What is Azure Elastic SAN?
Azure Elastic SAN is a fully managed block storage service that brings the functionality of a traditional storage area network (SAN) to Azure. Instead of configuring storage separately for each compute resource, you provision an Elastic SAN and use its volumes as shared backend storage for Azure Virtual Machines, Azure Kubernetes Service, and Azure VMware Solution.
Core Features
- Consolidated storage pool with shared IOPS and throughput capacity across all volumes
- Access via the iSCSI protocol, securable with private endpoints and virtual network rules
- Management through volume groups for centrally configuring multiple volumes (including network rules)
- Locally redundant (LRS) or zone-redundant (ZRS) storage
- Scales into the range of several hundred thousand IOPS and double-digit GB/s throughput, depending on region and redundancy type
- Support for snapshots and encryption at rest
Typical Use Cases
- Migrating on-premises SAN workloads to the cloud
- Database clusters and other IO-intensive workloads that need shared block storage
- Consolidating many scaling workloads that benefit from shared performance instead of per-volume overprovisioning
- Storage backend for Azure Kubernetes Service or Azure VMware Solution
Benefits
- Less overprovisioning through shared performance instead of per-volume capacity reserves
- Familiar iSCSI protocol simplifies migrating existing SAN workloads
- Centralized management of many volumes through volume groups instead of individual configuration
- Flexible cost control via separate base and capacity-only units
Integration with innFactory
As a Microsoft Solutions Partner, innFactory supports you in planning and operating Azure Elastic SAN: storage architecture, migrating traditional SAN workloads, and ongoing performance optimization.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Elastic SAN and Managed Disks?
Managed Disks are individual volumes attached to a single VM. Elastic SAN is a shared storage pool that provisions multiple volumes for different compute resources and consolidates IOPS and throughput across them. This is especially useful when multiple VMs, AKS clusters, or Azure VMware Solution share storage.
Which protocol does Elastic SAN use?
Elastic SAN exposes volumes via the iSCSI protocol. Clients connect over the network like a traditional on-premises SAN; access can be secured with private endpoints and virtual network rules.
How does performance scale?
Each base unit (1 TiB of base capacity) provides 5,000 IOPS and 200 MB/s of throughput. Additional capacity-only units increase storage volume but not performance. Maximum total capacity, IOPS, and throughput per SAN depend on the region and redundancy type (LRS or ZRS).
What does Azure Elastic SAN cost?
Billing is hourly based on provisioned base capacity (which includes performance) and optional capacity-only storage (cheaper, storage only). ZRS redundancy carries a premium over LRS. Current prices are listed on the official pricing page.
Can I use Elastic SAN for databases?
Yes, Elastic SAN suits IO-intensive database workloads that need consistent, low-latency block storage. Because performance is shared across all volumes, it helps avoid overprovisioning individual volumes.
Note: All product information on this page has been compiled with care, but is provided without guarantee and may be outdated or incomplete. Cloud services evolve rapidly — features, pricing, SLAs, and availability change frequently. Authoritative and up-to-date information can only be found on the official product page of Azure (official documentation). This page does not represent an offer by Azure.
