Learn how to assign Blob Access Tiers in Azure

In Azure Blob Storage, access tiers define the cost and performance characteristics of the stored data.

Azure provides different access tiers to optimize storage costs for different usage patterns:

• Hot: Optimized for data that is accessed frequently.

• Cool: Optimized for infrequent access data that is retained for at least 30 days.

• Archive: Optimized for data that is rarely accessed and can tolerate retrieval latencies, ideal for long-term storage.

You can assign, change, or manage these access tiers for your blobs, either during upload or after the blobs are already stored.

Here's how to assign or change blob access tiers in Azure.

Assign Blob Access Tiers in Azure

1. Assign Access Tiers During Blob Upload

When uploading blobs to Azure Blob Storage, you can specify the access tier for the blob.

Using Azure Portal

1. Go to your Blob Container:

   • In the Azure Portal, navigate to the storage account where your blob container is located.

   • Under Data Storage, select Containers and click on the desired container.

2. Upload Blob with Access Tier:

   • Click Upload to upload your blob.

   • In the Upload Blob pane, scroll to the Blob tier section.

   • Choose the appropriate tier for your blob:

     • Hot: For frequently accessed data.

     • Cool: For infrequently accessed data (retained for at least 30 days).

     • Archive: For long-term storage with rare access.

   • After selecting the tier, click Upload to upload the blob with the specified access tier.

Using Azure CLI:

1. Install Azure CLI if not already installed.

2. Upload a Blob and Specify the Access Tier: Use the az storage blob upload command and specify the --tier parameter.

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az storage blob upload \
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--account-name <your-storage-account> \
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--container-name <your-container> \
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--file <path-to-your-file> \
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--name <blob-name> \
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--tier <tier>

• Replace <tier> with one of the following:

  • Hot: For frequently accessed data.

  • Cool: For infrequently accessed data.

  • Archive: For long-term data storage.

Example:

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az storage blob upload \
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--account-name mystorageacct \
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--container-name mycontainer \
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--file /path/to/file.txt \
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--name file.txt \
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--tier Cool

2. Change Access Tiers After Blob Upload

If you've already uploaded a blob and want to change its access tier, you can do so at any time.

Using Azure Portal

1. Navigate to the Blob Container:

   • In the Azure Portal, go to your storage account.

   • Under Data Storage, click on Containers, and then select the container containing your blob.

2. Change Blob Tier:

   • Select the blob whose access tier you want to change.

   • Click on Change tier from the top menu.

   • Select the new tier (Hot, Cool, or Archive) and click OK to apply the change.

Using Azure CLI

To change the access tier of an existing blob, use the az storage blob set-tier command:

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az storage blob set-tier \
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--account-name <your-storage-account> \
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--container-name <your-container> \
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--name <blob-name> \
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--tier <new-tier>

• Replace <your-storage-account> with the name of your storage account.

• Replace <your-container> with the name of your blob container.

• Replace <blob-name> with the name of the blob you want to change the access tier for.

• Replace <new-tier> with the new tier you want to assign:

  • Hot

  • Cool

  • Archive

Example:

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az storage blob set-tier \
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--account-name mystorageacct \
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--container-name mycontainer \
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--name file.txt \
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--tier Cool

Using Azure PowerShell

To change the access tier of an existing blob using Azure PowerShell, you can use the Set-AzStorageBlobTier cmdlet.

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Set-AzStorageBlobTier `
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-Container <container-name> `
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-Blob <blob-name> `
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-Tier <new-tier> `
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-Context $context

• Replace <container-name>, <blob-name>, and <new-tier> with your values.

• $context is the storage account context, which you can create using the following:

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$context = New-AzStorageContext `
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-StorageAccountName <your-storage-account> `
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-StorageAccountKey <your-storage-account-key>

Example:

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Set-AzStorageBlobTier `
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-Container mycontainer `
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-Blob file.txt `
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-Tier Cool `
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-Context $context

3. Considerations When Assigning Access Tiers

Hot

Best for frequently accessed data. If your data is frequently read or written, this is the most cost-effective tier.

Cool

Data in the Cool tier is retained for at least 30 days, so it’s more cost-effective for data that is rarely accessed but still needs to be retained.

Archive

Data in the Archive tier has the lowest storage cost but has high access retrieval times and additional costs for data retrieval.

You need to rehydrate the data (bring it back to Hot or Cool) before you can access it.

4. Blob Lifecycle Management (Optional)

To automate the process of moving blobs between access tiers, you can use Blob Lifecycle Management in Azure Storage.

This allows you to set rules for automatically transitioning blobs between tiers based on their age or access patterns.

Steps to Configure Lifecycle Management

1. In the Azure Portal, go to your Storage account.

2. Under Data management, select Lifecycle management.

3. Click + Add rule and define a rule to move blobs between access tiers based on certain conditions (e.g., move blobs to the Cool tier after 30 days of inactivity).

4. Save the rule.

Summary

By following these steps, you can efficiently assign and manage access tiers for your blobs in Azure, ensuring cost optimization based on the access frequency and retention requirements of your data.