Azure Blob Storage for Long-Term Data Storage | Best Tier for Compliance

Choose the Archive Storage Tier for Long-Term Data Storage in Azure Blob Storage | Minimize Costs, Meet Compliance

Question

You need to store data in Azure Blob storage for seven years to meet your company's compliance requirements. The retrieval time of the data is unimportant. The solution must minimize storage costs.

Which storage tier should you use?

Answers

Explanations

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https://cloud.netapp.com/blog/azure-blob-storage-pricing-the-complete-guide-azure-cvo-blg#H1_4

For the given scenario, where data needs to be stored for a long duration of seven years, and retrieval time is not important, the most cost-effective and suitable storage tier to use is the "Archive" tier.

The "Archive" tier is the lowest-cost storage tier in Azure Blob Storage, designed for data that is rarely accessed and stored for long periods, typically for compliance or archival purposes. The Archive tier is optimized for storing large amounts of data, and it offers the lowest storage cost compared to other tiers.

The retrieval time for the Archive tier is higher than other tiers and is measured in hours rather than milliseconds or seconds. However, it is still ideal for storing data that does not need to be accessed frequently. It is important to note that the data retrieval process for the Archive tier involves a two-step process: the data must first be rehydrated (restored) from the archive to the cool tier before it can be accessed.

In contrast, the "Cool" tier is designed for data that is infrequently accessed but still requires faster access than the Archive tier. The retrieval time for the Cool tier is faster than the Archive tier, measured in minutes, but the storage cost is higher than the Archive tier.

Finally, the "Hot" tier is designed for frequently accessed data that requires the lowest possible access latency. The storage cost for the Hot tier is the highest among the three tiers, but it offers the fastest retrieval time, measured in milliseconds or seconds.

Therefore, considering the requirements of the scenario, the most suitable storage tier to use would be the "Archive" tier to minimize the storage costs while meeting the compliance requirements.