I currently have storage accounts with GRS, LRS, ZRS, and RA-GRS, and I want to migrate them to RA-GZRS. How can I perform this migration? Will it impact my existing backups and storage containers? Will the storage account be recreated, or will it remain

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I currently have storage accounts with GRS, LRS, ZRS, and RA-GRS, and I want to migrate them to RA-GZRS. How can I perform this migration? Will it impact my existing backups and storage containers? Will the storage account be recreated, or will it remain

Sagar Gottipati 0

I currently have storage accounts with GRS, LRS, ZRS, and RA-GRS, and I want to migrate them to RA-GZRS. How can I perform this migration? Will it impact my existing backups and storage containers? Will the storage account be recreated, or will it remain the same?

2 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

Nandamuri Pranay Teja 3,775 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Sagar Gottipati

To migrate Azure storage accounts from GRS, LRS, ZRS, and RA-GRS to RA-GZRS, you can modify the replication settings via the Azure portal Generally, this procedure does not affect current backups or storage containers; however, it is recommended to review your backup strategy and confirm data integrity throughout the migration process.

Steps to Migrate to RA-GZRS

navigate to the storage account you wish to migrate.
Under Data management, select Redundancy.
Choose RA-GZRS from the available options.
Click Save to apply the changes.

Note: While the migration should not impact your backups, it is always a good practice to verify your backup strategy and ensure that backups are functioning correctly before and after the migration.

References: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/common/redundancy-migration?tabs=portal

Answer for your comment:

Migrating to RA-GZRS generally does not affect current backups or storage containers, as the data remains preserved during the migration. The storage account itself will not be recreated; it will continue to exist with its original name and configurations.

Your existing backups and storage containers will remain unaffected during the migration process. The data is preserved, and no deletions occur. You will continue to have access to your data without any interruptions, ensuring that applications relying on this data can function normally.
The storage account will not be recreated. It will maintain its current configuration, including the same name, endpoints, and access settings. The migration is an internal adjustment to the redundancy settings, meaning the account itself remains unchanged.

Hope the above answer helps! Please let us know do you have any further queries.

Please do not forget to "Accept the answer” and “up-vote” wherever the information provided helps you, this can be beneficial to other community members.

Sagar Gottipati 0 Reputation points

2025-03-20T19:37:54.0033333+00:00
Hi @Nandamuri Pranay Teja , Thank you for giving information thats helps alot!
I changed the redundancy setting from LRS → GRS → RA-GRS by following these steps:1. Navigate to your storage account in the Azure Portal.

Under Data Management, select Redundancy.

Update the Redundancy setting to the desired option.

Click Save.

After refreshing the page, I saw the following message:

"Failover cannot yet be initiated because initial data synchronization from the primary to secondary region is in progress. Failover will be available when synchronization is complete. Click here for more information."

Now, I see that the Replication status is updated to GRS. In the Data Protection → Redundancy page, I also see the "Prepare for failover" option.questions:

What does the "Prepare for failover" option do?

How can I confirm that the redundancy update is fully completed?

Additionally, I noticed two conversion options for redundancy migration:

Customer-initiated

Support-initiated

For Customer-initiated conversion, I see the same steps I followed earlier:

Navigate to the storage account in Azure Portal.

Under Data Management, select Redundancy.

Update the Redundancy setting.

Click Save.

Although both steps appear to be the same, I do not see any status or conversion progress indicators such as "In Progress" or "Submitted", as mentioned in the reference documentation.

In the Redundancy page of my storage account, the Customer-initiated conversion status is not displayed the way it is in the reference document. Could you help me understand if I missed anything in the process ? Do I need to perform any action

A conversion typically begins within 72 hours after initiation, but can take longer due to resource availability , - where can monitor this?I changed the redundancy setting from LRS → GRS → RA-GRS by following these steps:

Navigate to your storage account in the Azure Portal.

Under Data Management, select Redundancy.

Update the Redundancy setting to the desired option.

Click Save.

After refreshing the page, I saw the following message:

"Failover cannot yet be initiated because initial data synchronization from the primary to secondary region is in progress. Failover will be available when synchronization is complete. Click here for more information."

Now, I see that the Replication status is updated to GRS. In the Data Protection → Redundancy page, I also see the "Prepare for failover" option.questions:

What does the "Prepare for failover" option do?

How can I confirm that the redundancy update is fully completed?

