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Managed Disks VS AWS Snowball

Compare Managed Disks VS AWS Snowball and see what are their differences

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Managed Disks logo 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.

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.
  • Managed Disks Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-11
  • AWS Snowball Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-12

Managed Disks features and specs

  • Scalability
    Managed Disks automatically scale to accommodate your storage needs, supporting up to 2 PB per region, eliminating the need for manual disk management.
  • Reliability
    Managed Disks offer built-in high availability with resources automatically distributed across multiple availability zones, ensuring data protection against hardware failures.
  • Performance
    Azure Managed Disks provide consistent and high-performance levels, available in different types like Standard HDD, Standard SSD, and Premium SSD depending on the required workload.
  • Security
    Managed Disks enable Azure Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), encryption at rest and during transport, and integration with Azure Backup for enhanced security.
  • Flexibility
    Various disk sizes and types accommodate different performance levels and price points, offering flexibility to meet specific requirements of applications.
  • Integration
    Managed Disks integrate seamlessly with other Azure services like Azure Backup, Azure Policy, and Azure Disk Encryption, offering a comprehensive cloud ecosystem experience.

Possible disadvantages of Managed Disks

  • Cost
    Managed Disks can be more expensive than unmanaged alternatives, primarily due to additional features such as scaling, redundancy, and ease of use.
  • Complex Pricing
    The pricing structure, involving various disk types and features, can be complex, potentially confusing users about which option is the most cost-effective for their needs.
  • Limited Customization
    Managed Disks, being managed, offer limited customization options compared to unmanaged disks where users can customize storage more freely.
  • Dependency on Cloud Platform
    Using Managed Disks ties users to the Azure platform, which can complicate migration to other cloud providers or on-premises solutions.

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.

Managed Disks videos

Azure Managed Vs Unmanaged Disks

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 Managed Disks 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 should be more popular than Managed Disks. It has been mentiond 21 times since March 2021. 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.

Managed Disks mentions (12)

  • Waiting for Postgres 18: Accelerating Disk Reads with Asynchronous I/O
    Even worse on Azure where we had to ask customers to scale up vcpu to increase iops https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/managed-disks Increasing vcpu also opened up more disk slots to try improve situation with disk striping. - Source: Hacker News / 29 days ago
  • Azure Container Instances vs Sliplane
    In US East, Azure's Managed Disks start at $0.30 for 4 GB plus a transaction fee for read, write, and delete operations. The transaction fee is limited by the maximum number of transactions, e.g., max. $1.00 for a 4 GB disk. For the comparison, I will neglect it, even though a high number of transactions can have a quite significant influence. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • premium ssd v2
    Https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/managed-disks/ for more information on how this disk is priced. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Price for unattached disk
    Google p30 and get this Https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/managed-disks/ About 7 usd per month. Source: about 2 years ago
  • copy between disks/mountpoints slow
    What size are your disks as this determines a few things? Credit based bursting is enabled by default for E30 and smaller but you may have to upgrade to premium to get the performance what you need. Look at, Https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/managed-disks/. Source: over 2 years ago
View more

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 Managed Disks and AWS Snowball, you can also consider the following products

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

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

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.

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

SUSE Enterprise Storage - SUSE intelligent software-defined storage solution enables to transform the enterprise storage infrastructure and reduce costs while providing unlimited scalability.

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