Microsoft recently announced several capabilities for its Azure Data Box, a service that has been available since 2019 and facilitates offline data migration to Azure. These new capabilities enhance data transfer speed, flexibility, and security, offering organizations more efficient ways to move large datasets to the cloud without relying solely on network bandwidth.
One of the new capabilities is the general availability of self-encrypting drives in the Azure Data Box Disk SKU. This feature is particularly beneficial for users who operate in environments with strict data security requirements. Self-encrypting drives provide hardware-based encryption, ensuring that data remains secure during transit. This update also brings a performance boost for users of Linux systems, where previous encryption methods might have caused slower data transfer rates.
Another new capability introduced is ingesting data across multiple blob access tiers within a single Azure Data Box order. This enhancement allows customers to optimize their data storage costs by selecting the appropriate access tier—hot, cool, or archive—based on the data access frequency. By enabling multi-tier storage, Microsoft provides users greater flexibility in managing their data, particularly for those with diverse workloads requiring different storage strategies.
Another addition is the new cross-region data transfer capability. Previously, data migration was limited to a single region, which could be a constraint for global organizations with data spread across multiple geographies. With cross-region transfers, businesses can now consolidate their data in the most appropriate Azure region, reducing latency and improving accessibility.
(Source: Azure Storage blog post)
The new Azure Storage Mover Integration with Azure Data Box allows organizations to transfer only the delta data to Azure (merge and mirror copy mode), minimizing downtime for your workloads. This feature combines both services to ensure that any updates or new files not captured during the Data Box transfer are effectively transferred.
Earlier, Fabian Uhse, a program manager in Azure Storage, wrote:
Utilizing Azure Data Box likely conserved a significant amount of bandwidth. However, any active workload on your source storage likely made changes while your Data Box was in transit to Azure. Consequently, you'll also need to bring those changes to your cloud storage, before a workload can be cut-over to it. Catch-up copies typically need minimal bandwidth since most of the data already resides in Azure, and only the delta needs to be transferred. Azure Storage Mover is an excellent tool for this purpose.
(Source: Tech Community blog post)
In addition to the new features, Azure Data Box has received enhanced compliance certifications, including HIPAA and BAA, and PCI 3DS & PCI DSS, making it suitable for use in regulated industries such as healthcare and finance. The increased compliance coverage ensures that organizations handling sensitive information can leverage Azure Data Box without compromising on regulatory requirements.
The Azure Data Box updates are particularly impactful for industries with vast amounts of data—such as media and entertainment, healthcare, and financial services. These sectors often need to transfer large volumes of data quickly and securely, making traditional network-based methods impractical. Azure Data Box’s offline migration capabilities offer a viable alternative, enabling these organizations to move data efficiently while maintaining control over their data security and compliance obligations.