Clarification on Azure NetApp File Storage with Cool Access Tier

Sunil Menon 60

Hello Experts,

My organization is planning to leverage Azure NetApp File Storage with cool access. I have reviewed the documentation, but I need your assistance with a few specific questions:

Assuming we have an Azure NetApp capacity pool of 4TB with Ultra service level and cool access tier, where 2TB is in the hot tier and 2TB in the cool tier, will the total throughput be (128*4) Mbps?

In this scenario, if the hot volume utilization reaches 100%, will tiering to the cool tier still occur?

Will the customer have direct access to the data stored in the cool tier (Azure Storage account)?

Where will the cool tier (Azure Storage account) be created? Will it be part of the same AZ where the NetApp service is created?

Does the service back up data stored in the cool tier?

I appreciate your insights and guidance on this.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Sunil Menon 60 Reputation points

2024-09-17T15:07:54.8433333+00:00
@luis arias Thank you for your detailed response—much appreciated. Your input has raised a few additional queries:

Regarding point No. 2, if the hot volume utilization reaches near 100%, what happens when data in the cool tier is accessed? Will it automatically tier from cool to hot?

For cross-zone replication, what triggers tiering in the destination volume? Since the application doesn’t read from the destination volume/capacity pool, what would the tiering strategy look like? What is the recommendation for cross-zone replication as the data will only be accessed during a DR event?

When data resides in the cool tier, can we quantify the latency observed when moving data from cool to hot?

Does the entire file get transferred when data moves from hot to cool, or is it only specific blocks? For example, what happens when a 1 GB file is not accessed for 31 days, and how is this different when moving from cool to hot?
Vinod Kumar Reddy Chilupuri 660 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-09-18T04:41:55.52+00:00
Hi Sunil Menon,

When the hot volume utilization reaches 100% data in the cool tier will not automatically tier to the hot tier. Manually you have to move data back to the hot tier when needed.

Cross-Zone Replication, tiering in the destination volume is triggered based on the criteria as the source volume. The recommendation is to use the same tiering strategy as for a single-zone deployment. This means the inactive data will be moved to the cool tier, weather it is accessed or not.

Since the application doesn't use the destination volume regularly, the tiering strategy should follow disaster recovery (DR) requirements. It's recommended to store the data in the cool tier at the destination, as it will only be accessed during a DR event.

The cool tier is generally a bit slower than the hot tier because of the type of storage it uses. How long it takes to move data from cool to hot can depend on how big the data is and the system setup.

When moving data from hot to cool tier, based on the tiering policy the files are transferred. If a file is not accessed for 31days it will be considered as inactive and moved to cool tier as a whole file. The same process while moving from cool to hot.
Vinod Kumar Reddy Chilupuri 660 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-09-19T06:38:35.0533333+00:00

Hi @Sunil Menon,
We hope the above answer helped, if yes please accept the answer or Upvote else. Please let us know if you have any further queries. I’m happy to assist you further.
Sunil Menon 60 Reputation points

2024-09-20T03:28:41.2166667+00:00

Hi @Vinod Kumar Reddy Chilupuri Thanks for your response. I am bit confused based on what you mentioned in point 2 & 3. In point 2, you have mentioned that "The recommendation is to use the same tiering strategy as for a single-zone deployment", while in point 3 its mentioned "The recommendation for cross-zone replication is to keep the data in the cool tier at the destination, as it will only be accessed during a Disaster Recovery event".

Can you help me to understand on why we do have separate recommendation? Ideally there should be only one.
Vinod Kumar Reddy Chilupuri 660 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-09-23T06:53:40.03+00:00

Hi @Sunil Menon,
Single-Zone Deployment:

In Single-Zone Deployment setup the tiering follows the standard approach. Where the data which is not frequently accessed will move to cool tier to save the cost. Weather it is accessed or not. This is ideal for scenarios where you need high availability but don’t require replication to another region.

Cross-Zone Replication:

This Cross-Zone Replication is used for Disaster recovery. The data which is in the destination zone (DR site) is not actively used under normal conditions. It's recommended to keep the data in the cold tier at the destination, as it is only needed in the disaster recovery event. It will not be used unless a DR event occurs. This approach optimizes storage costs, since the data at the DR site is not regularly accessed.

Hence, Single-Zone Deployment mainly focuses on reducing the costs for the inactive data. Where as, Cross-Zone Replication focuses on cost efficiency of the data which is mainly kept for the Disaster recovery events.

Reference:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/reliability/cross-region-replication-azure https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/common/storage-redundancy

Please let us know if you have any further queries. Please do not forget to Upvote the answer if the provided information helps you.
Vinod Kumar Reddy Chilupuri 660 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-09-24T08:11:34.6233333+00:00

Hi @Sunil Menon,
If the answer helped (pointed, you in the right direction) > please Upvote the Answer. which might be beneficial to other community members reading this thread. And, if you have any further queries do let us know.
Vinod Kumar Reddy Chilupuri 660 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-09-25T09:54:06.4066667+00:00

Hi @Sunil Menon,
We hope the above answer helped, if yes please accept the answer or Upvote else. Please let us know if you have any further queries. I’m happy to assist you further.

1 answer

Luis Arias 7,121 Reputation points

2024-09-16T19:51:25.3533333+00:00
Hello Sunil,

Responding your question one at a time:

Where 2TB is in the hot tier and 2TB in the cool tier, will the total throughput be (1284) Mbps?* the throughput would indeed be calculated as 128 MiB/s×4 TiB=512 MiB/s. So, the total throughput would be 512 MiB/s, which is approximately 4096 Mbps

The hot volume utilization reaches 100%, will tiering to the cool tier still occur? Yes, tiering to the cool tier will still occur even if the hot volume utilization reaches 100%. The tiering process is designed to move inactive data to the cool tier to free up space in the hot tier.

Will the customer have direct access to the data stored in the cool tier (Azure Storage account)? No, customers do not have direct access to the data stored in the cool tier (Azure Storage account). The data tiered to the cool tier is managed by the Azure NetApp Files service, and access to this data is abstracted away from the customer. This means that while the data is stored in Azure Blob Storage, customers interact with it through the Azure NetApp Files interface, not directly through the Azure Storage account.

Where will the cool tier (Azure Storage account) be created? Will it be part of the same AZ where the NetApp service is created? The cool tier (Azure Storage account) for Azure NetApp Files is created in the same region as the NetApp service but not necessarily in the same Availability Zone (AZ), As I know the the exact AZ within the region may differ.

Does the service back up data stored in the cool tier? The service does not automatically back up data stored in the cool tier. You would need to implement your own backup strategy if required.

References:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-netapp-files/cool-access-introduction

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-netapp-files/manage-cool-access?tabs=standard

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-netapp-files/azure-netapp-files-service-levels

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-netapp-files/backup-requirements-considerations

If the above response helps answer your question, remember to "Accept Answer" so that others in the community facing similar issues can easily find the solution. Your contribution is highly appreciated.

Regards,

Luis
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Clarification on Azure NetApp File Storage with Cool Access Tier

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