What Is Azure StorSimple and How Does It Work

Azure StorSimple is a cloud-connected storage solution that allows you to manage your on-premises and cloud storage from a single interface. It's designed to help businesses like yours simplify their storage infrastructure and reduce costs.

StorSimple appliances are pre-configured with a mix of solid-state drives and hard disk drives, which provide a balance of performance and capacity. This allows for a large amount of data to be stored on the appliance, making it suitable for large-scale storage needs.

StorSimple uses a cloud-connected architecture, which enables automatic tiering of data between the on-premises appliance and Microsoft Azure cloud storage. This means that less frequently accessed data can be moved to the cloud, freeing up space on the appliance for more frequently accessed data.

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To set up your Azure StorSimple device, start by configuring the Device File Server on your local network. You'll need to navigate to Device Settings and fill in the necessary information, including selecting your StorSimple Device Manager service and verifying that your device has connected successfully.

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The file server name is already populated, but be sure to enable cloud storage encryption, which will encrypt all data sent to the cloud using a 256-bit AES key and a user-defined key. Specify a 32-character key and reenter it to confirm.

To create a SureStore service, navigate to the StorSimple Device Manager blade and type in a resource location and storage account name for your service.

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StorSimple provides hybrid cloud tiered storage, not the traditional kind you'd find with a SAN or Windows Server 2012 R2 Storage Spaces.

Data is initially stored in the fastest tier, called SSD Linear, on the StorSimple appliance. This tier is one of four, and it stores raw data.

The SSD Linear tier has a limit, and when it reaches 80% capacity, the oldest blocks are moved down to the SSD Dedupe tier. This tier is capacity-optimized for SSDs.

The SSD Dedupe tier also has a limit, and when it reaches 80% capacity, the oldest data is pushed down to the SAS tier. This tier uses traditional hard disk drives, or HDDs.

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The SAS tier has a limit as well, and when it reaches 80% capacity, data is pushed to blob storage in Microsoft Azure. Data stored in Azure is encrypted using AES-256 while at rest.

Data read from any tier is moved back up to the top-level local SSD Linear tier, where it starts the lifecycle process all over again. This means that blocks that make up a file will be moved back up to the SSD Linear tier when the file is accessed.

To setup a Device File Server, start by navigating to Device Settings and filling up the following settings. Select your StorSimple Device Manager service and then navigate to Management > Devices.

Verify that the device has successfully connected to the service and has the status Ready to set up. This is a crucial step to ensure a smooth setup process.

Click on Device and click Configure on the command bar. The file server name is already populated, so you don't need to enter it manually.

Be sure to enable cloud storage encryption, as this will encrypt all the data sent to the cloud. A 256-bit AES key is used with the user-defined key for encryption.

Specify any 32 character key and then reenter the key to confirm it. This ensures that your data is securely encrypted.

Click Configure required settings to specify storage account credentials to be used with your device.

To get started with the StorSimple service, you'll need to obtain the service registration key. This key is essential for connecting your StorSimple device to the service.

The service registration key can be found in the Azure Portal, specifically in the StorSimple Device Manager blade. Click on the service you created to open a new blade to the right.

In the new blade, click on Manage and then select Keys. This will display the service registration key, which you can then copy by clicking the Copy icon.

Paste the key into the cloud settings on your local device and press Register. You'll be prompted to save the service data encryption key for any additional devices you might set up later.

To create a SureStore service, you'll need to start by creating a StorSimple Device Manager and Storage account in the StorSimple Device Manager blade.

Type in a resource, location, and storage account name for your service.

The newly created StorSimple Device Manager and Storage account will be displayed in your Resource Group.

Navigate to the Azure portal and click Browse > StorSimple Device Managers.

Select an existing StorSimple Device Manager service and click on the Quick Start button in the StorSimple Device Manager blade.

The StorSimple 8000 series hybrid storage arrays are designed to centralize data management, leveraging Azure Storage as a hybrid cloud tier for automatic capacity expansion and off-site data protection.

Both the StorSimple 8100 and the StorSimple 8600 platforms come with the Microsoft Azure StorSimple Virtual Appliance, which enables StorSimple technology to run as an Azure virtual machine.

This Virtual Appliance enables disaster recovery by allowing virtual applications to access previously uploaded data.

StorSimple Appliance Specifications are quite impressive, with six physical appliances to choose from. They're made by a Mexican Seagate subsidiary called Xyratex.

The 5000 series offers 2 TB or 10 TB of local HDD storage, which can be a great starting point for small to medium-sized businesses. With compression, you get up to 4 TB or 50 TB of on-premise capacity.

The 7000 series offers 4 TB or 20 TB of local HDD storage, making it a good fit for larger businesses or those with high storage needs. With compression, you get up to 8 TB or 100 TB of on-premise capacity.

The 8000 series is the newest addition, offering 15 TB or 40 TB of local HDD storage. This series also provides deeper integration with Microsoft Azure, giving you a more streamlined management experience.

Here's a summary of the storage options for each series:

The StorSimple appliance features iSCSI connections, not SMB 3.0 as you might expect. It has 2 x 10 GbE and 4 x 1 GbE connections per controller, making it a robust storage solution.

A SAN or not a SAN is a valid question, and the answer lies in how StorSimple is marketed by Microsoft. It's sold as a storage supplement, not a replacement for a traditional SAN.

The on-premises traditional iSCSI block storage is built on mirrored hot-swappable SSD and HDD disks, which is a common setup for a SAN. However, the Azure storage is provisioned using blobs in Microsoft Azure, which changes the game in terms of scalability and cost.

StorSimple is ideal for storing "working set data", which is a small portion of the total data that's accessed frequently. This tiered storage solution is superb for warm and hot data, offering low latency and great throughput.

StorSimple provides its own backup functionality that is implemented using snapshots in Microsoft Azure.

This automated snapshot to the cloud serves two purposes: you can recover individual files from a backup and the backup provides a simple DR feature.

The backup, in combination with how StorSimple uses metadata, allows users to browse files and services to find data.

You can duplicate the configuration of a StorSimple appliance to another unit in a secondary device.

A secondary site device can be activated in case you lose the primary site, and all of the metadata will be available.

One or more smaller capacity Azure StoreSimple virtual appliances (VAs) can be used as a DR solution for your on-premises Storage Simple in Microsoft’s public cloud.

Hybrid cloud storage is a storage solution that combines on-premises storage with cloud storage. This allows businesses to keep their most sensitive data on-premises while still leveraging the scalability and cost-effectiveness of cloud storage.

Azure StorSimple is a hybrid cloud storage solution that enables businesses to store data on-premises, and automatically replicate it to the cloud for disaster recovery and business continuity. This provides a seamless and automated way to manage data across multiple locations.

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Businesses can use Azure StorSimple to store up to 500 terabytes of data on-premises, and automatically replicate it to the cloud for disaster recovery and business continuity. This provides a scalable and cost-effective solution for businesses with large data storage needs.

Azure StorSimple is integrated with Microsoft Azure, allowing businesses to easily manage and monitor their data across multiple locations. This integration provides a single pane of glass for managing data, making it easier to monitor and troubleshoot issues.

Azure StorSimple uses a cloud-connected appliance to manage data, which can be deployed on-premises or in the cloud. This allows businesses to choose the deployment option that best meets their needs.

By using Azure StorSimple, businesses can reduce their storage costs and improve their disaster recovery and business continuity capabilities. This is achieved through the automated replication of data to the cloud, which provides a scalable and cost-effective solution for businesses with large data storage needs.

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