Azure Disk Storage

Disk storage refers to the storage of data on a physical or virtual disk. Disks are used in various computing devices, such as computers, servers, and storage arrays, to store and retrieve digital information. Disks can be used for various purposes, including operating system storage, application storage, and data storage.

Azure Managed Disks

Azure Managed Disks are a type of disk storage offered by Microsoft Azure, a cloud computing platform. Managed Disks simplify disk management for Azure Virtual Machines (VMs) by handling storage account management and ensuring high availability and durability. Key features of Azure Managed.

• Managed Disk Types: 

Azure offers different types of managed disks to cater to various performance and cost requirements:

• Standard HDD: Cost-effective storage suitable for backup, non-critical, and infrequent access workloads.

• Standard SSD: Balanced performance and cost, suitable for web servers and lightly used enterprise applications.

• Premium SSD: High-performance storage for mission-critical production applications with high I/O requirements.

• Ultra Disk: Ultra-low latency and high IOPS, suitable for data-intensive workloads.

• Automatic Management: 

Azure handles the management of the storage account and the availability of the disk. Users don't need to worry about the underlying storage infrastructure.

• Scalability: 

Managed Disks can scale to meet the needs of various workloads, from small development environments to large enterprise applications.

• Backup and Disaster Recovery: 

Azure provides built-in backup and disaster recovery options for Managed Disks, ensuring data protection and business continuity.

Azure Ultra Disks

Azure Ultra Disks are a high-performance disk storage option offered by Azure, designed for demanding and data-intensive workloads.

• High Throughput and IOPS: 

Ultra Disks offer the highest levels of throughput (up to 2,000 MB/s) and IOPS (up to 160,000) in Azure, making them ideal for applications with high transaction rates and low latency requirements.

• Configurable Performance: 

Users can dynamically change the performance characteristics (IOPS and throughput) of Ultra Disks without detaching the disk or restarting the VM, providing flexibility and ease of management.

• Low Latency: 

Ultra Disks offer consistent, low-latency performance, ensuring quick access to data.

• Use Cases: 

Ultra Disks are suitable for workloads such as SAP HANA, top-tier databases, and applications that require high performance and low latency.

Overall, Azure Ultra Disks provide the highest performance and flexibility in the Azure Managed Disk portfolio, making them an excellent choice for mission-critical, data-intensive applications.

Comparison: Azure Managed Disks vs. Azure Ultra Disks

Feature	Azure Managed Disks	Azure Ultra Disks
Types Available	Standard HDD, Standard SSD, Premium SSD	Ultra Disk
Performance	Varies by type:	High throughput and IOPS
	- Standard HDD: Basic performance	- Up to 2,000 MB/s throughput
	- Standard SSD: Balanced performance	- Up to 160,000 IOPS
	- Premium SSD: High performance
Latency	Varies by type:	Ultra-low latency
	- Standard HDD: Higher latency	Consistent low latency
	- Standard SSD: Moderate latency
	- Premium SSD: Low latency
Scalability	Scalable to meet various workloads	Highly scalable for data-intensive workloads
Dynamic Performance	Fixed performance characteristics per type	Performance characteristics can be changed dynamically
Use Cases	General-purpose workloads, databases,	High-performance databases, SAP HANA,
	development and test environments	data-intensive applications
Cost	Cost-effective options available (Standard HDD, Standard SSD)	Higher cost due to premium performance
Management	Automatically managed by Azure	Automatically managed by Azure
Availability and Durability	High availability and durability guaranteed	High availability and durability guaranteed