Maximizing Azure Performance: A Deep Dive into Premium and Standard Storage Accounts
Tags: azure, storage, beginners, cloud
Published: 2023-02-14 05:51:32

Azure Storage offers different types of storage accounts to support different workloads and scenarios. Two of the most common types of storage accounts are Premium and Standard. In this tutorial, we'll discuss the differences between these two types of storage accounts in Azure.

Performance:
Premium storage is designed for high-performance workloads that require low latency and high IOPS (Input/Output Operations per Second). It uses solid-state drives (SSDs) for storage, which provides faster read and write speeds compared to standard storage. Premium storage also supports larger disk sizes, up to 64TB per disk, which is useful for large-scale enterprise workloads. Standard storage, on the other hand, uses hard disk drives (HDDs) and is suitable for most workloads that do not require high-performance storage.

Availability:
Premium storage provides a higher level of availability and durability than standard storage. Premium storage offers an availability SLA (Service Level Agreement) of 99.9%, while standard storage offers an availability SLA of 99.99%. This means that premium storage may be more suitable for mission-critical workloads that require high availability.

Cost:
Premium storage is more expensive than standard storage, as it provides higher performance and availability. The cost of premium storage is based on the amount of data stored and the number of transactions performed. Standard storage is less expensive than premium storage and is suitable for most workloads that do not require high-performance storage.

Use cases:
Premium storage is suitable for workloads such as databases, big data analytics, and high-performance computing. It is also suitable for applications that require low latency and high IOPS, such as online gaming, financial trading, and real-time data processing. Standard storage, on the other hand, is suitable for most workloads that do not require high-performance storage, such as backup, file sharing, and archiving.

| Performance Characteristics | Premium Storage             | Standard Storage            |
|-----------------------------|------------------------------|-----------------------------|
| Storage Media               | Solid-State Drives (SSDs)    | Hard Disk Drives (HDDs)     |
| IOPS                        | Up to 200,000                | Up to 20,000                |
| Throughput                  | Up to 2,000 MB/s             | Up to 60 MB/s per disk      |
| Disk Size                   | Up to 64 TB                  | Up to 32 TB                 |
| Availability SLA            | 99.9%                        | 99.99%                      |
| Redundancy                  | Locally Redundant Storage (LRS) and Zone Redundant Storage (ZRS) | LRS, ZRS, and Geo-Redundant Storage (GRS) |
| Cost                        | More expensive               | Less expensive              |
| Use Cases                   | Databases, big data analytics, high-performance computing, online gaming, financial trading, real-time data processing | Backup, file sharing, archiving, and other common workloads |


In conclusion, the choice of storage account type in Azure depends on the specific needs of your workload. If you require high-performance storage with low latency and high IOPS, then premium storage is the best option. However, if you require basic storage for common workloads, then standard storage is the most suitable option.

Reference: 
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/common/storage-account-overview