Azure NetApp Files for Efficient Storage and Performance

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Azure NetApp Files is a managed service that provides high-performance, enterprise-grade file shares in the cloud. It's designed to meet the needs of even the most demanding applications.

With Azure NetApp Files, you can store and manage your files in a highly scalable and secure manner. This is particularly useful for applications that require low-latency access to files, such as video editing and data analytics.

One of the key benefits of Azure NetApp Files is its ability to provide high-performance storage, with latency as low as 10ms. This is thanks to its use of high-performance storage media, such as NVMe SSDs.

Azure NetApp Files also supports a wide range of file systems, including NFS and SMB, making it easy to integrate with existing applications and infrastructure.

What Is Azure NetApp Files?

Azure NetApp Files is a Microsoft Azure file storage service built on NetApp technology. This service provides the file capabilities that core business applications require.

It offers pricing plans for different performance tiers, allowing users to choose the best option for their needs.

Storage and Performance

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Azure NetApp Files offers three performance tiers: Standard, Premium, and Ultra. These can be provisioned with a simple click, allowing unmatched flexibility.

You can create volumes using Standard network features for optimized connectivity from Azure VMware Solution private cloud via ExpressRoute FastPath connectivity.

For optimal performance, choose either UltraPerformance gateway or ErGw3Az gateway, and enable FastPath from a private cloud to Azure NetApp Files volumes virtual network.

Here are the three performance tiers and their characteristics:

The default maximum number of Azure NetApp Files datastores is 8, but it can be increased to a maximum of 256 by submitting a support ticket.

Boost File Performance

Azure NetApp Files comes with three performance tiers: Standard, Premium, and Ultra, allowing unmatched flexibility.

You can provision these tiers with a simple click, which is a huge advantage.

There are some important best practices to follow for optimal performance of NFS datastores on Azure NetApp Files volumes.

  • Create Azure NetApp Files volumes using Standard network features to enable optimized connectivity from Azure VMware Solution private cloud via ExpressRoute FastPath connectivity.
  • Choose either UltraPerformance gateway or ErGw3Az gateway, and enable FastPath from a private cloud to Azure NetApp Files volumes virtual network.
  • Select the correct service level needed for the Azure NetApp Files capacity pool based on your performance requirements.
  • Create one or more volumes based on the required throughput and capacity, considering factors like volume size, service level, and capacity pool QoS type.
  • Ensure that the Azure VMware Solution private cloud and the Azure NetApp Files volumes are deployed within the same availability zone.

Azure NetApp Files supports multiple file-storage protocols, including NFSv3, NFSv4.1, and SMB3.1.x, enabling a wide range of application lift-and-shift scenarios with no need for code changes.

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Azure NetApp Files is widely used as the underlying shared file-storage service in various scenarios, including migration of POSIX-compliant Linux and Windows applications, SAP HANA, databases, and high-performance compute (HPC) infrastructure and apps.

To determine the required capacity and service level for your Azure NetApp Files volumes, you can use the Azure NetApp Files performance calculator, which takes into account factors like volume size, I/O size, read percentage, and throughput.

Here's a summary of the key factors to consider when sizing your Azure NetApp Files volumes:

By following these best practices and using the performance calculator, you can ensure that your Azure NetApp Files volumes are optimized for performance and cost-effectiveness.

Difference Between

Azure Files and Azure NetApp Files have some key differences. Azure NetApp Files is easy to integrate with modern applications and provides both NFS and SMB protocols, making it natively mountable to Linux machines.

Azure NetApp Files requires a minimum deployment of 4TB and a maximum of 100TB. The max file size is 16TB.

Replication is also a feature of Azure NetApp Files, with cross region replication available. This makes it easy to restore data with the NetApp snapshot.

You can check the pricing model for Azure NetApp Files on this page: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/netapp/.

Management and Maintenance

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Azure NetApp Files makes management and maintenance a breeze. Its integration with Azure Monitor allows for real-time performance monitoring and alerting, ensuring issues are caught before they impact your applications.

You can also configure Azure NetApp Files to send notifications and alerts to your team when disk usage exceeds a certain threshold, giving you plenty of time to take action.

Regular maintenance tasks, such as backups and snapshots, are also simplified with Azure NetApp Files, allowing you to easily recover files in case of data loss or corruption.

For your interest: Azure Time Series Data

Simplify Storage Management

Azure NetApp Files offers three performance tiers: Standard, Premium, and Ultra. These can be provisioned with a simple click.

