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Azure Disk Storage VS AWS Snowball

Compare Azure Disk Storage VS AWS Snowball and see what are their differences

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Azure Disk Storage logo Azure Disk Storage

Choose the right disk storage for all of your data workloads in the cloud—and get the durability, scalability, availability, and security you need.

AWS Snowball logo AWS Snowball

AWS Snowball is a petabyte-scale data transport service that uses secure devices to transfer large amounts of data into and out of the AWS cloud.
  • Azure Disk Storage Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-11
  • AWS Snowball Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-12

Azure Disk Storage features and specs

  • High Availability
    Azure Disk Storage provides high availability with an SLA of up to 99.99%, ensuring that your data and applications remain accessible and resilient against hardware failures.
  • Scalability
    The service offers easy scalability, allowing you to quickly adjust disk sizes and performance tiers to meet the growing demands of your applications without significant downtime.
  • Integration with Azure Services
    Azure Disk Storage integrates seamlessly with other Azure services like Virtual Machines, enabling smooth operations and optimization of IT resources in a hybrid or cloud environment.
  • Managed Disks
    Azure provides managed disks, which automatically handle the storage account management, simplifying the deployment and minimizing administrative overhead.
  • Variety of Disk Options
    Azure Disk Storage offers various types of disks, such as Ultra Disk, Premium SSD, Standard SSD, and Standard HDD, catering to different performance and cost requirements.

Possible disadvantages of Azure Disk Storage

  • Cost
    Azure Disk Storage can become costly, especially for premium options and at scale, making it less feasible for budget-constrained projects or when storing large volumes of infrequently accessed data.
  • Complex Pricing Model
    The pricing model can be complex, depending on the disk type, performance tier, region, and additional features such as snapshots, which requires careful consideration to forecast expenses accurately.
  • Regional Limitations
    Some advanced features or specific disk types may not be available in all regions, which can limit deployment options for global applications requiring consistent performance across regions.
  • Performance Variability
    Users may experience variability in performance depending on the chosen disk type and configuration, which necessitates thorough testing to ensure it meets application requirements.

AWS Snowball features and specs

  • High Data Transfer Speed
    AWS Snowball allows for rapid data transfer, capable of moving petabytes of data securely and quickly, often faster than transferring over the internet.
  • Security
    Snowball devices use tamper-evident enclosures, 256-bit encrypted data transfer, and secure data erasure once the data has been uploaded to AWS, ensuring data security during transit.
  • Cost-Effective
    Compared to high-bandwidth internet connections, especially in regions with poor connectivity, AWS Snowball can be a more cost-effective solution for large-scale data transfer.
  • Scalability
    Users can request multiple Snowball devices simultaneously to move larger volumes of data efficiently. This makes it scalable to meet the needs of significant data transfer projects.
  • Ease of Use
    AWS provides a simple, user-friendly interface for ordering, tracking, and managing Snowball devices, making the service accessible even to users without deep technical expertise.
  • Offline Data Transfer
    Snowball operates offline, meaning that data can be transferred without relying on internet connectivity, which is particularly beneficial in areas with limited or unreliable connectivity.

Possible disadvantages of AWS Snowball

  • Limited Data Sizes Per Device
    Each Snowball device has a maximum capacity (currently up to 80TB per device), so extremely large datasets may require multiple devices and therefore multiple shipments.
  • Shipping Time
    The physical shipment of Snowball devices can take several days depending on the location, which may not be suitable for projects requiring immediate data transfer.
  • Initial Cost and Complexity
    There may be an initial investment and learning curve involved in setting up and understanding how to use AWS Snowball, which might be a barrier for smaller organizations or those with limited technical expertise.
  • Geographical Limitations
    AWS Snowball may not be available in all regions or countries, limiting its usefulness for organizations based in or needing to ship data to/from unsupported locations.
  • Handling and Physical Security
    Despite its tamper-evident features, physical shipment adds a layer of risk related to potential loss or damage in transit, as well as the need for secure handling and storage until the data transfer is complete.
  • Data Transfer Time
    Once the device arrives, transferring data to and from the Snowball can be time-consuming depending on the volume of data and the local network setup.

