We use it for high-speed data and a very critical mission.
Block storage is typically used when you have structured data. For example, RDP systems like SQL Oracle and the SQL DB tool. If you have structured data, you need Microsoft Azure Block Storage.
The solution should also support unstructured data. There is a different file format for unstructured data. It would also be good if the solution notification features.
We have been using this solution for three years. Microsoft Azure Block Storage is deployed as per the requirement. It can be deployed independently and supports every kind of deployment.
It is very stable, and I rate the stability an eight out of ten.
It is scalable, and I rate the scalability an eight out of ten.
The technical support is very good.
The setup is not as simple as File Storage, and it requires a lot of investment because block storage requires a high-speed network, and you have to deploy a lot of fibre cables. It is also costly and not cheap compared to Internet-based networks. So the initial investment cost for deploying the block storage is very expensive.
The price depends on the requirement. If the data is critical, you must deploy block storage. But if it is not that critical, you can choose cheaper storage options. I rate the pricing for Microsoft Azure Block Storage a two out of ten.
Multiple vendors offer good block storage solutions, such as BMC Storage, NetApp Storage, Azure, Google and Oracle. Microsoft Azure Block Storage is deployed for mission-critical and business-critical data. When deploying these kinds of data, you must have a data center to control moving the data and allow multiple storages. You can know where the data is stored, which software controls the data, and who manages your data. But for cloud, the customer does not have any visibility or know who is responsible for managing data or whether it's secured. Therefore, transparency, control and storage deployment is significant.
I rate this solution an eight out of ten, and I would recommend this to others.