Overview
This section provides an overview of Azure Blob Storage access tiers and how Enterprise Workloads delivers SaaS-native protection across the online data lifecycle.
Azure Blob Storage offers different access tiers: Hot, Cool, and Cold, allowing you to store object data in the most cost-effective manner based on access frequency. Enterprise Workloads’ expanded support for these online access tiers provides a true cloud-native backup solution that balances low-cost storage with high-speed recovery.
By integrating with Azure’s native tiering, you can optimize cloud spend without sacrificing data visibility or air-gapped security with Enterprise Workloads. This configuration maintains backup strategy compliance with organizational Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and budgetary constraints for both active and infrequently accessed data.
📝Note:
Backup capabilities are limited to online access tiers (Hot, Cool, and Cold). Data residing in the offline Archive tier must be rehydrated to a supported online tier before a backup can be initiated.
Key Features
Protection for Azure Blob Storage provides the following capabilities for data resilience and cost management:
Visibility into Access Tiers: The management console displays the current online access tiers (Hot, Cool, or Cold) for all blobs.
Tier-Aware Backup: Data residing in all supported online access tiers is backed up without requiring manual intervention or data relocation.
Flexible Tier Recovery: Two recovery paths are available based on workload requirements:
Restore to Original Tiers: Retains the original Cool or Cold tiering during recovery to minimize storage costs.
Restore to Hot Tier: Restores all data directly to the Hot access tier for immediate accessibility and high-performance recovery.
Cloud Spend Optimization: Storage costs are managed through a deduplication-efficient SaaS architecture, specifically when protecting infrequently accessed data in Cool and Cold tiers.
Key Considerations
Before configuring protection for tiered Azure Blob Storage, review the following operational requirements and cost impacts:
Archive Tier Rehydration: Blobs residing in the Archive tier are offline and backup cannot be initiated directly. These blobs must be rehydrated to an online tier (Hot, Cool, or Cold) before initiating backup.
Transaction Cost Awareness: Azure charges higher Read/Write API and Retrieval fees for Cool and Cold tiers. Frequent backup scans or large-scale restores to these source tiers result in higher transaction costs on the Azure bill compared to the Hot tier.
Minimum Storage Durations: To avoid Early Deletion fees from Azure, blobs restored to the Cool (30 days) or Cold (90 days) tiers must remain in those tiers for the respective minimum durations.
Access Tier Characteristics
Understanding the nuances of each tier allows you to better utilize Enterprise Workloads' protection capabilities while managing your Azure consumption.
Feature | Hot Tier | Cool Tier | Cold Tier |
Data Usage | Active, frequently accessed data. | Infrequently accessed data (stored for at least 30 days). | Rarely accessed data (stored for at least 90 days). |
Availability | Highest (99.9% - 99.99%) | High (99% - 99.9%) | High (99% - 99.9%) |
Retrieval Cost | Lowest retrieval costs. | Higher retrieval costs than Hot. | Highest retrieval costs among online tiers. |
Druva Support | Supported for Backup & Restore. | Supported for Backup & Restore. | Supported for Backup & Restore. |
Restore Strategy | Best for high-speed RTO. | Balance of cost and speed. | Best for cost-avoidance (ALR). |
Hot Access Tier
Cost to Protect: Incurs the lowest Azure Read API costs when Enterprise Workloads scans and backs up the source blobs.
Cost to Recover: Incurs the lowest Azure Write API costs when restoring data to this tier. There are no data retrieval fees.
Cool Access Tier
Cost to Protect: While source storage costs are lower, Azure charges higher Read API and Data Access fees when Enterprise Workloads reads this data for backup.
Cost to Recover: Restoring to this tier (Original Tier recovery) incurs higher Write API costs and potential data retrieval fees compared to the Hot tier.
Cold Access Tier
Cost to Protect: This tier has the highest Azure Read API and Data Retrieval fees when Enterprise Workloads accesses the source blobs for backup.
Cost to Recover: Restoring to this tier incurs the highest Write API costs. Additionally, Azure may apply Early Deletion fees if blobs are restored and then deleted or moved before the 90-day minimum requirement.