How big are your Storage Accounts?
In today’s digital age, managing data storage has become increasingly important, especially with the growth of cloud-based solutions. Azure Storage Accounts, a cloud-based storage solution provided by Microsoft, offer users a scalable and cost-effective way to store large amounts of data. However, as the amount of data stored in a storage account grows, it becomes crucial to manage the size of the account to optimize cost and performance.
Considering Performance Tiers: When managing Azure Storage Accounts, it’s not just about the size of the storage but also the performance tier. Standard storage is perfect for general-purpose workloads and cost savings, but for applications requiring high-speed data access, Premium storage may be necessary. Understanding the balance between storage size and performance needs can help optimize both cost and efficiency in your Azure environment.
In this article, we will explore how to view the sizes of all Azure Storage Accounts and provide best practices for managing them.
What are the benefits to knowing the size of your Azure Storage Accounts?
- Cost optimization: By understanding how to manage Azure Storage Account sizes, users can optimize their storage environment and reduce storage costs.
- Performance optimization: Users can optimize the performance of their storage environment by understanding how to select the appropriate storage tier and monitoring usage metrics.
- Compliance: Understanding how to view and manage Azure Storage Account sizes can help users ensure they are meeting compliance requirements for data retention and deletion.
- Capacity planning: By monitoring usage metrics and understanding how to manage Azure Storage Account sizes, users can better plan for future storage needs and avoid unexpected storage overages.
- Security: Implementing security best practices, such as configuring access policies and using encryption, can help users protect their data stored in Azure Storage Accounts.
Overall, understanding how to view and manage Azure Storage Account sizes is essential for users who want to optimize their storage environment for cost, performance, compliance, capacity planning, and security purposes.
How to view Azure Storage Account sizes
To view the sizes of your Azure Storage Accounts, you can use Cloud Storage Manager, a powerful tool that enables you to manage all aspects of your Azure Storage environment from a single interface. Here’s how to use Cloud Storage Manager to view Azure Storage Account sizes:
Launch Cloud Storage Manager
Launch Cloud Storage Manager. From the Overview Tab, you can quickly see how much Azure Storage you are consuming, including the number of Azure Subscriptions, Storage Accounts, Containers, Blobs, Azure Files, your Azure Virtual Machines, and more.
Cloud Storage Manager Reports TAB
Now, since we are trying to find out just how much Azure storage we are consuming across our complete Azure Tenancy, we need to go to the Reports TAB.
Cloud Storage Manager Reporting
Highlight the report named “All Storage Accounts listed by size”
Right click this report and choose Run Report
All Storage Accounts listed by Size Report
Cloud Storage Manager will now detail all the Storage Accounts you have in Azure, including which subscription they are in, the Storage Account name and most importantly the size.
All Storage Accounts listed by Size in Microsoft Excel
As with all our Cloud Storage Manager reports on Azure Storage, you can choose to export this data to Microsoft Excel.
Storage Account Sizes Best Practices
Best Practice | Description |
---|---|
Use tiered storage |
Azure Storage offers hot, cool, and archive tiers for Blob storage. The hot tier is designed for frequently accessed data, the cool tier for infrequently accessed data, and the archive tier for data that is rarely accessed. By using the appropriate tier for your data based on access patterns and retention requirements, you can save costs by only paying for the storage you need. |
Implement retention policies |
Setting retention policies for data that is no longer needed ensures that it is deleted automatically after a specified time period. This can help you to avoid incurring unnecessary storage costs for data that is no longer needed. |
Use auto-tiering |
Azure Blob Storage’s automatic tiering feature automatically moves data to the appropriate tier based on access patterns. This means that frequently accessed data is moved to the hot tier, while infrequently accessed data is moved to the cool or archive tier, depending on the access patterns. This helps to optimize performance and cost. |
Compress data |
Compressing data before storing it in Azure Storage can save space and reduce costs. Compressed data takes up less storage space and requires less bandwidth to transfer, which can reduce storage and data transfer costs. |
Monitor usage |
Monitor the usage of your Azure Storage Account with Cloud Storage Manager to ensure you are not exceeding storage limits or incurring unexpected costs. |
Use Azure Advisor |
Azure Advisor provides personalized recommendations for optimizing your Azure Storage Account. It can provide recommendations on cost savings, security, and performance. By following these recommendations, you can optimize your storage account for your specific use case. |
Follow security best practices |
Implementing security best practices is important to ensure that your data is protected. This includes configuring access policies, using encryption, and implementing other security measures to protect against unauthorized access. |
Conclusion
Managing Azure Storage Account sizes is essential for optimizing cost, performance, and scalability. By using Cloud Storage Manager and following best practices, you can ensure that your Azure Storage environment is optimized for your specific use case. With Cloud Storage Manager, you can easily view and manage the size of your Storage Accounts, making it simple to optimize storage usage and reduce costs. Start managing your Azure Storage Account sizes today and enjoy a more efficient and cost-effective storage environment.
Azure Storage Unlocked
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