Azure Disk Storage videos

Overview of Azure Disk Storage security features

AWS Snowball videos

AWS Snowball Edge Overview

More videos:

  • Review - DigitalGlobe Moves Petabytes of Data Quickly and Securely Using AWS Snowmobile
  • Review - AWS Snowball | Snowball Edge | Snowmobile - Amazon AWS Large Scale Datasets Migration

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Azure Disk Storage and AWS Snowball)
Cloud Storage
100 100%
0% 0
Business & Commerce
0 0%
100% 100
Cloud Computing
100 100%
0% 0
B2B SaaS
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, AWS Snowball seems to be a lot more popular than Azure Disk Storage. While we know about 21 links to AWS Snowball, we've tracked only 2 mentions of Azure Disk Storage. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Azure Disk Storage mentions (2)

  • Azure Container Storage Now in Public Preview
    Azure Container Storage provides a consistent management experience across different storage offerings, including a managed option (backed by Azure Elastic SAN), Azure Disks, and ephemeral disks on container services - intended to simplify the deployment of persistent volumes. Previously, customers had to use individual container storage interface (CSI) drivers to offer cloud storage for containers, causing... Source: about 2 years ago
  • What database and servers do you use to store media like images
    Azure (and most other providers) have a similar block storage solution. Here's Azure's: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/services/storage/disks. Source: over 3 years ago

AWS Snowball mentions (21)

  • WD Ultrastar Transporter: Briefcase with 368TB of NVMe SSD, 128GB RAM, 1300W PSU
    This is still a common thing. Amazon has AWS Snowball [1] (up to 210 TB), Backblaze has Fireball [2] (96 TB), and I'm sure there are others. [1]: https://aws.amazon.com/snowball/ [2]: https://www.backblaze.com/cloud-storage/features/fireball-data-migration. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • AWS To Provide Free Data Transfer Out To Internet
    If you have extremely large amounts of data to transfer, such as hundreds of petabytes or into exabytes, AWS Snowmobile can move up to 100PB at once via a ruggedized shipping container. The ruggedized shipping container is tamper-resistant, water-resistant, temperature controlled, and GPS-tracked. The service was announced in 2016, and one of the trucks shown during a presentation that year at AWS re-Invent:. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • AWS To Provide Free Data Transfer Out To Internet
    AWS Snowball has a number of devices optimized for edge computing and data transfer. The service allows you to order a ruggedized device that can hold multiple terrabytes to petabytes of data, to transfer to AWS. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • AWS To Provide Free Data Transfer Out To Internet
    If you have extremely large amounts of data to transfer, such as hundreds of petabytes or into exabytes, AWS Snowmobile can move up to 100PB at once via a ruggedized shipping container. The ruggedized shipping container is tamper-resistant, water-resistant, temperature controlled, and GPS-tracked. The service was announced in 2016, and one of the trucks shown during a presentation that year at AWS re-Invent:. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Can they email between Pegasus and Earth?
    I'm sure once they got the BC-304s making regular round trips they dropped of a couple of AWS snowmobile trailers. For boosting their computing power and make copies of the Atlantis database to send back to Earth for more in depth analysis. Source: over 1 year ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Azure Disk Storage and AWS Snowball, you can also consider the following products

Managed Disks - Azure Managed Disks are the new and recommended disk storage offerings for use with Azure Virtual Machines for persistent storage of data. Try the free trial today.

Net Solutions - Where innovation meets expertise. Award-winning digital solutions built for growth.

Vultr Block Storage Vultr - We are simplifying the cloud. One Login, 9 Countries, 16 Cities, Infinite Possibilities.

OpenLayers - A high-performance, feature-packed library for all your mapping needs.

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Block Volumes - Oracle Block Volumes provides high-speed block storage capacity with seamless data protection and recovery. Network-attached block volumes deliver low latency, and 25,000 IOPS and 320 MBps per block volume.

Revenue River - We help organizations compete and win online with digital marketing and sales innovation strategy and execution.