storage account migration

Question

what are all the technical restriction to migrate the storage account

1. soft delete for containers
2. Time-based retention policy in 'container' level.

Answer 1

Hello suresh Reddy,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A and thank you for posting your questions here.

I understand that you are working with storage account migration in Azure Blob Storage, and you would like to know the technical restriction to migrate the storage account.

Migrating a storage account in Azure Blob Storage involves several technical restrictions and considerations. The below lists are the key points to keep in mind, also use the associated links for more clarity and reading:

1. The type of storage account (e.g., General-purpose v1, v2, Blob Storage) can influence the migration process and available features. - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/common/storage-migration-overview
2. The source and destination regions can impact the migration, especially if geo-replication is involved. - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/common/redundancy-migration
3. The access tier (hot, cool, archive) of the blobs can affect migration strategies. - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/common/redundancy-migration
4. Certain protocols (e.g., NFS, SMB) may have specific requirements or limitations. - https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/azure-docs/blob/main/articles/reliability/migrate-storage.md
5. If the storage account is configured for geo-redundant storage, the failover status can affect migration. - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/common/redundancy-migration
6. Some features may not be supported in all scenarios, requiring careful planning. - https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/azure-docs/blob/main/articles/reliability/migrate-storage.md

About Soft Delete for Containers

This feature allows you to recover deleted blobs and containers within a specified retention period. When migrating, ensure that the destination storage account supports soft delete and that the retention settings are configured appropriately. - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/common/storage-migration-overview

About Time-based Retention Policy at Container Level

This policy ensures that blobs cannot be deleted or overwritten for a specified period. During migration, you need to verify that the destination storage account supports this feature and that the policies are correctly applied to the containers. - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/common/storage-migration-overview

I hope this is helpful! Do not hesitate to let me know if you have any other questions.

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Answer 2

Hi @suresh Reddy,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A, thanks for posting your query.

Adding additional information for the above response.

Management Lock During Migration

During migration, a temporary lock on certain management operations, such as key regeneration, might be enforced to ensure data consistency. This lock can delay administrative tasks and impact workflows. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/common/storage-migration-overview

Feature Compatibility

Not all features are seamlessly migrated. For instance, lifecycle management policies, Azure AD integration, and encryption configurations might need manual adjustment or re-application in the destination account. Verifying feature compatibility is crucial. 

Data Access and Performance Impact

Access performance might degrade during migration, particularly if the source account is under heavy usage. Downtime planning and redundancy are essential to mitigate this impact. Ensuring minimal disruption to critical operations is a key aspect of migration planning.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/common/redundancy-migration?tabs=portal

Network and Security Settings

Network configurations, such as VNet integration, private endpoints, and firewall rules, are not always retained during migration. Users may need to reconfigure these settings manually in the destination storage account.

Additional Information:

Migrate from Classic to Azure Resource Manager (ARM): Provides detailed steps for migrating from classic storage accounts to ARM-based models, covering compatibility issues and required permissions.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/migration-classic-resource-manager-plan

Soft Delete Configuration: Offers insights into configuring soft delete for containers in both source and destination accounts during migration.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/blobs/soft-delete-blob-overview

Soft delete for containers

If soft delete is enabled for a container in the source storage account, it must also be enabled in the destination storage account. Soft delete is a feature that allows you to recover data that was accidentally deleted. When soft delete is enabled, deleted data is retained for a specified period of time before it is permanently deleted. If soft delete is not enabled in the destination storage account, data that was deleted in the source storage account may be lost during the migration process.

Time-based retention policy in container level: 

If a time-based retention policy is set for a container in the source storage account, it must also be set in the destination storage account. A time-based retention policy is a feature that allows you to retain data for a specified period of time. If a retention policy is set for a container in the source storage account, data in that container cannot be deleted until the retention period has expired. If a retention policy is not set in the destination storage account, data in the container may be deleted during the migration process.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/blobs/immutable-storage-overview#time-based-retention-policies

Please let us know if you have any further queries. I’m happy to assist you further. 

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