. Discover how each tier helps you manage data access frequency and control costs effectively. Whether you’re new to cloud storage or looking to optimize data storage strategies, this video offers a clear explanation using practical examples. Perfect for data engineers and Azure enthusiasts!

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"Azure Storage, Azure Access Tiers, Cloud Storage Tiers, Data Engineering, Data Storage, Hot Cool Archive, Azure Data Management, Data Engineering for Beginners, Azure Cloud, Azure Tutorial"

Hashtags:
#AzureStorage #DataEngineering #CloudStorage #AccessTiers #HotCoolArchive #AzureTutorial #CloudComputing #datamanagement

Detailed explanations:

Let's break down the storage tiers (hot, cool, and archive) in Azure Blob Storage, with an example using Step2C Corp, a company that deals with sales and revenue data.

1. Hot Tier
Purpose: The hot tier is used for frequently accessed data. It’s the most expensive in terms of storage costs but the cheapest for read/write operations.
Example at Step2C Corp: Step2C Corp’s sales team needs to access current month sales and revenue data frequently for reporting and analysis. This data might include daily transactions, sales figures, and revenue breakdowns. Since the data is accessed multiple times a day, it’s stored in the hot tier.
2. Cool Tier
Purpose: The cool tier is intended for data that is accessed less frequently but still needs to be available for occasional access, typically monthly or quarterly. Storage costs are lower than the hot tier, but the read/write costs are higher.
Example at Step2C Corp: Last quarter’s sales data, which is only accessed occasionally for comparative analysis or quarterly reporting, is stored in the cool tier. The data isn’t accessed every day, so the lower storage cost makes it economical, even if access costs are slightly higher.
3. Archive Tier
Purpose: The archive tier is the least expensive option for storage, but it has the highest retrieval cost and takes more time to access because the data is “cold” or stored offline. It’s best for data that’s rarely accessed but needs to be kept for historical, compliance, or audit reasons.
Example at Step2C Corp: Step2C Corp keeps sales and revenue records for the last five years due to compliance requirements. Since this data is rarely accessed, it’s stored in the archive tier. If they ever need to retrieve it (like for an audit), they know there will be extra cost and delay, but the low storage cost makes it ideal for long-term storage.

Summary
Hot Tier: Current, frequently accessed data (e.g., daily sales).
Cool Tier: Periodically accessed data (e.g., quarterly sales), and it is good for storing infrequently accessed data.
Archive Tier: Rarely accessed, long-term data (e.g., historical sales for compliance).

At Step2C, we use Archive Storage to keep data that we access rarely but need to retain for long periods, like old sales records for compliance. Remember, Archive Storage can’t be set at the storage account level; it must be applied to individual files or blobs that need this deep storage option."

Can you set the access tier to the archive access tier at the storage account level?
No, you can’t set the access tier to archive at the storage account level. Archive tier is only available at the blob level, meaning you need to set it individually for each file or blob you want archived.
At the storage account level, you can only set it to hot or cool tiers.
By using these storage tiers, Step2C Corp can optimize storage costs based on the frequency and importance of their data access needs.
A blob that doesn't have an explicitly assigned tier infers its tier from the default account access tier setting. If a blob's access tier is inferred from the default account access tier setting, then the Azure portal displays the access tier as Hot (inferred), Cool (inferred), or Cold (inferred).