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With Azure Blob storage Lifecycle managment, can the tierToCool action be used in a way that it leaves the data in the original storage tier? When I read the documentation it always describes these actions as 'moving' data only. We would like to automate a back up of our data from one tier to another.
@Liam Just checking in to see if the below answer helped. If this answers your query, do click "Accept the answer” for the same, which might be beneficial to other community members reading this thread. And, if you have any further query do let us know.
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Hello Liam,
The tierToCool action in Azure Blob storage Lifecycle management is used to move data from one storage tier to another. It is not designed to leave the data in the original storage tier.
If you want to automate backup of data from one tier to another, you can create a rule that moves the data to the desired tier after a certain number of days. For example, you could create a rule that moves data from the Hot tier to the Archive tier after 365 days. This way, your data would be automatically backed up to a lower-cost tier. You can also use Azure Blob storage replication to replicate your data to another region for disaster recovery purposes.
It's important to note that once the data has been moved to a lower-cost tier, it may take longer to access the data because it needs to be moved back to the original storage tier. Therefore, you should carefully consider your backup strategy and ensure that you have a plan for accessing your data when you need it.
I hope this clears the doubt
Thanks for taking the time to reply Ayomide,
The backup automation you describe is still a 'move' rather than a 'copy' is it? The behaviour I am seeking is that when data is uploaded to Hot/Cool (or maybe after it has been uploaded for a number of days), a copy of that data is transitioned to Archive. The goal being to have two sets of our data - an operational copy in Hot or Cool Storage and a set of preservation data in Archive Storage.
I am aware of the regional replication options too - thanks again - but it is not quite the requirement.
You are correct, the example policy I provided earlier is still a "move" operation rather than a "copy" operation. In that policy, data is moved from one tier to another based on specific conditions. If you want to keep a copy of the data in the original tier while also creating a copy in the archive tier, you can use a combination of two policies.
The first policy can be used to create a copy of the data in the archive tier while keeping the original data in the hot or cool tier. Here's an example policy that achieves this:
{
"rules": [
{
"name": "Copy to Archive",
"enabled": true,
"type": "Lifecycle",
"definition": {
"actions": {
"baseBlob": {
"copy": {
"destinationTier": "Archive"
}
}
},
"filters": {
"blobTypes": [
"blockBlob"
],
"prefixMatch": [
"data/"
]
}
}
}
]
}
In this policy, any new blob with a prefix of "data/" uploaded to the hot or cool tier will be automatically copied to the archive tier. The original data will remain in the hot or cool tier.
The second policy can be used to move the copy in the archive tier to the archive access tier after a certain number of days. Here's an example policy that achieves this:
{
"rules": [
{
"name": "Move Archive Copy to Archive Access Tier",
"enabled": true,
"type": "Lifecycle",
"definition": {
"actions": {
"baseBlob": {
"setAccessTier": {
"accessTier": "Archive"
}
}
},
"filters": {
"blobTypes": [
"blockBlob"
],
"prefixMatch": [
"data/"
]
},
"rules": [
{
"name": "Move to Archive Access Tier",
"enabled": true,
"type": "Lifecycle",
"definition": {
"actions": {
"baseBlob": {
"tierToArchive": {
"daysAfterModificationGreaterThan": 90
}
}
}
}
}
]
}
}
]
}
In this policy, any blob in the archive tier with a prefix of "data/" that has not been modified for 90 days will be moved to the archive access tier.
These two policies can be used together to achieve the behavior you described - creating a copy of the data in the archive tier while keeping the original data in the hot or cool tier, and then moving the copy in the archive tier to the archive access tier after a certain number of days.