Changing the service level of an Azure NetApp Files volume used for a datastore has no effect on the datastore or private cloud. There's no downtime, and the volume IP address/mount path remains unchanged.

The volume resource ID changes as a result of the capacity pool change. To correct any metadata mismatch, rerun the datastore creation in Azure CLI for the existing datastore with the new Resource ID for the Azure NetApp Files volume.

The parameters for datastore name, resource-group, cluster, and private-cloud must be exactly the same as those on the existing datastore in the private cloud. The volume-id is the updated Resource ID of the Azure NetApp Files volume after the service level change.

You might like: Block Level Storage

Attach a Volume to Private Cloud

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Attaching a volume to your private cloud is a crucial step in managing your Azure VMware Solution. You can do this using the Azure portal or Azure CLI.

To attach a volume using the Azure portal, sign in to the Azure portal and navigate to your Azure VMware Solution under Manage, then select Storage. From there, select Connect Azure NetApp Files volume and follow the prompts to connect your volume.

Using Azure CLI is another option, and it's a powerful tool for managing your private cloud. To get started, verify the VMware extension is installed and update it if necessary.

Here are the steps to attach a volume using Azure CLI:

  1. Verify the VMware extension is installed and update it if necessary.
  2. Create a datastore using an existing Azure NetApp Files volume in Azure VMware Solution private cloud cluster.
  3. Display the help on datastores if needed.
  4. Show the details of an Azure NetApp Files-based datastore in a private cloud cluster.
  5. List all of the datastores in a private cloud cluster.

To create a datastore, you'll need to specify the name, resource group, cluster, and private cloud, as well as the NetApp account, capacity pool, and volume to be attached. This will allow you to associate the volume as a datastore and create a personalized name for your Datastore name.

Disconnect Datastore from Private Cloud

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Disconnecting a datastore from your private cloud is a straightforward process that doesn't require a maintenance window. You can disconnect an Azure NetApp Files-based datastore using either the Azure portal or Azure CLI.

To disconnect a datastore using the Azure Portal, simply select the datastore you want to disconnect from and right-click on it to choose the disconnect option. This action only removes the Azure NetApp Files volume as a datastore, it doesn't delete the data or the volume itself.

Using Azure CLI, you can disconnect a datastore with a single command. The command is: "az vmware datastore delete --name ANFDatastore1 --resource-group MyResourceGroup --cluster Cluster-1 --private-cloud MyPrivateCloud".

Worth a look: What Is Azure Cli

RPC Slot Table Tuning

RPC Slot Table Tuning is a crucial aspect of optimizing your system's performance. It refers to the maximum allowed threads on a single TCP connection that is allowed by the NFS client and server.

The default value for the latest NFS client versions is dynamic, meaning it attempts to use as many slot tables as it can in a single TCP connection, up to 65536. However, Azure NetApp Files supports only 128 slot tables per TCP connection.

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To avoid issues with Azure NetApp Files, it's recommended to set the slot table values on NFS clients to a static value no higher than 128. This can be achieved by adding the following tunables to /etc/sysctl.conf and updating sysctl:

  • sunrpc.tcp_max_slot_table_entries=128
  • sunrpc.tcp_slot_table_entries=128

These values should be set before mounting NFS volumes to ensure optimal performance. It's also worth noting that the slot table values used above may not be optimal for RHEL8.3 clients when using the nconnect NFS mount option.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between Azure Files and Azure NetApp Files?

Azure Files is a general-purpose file storage service, while Azure NetApp Files is a high-performance, enterprise-grade NAS service designed for demanding workloads. If you need low-latency and advanced data management, choose Azure NetApp Files for a more specialized solution.

How to access Azure NetApp Files?

To access Azure NetApp Files, sign in to the Azure portal and navigate to the Azure NetApp Files pane via search or the All services filter. You can find Azure NetApp Files by searching in the portal search box or filtering through the navigation menu.

Is Azure NetApp Files zone redundant?

Azure NetApp Files uses Zone-Redundant storage (ZRS) to replicate data synchronously across three Azure availability zones, except for West US where Locally Redundant Storage (LRS) is used. This ensures high availability and data durability in most regions.

Melba Kovacek

Writer

Melba Kovacek is a seasoned writer with a passion for shedding light on the complexities of modern technology. Her writing career spans a diverse range of topics, with a focus on exploring the intricacies of cloud services and their impact on users. With a keen eye for detail and a knack for simplifying complex concepts, Melba has established herself as a trusted voice in the tech journalism community.

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