Additionally, I noticed two conversion options for redundancy migration:

Customer-initiated

Support-initiated

For Customer-initiated conversion, I see the same steps I followed earlier:

Navigate to the storage account in Azure Portal.

Under Data Management, select Redundancy.

Update the Redundancy setting.

Click Save.

Although both steps appear to be the same, I do not see any status or conversion progress indicators such as "In Progress" or "Submitted", as mentioned in the reference documentation.

In the Redundancy page of my storage account, the Customer-initiated conversion status is not displayed the way it is in the reference document. Could you help me understand if I missed anything in the process ? Do I need to perform any action

A conversion typically begins within 72 hours after initiation, but can take longer due to resource availability , - where can monitor this?Hi @Nandamuri Pranay Teja ,

I changed the redundancy setting from LRS → GRS → RA-GRS by following these steps:1. Navigate to your storage account in the Azure Portal.

Under Data Management, select Redundancy.

Update the Redundancy setting to the desired option.

Click Save.

After refreshing the page, I saw the following message:

"Failover cannot yet be initiated because initial data synchronization from the primary to secondary region is in progress. Failover will be available when synchronization is complete. Click here for more information."

Now, I see that the Replication status is updated to GRS. In the Data Protection → Redundancy page, I also see the "Prepare for failover" option.questions:

What does the "Prepare for failover" option do?

How can I confirm that the redundancy update is fully completed?

Additionally, I noticed two conversion options for redundancy migration:

Customer-initiated

Support-initiated

For Customer-initiated conversion, I see the same steps I followed earlier:

Navigate to the storage account in Azure Portal.

Under Data Management, select Redundancy.

Update the Redundancy setting.

Click Save.

Although both steps appear to be the same, I do not see any status or conversion progress indicators such as "In Progress" or "Submitted", as mentioned in the reference documentation.

In the Redundancy page of my storage account, the Customer-initiated conversion status is not displayed the way it is in the reference document. Could you help me understand if I missed anything in the process ? Do I need to perform any action

A conversion typically begins within 72 hours after initiation, but can take longer due to resource availability , - where can monitor this?I changed the redundancy setting from LRS → GRS → RA-GRS by following these steps:

Navigate to your storage account in the Azure Portal.

Under Data Management, select Redundancy.

Update the Redundancy setting to the desired option.

Click Save.

After refreshing the page, I saw the following message:

"Failover cannot yet be initiated because initial data synchronization from the primary to secondary region is in progress. Failover will be available when synchronization is complete. Click here for more information."

Now, I see that the Replication status is updated to GRS. In the Data Protection → Redundancy page, I also see the "Prepare for failover" option.questions:

What does the "Prepare for failover" option do?

How can I confirm that the redundancy update is fully completed?

Additionally, I noticed two conversion options for redundancy migration:

Customer-initiated

Support-initiated

For Customer-initiated conversion, I see the same steps I followed earlier:

Navigate to the storage account in Azure Portal.

Under Data Management, select Redundancy.

Update the Redundancy setting.

Click Save.

Although both steps appear to be the same, I do not see any status or conversion progress indicators such as "In Progress" or "Submitted", as mentioned in the reference documentation.

In the Redundancy page of my storage account, the Customer-initiated conversion status is not displayed the way it is in the reference document. Could you help me understand if I missed anything in the process ? Do I need to perform any action

A conversion typically begins within 72 hours after initiation, but can take longer due to resource availability , - where can monitor this?

Much appreciated for help
Sagar Gottipati 0 Reputation points

2025-03-20T20:13:39.7666667+00:00

Update : followup to above:
However , I see migration status when i changed/updated Redundancy from RA_GRS to RA-GZRS as mentioned in document.
I am trying to understand What is the difference or am i missing something?
Nandamuri Pranay Teja 3,775 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-03-21T02:01:19.9066667+00:00

Hello Sagar Gottipati

Thank you for your kind response!

I understand that you have modified the redundancy configuration of your storage account, transitioning from Locally Redundant Storage (LRS) to Geo-Redundant Storage (GRS), and subsequently to Read-Access Geo-Redundant Storage (RA-GRS). You are now encountering a notification regarding failover and have inquiries concerning the "Prepare for failover" process.

What does the "Prepare for failover" option do?

