We know we need to clean up and remove some older data, but we're planning to move roughly 60 TB of active file data to Azure Files for an Azure Virtual Desktop environment. Standard Azure Files is being throttled because our synchronization software generates a large number of transactions, so we may need to move to the premium tier for better performance. For anyone using around 60 TB of Azure premium storage, what does your monthly bill look like? Does splitting the data across multiple file shares affect the overall price, or is the cost mainly based on provisioned capacity, redundancy, region, and transaction usage?
2 Answers
Before committing to premium for the entire dataset, it may be worth separating hot and inactive data. Premium is intended for workloads that need consistent performance, while archive or cooler tiers can be much cheaper for data that is rarely accessed. Also compare the operational differences with Microsoft 365 archival options if some of the content is suitable for document-based archiving rather than an always-online file share.
The Azure pricing calculator is the best starting point, but make sure you include more than just the raw 60 TB. Premium Azure Files is generally driven by provisioned capacity, while redundancy, region, snapshots, data transfer, and any applicable transaction or operation charges can change the total. Enter your expected performance and redundancy settings rather than assuming the calculator’s default values.
The main challenge is that we don’t yet know what can safely be deleted or archived. Keeping everything online temporarily may be more expensive, but it gives us time to classify the data and reduce the premium footprint later.