Please be informed that the "Prepare for failover" feature is applicable to storage accounts that utilize Geo-Redundancy options such as GRS, RA-GRS, or RA-GZRS. These redundancy configurations ensure that your data is replicated to a secondary Azure region for the purpose of disaster recovery and when you execute the "Prepare for failover" operation, you are manually initiating a failover to the secondary region. This action is intentional and serves to redirect the primary endpoint of your storage account to the secondary region.

Until the initial synchronization is complete, you will not be able to initiate a failover. This is what the message you initially received was telling you. The fact that you now see the option suggests that the GRS part of the transition is complete.

How can I confirm that the redundancy update is fully completed?

The replication status shown in the Azure portal serves as an important indicator. When the portal indicates "RA-GRS" (or your desired level of redundancy), it signifies that the service has successfully implemented the configuration change. And the availability of the "Prepare for failover" option is a positive sign as it suggests that the system recognizes the geo-replication (GRS) component of the process as being ready for a potential failover. This typically implies that the initial synchronization has been completed. In your specific case, since you see "RA-GRS" and the "Prepare for failover" option, it's highly likely that the customer-initiated conversion to RA-GRS is complete.

Customer-initiated vs. Support-initiated Conversion?

This is the standard process you followed in the portal: changing the redundancy setting yourself. For the scenario you've described, changing from LRS -> GRS -> RA-GRS, you are following the correct customer-initiated procedure.

Conversion Status and Monitoring?

Conversation status is primarily driven by backend Azure services. Although the portal displays the intended state (RA-GRS), the specific, incremental progress of the replication is not consistently presented in an easily navigable manner and the notification stating "Failover cannot yet be initiated..." serves as one of the limited clear indicators of progress that you may encounter.

In portal you can monitor the "Replication" setting in your storage account's "Configuration" section. This will show the current redundancy setting. You may review the Azure Activity Log to find events associated with updates to the storage account. This could offer insights into the changes that have been implemented however it will not provide comprehensive details regarding the replication progress. Post which Checks the Azure Service Health dashboard for any reported issues or outages that might affect storage replication in your region.

72-hour timeframe?

The actual duration may fluctuate based on several factors, including the volume of data stored in your account, the existing demand on Azure's infrastructure, The particular redundancy settings you are modifying, Unfortunately, there's no single place to see a precise countdown or progress bar for this backend operation. You primarily rely on the change in replication status.

Answer for your second comment:

The primary differences among LRS, GRS, and RA-GRS pertain to replication across different regions. And the modifications related to ZRS, GZRS, and RA-GZRS pertain to replication within a region across different availability zones. This necessitates a more intricate migration procedure, which is the reason for the observed migration status.

Hope the above answers helps! Please let us know do you have any further queries.

Please do not forget to "Accept the answer” and “up-vote” wherever the information provided helps you, this can be beneficial to other community members.
Nandamuri Pranay Teja 3,775 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-03-24T02:12:25.4866667+00:00

Hello Sagar Gottipati

Just checking in to see if the provided 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 queries do let us know.

Answer 2

Marcin Policht 51,370 MVP Volunteer Moderator

Follow https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/reliability/migrate-storage

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.

hth

Marcin

Sagar Gottipati 0 Reputation points

2025-03-19T21:38:02.23+00:00

@Thank you for sharing the document! I understand the process, but I'm still confused—if I migrate, will this impact my existing backups and storage containers? Will the storage account be recreated, or will it stay the same? I really appreciate you answer.Thanks!
Marcin Policht 51,370 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2025-03-19T21:54:54.9966667+00:00
Certainly, you're welcome:

Storage Account stays the same: The migration is an internal configuration change. Your storage account is not deleted or recreated; it retains the same name, endpoints, and settings.

No data loss or service interruption: The migration process does not delete or move your existing data. All your storage containers, blobs, files, queues, and tables remain intact. As per https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/reliability/migrate-storage : During a conversion to ZRS, you can access data in your storage account with no loss of durability or availability. The Azure Storage SLA is maintained during the conversion process and there is no data loss. Storage service endpoints, access keys, shared access signatures, and other account options remain unchanged after the conversion.

Impact on backups: If you're referring to Azure Backup of Azure Files shares, then Azure Files are not supported with RA-GZRS

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.

hth

Marcin

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I currently have storage accounts with GRS, LRS, ZRS, and RA-GRS, and I want to migrate them to RA-GZRS. How can I perform this migration? Will it impact my existing backups and storage containers? Will the storage account be recreated, or will it remain

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