Merge pull request #277820 from b-ahibbard/optimum-service-level

optimum [flexible] service level update

Author: JamesJBarnett

articles/azure-netapp-files/azure-netapp-files-introduction.md

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ services: azure-netapp-files
 author: b-hchen
 ms.service: azure-netapp-files
 ms.topic: overview
-ms.date: 08/20/2024
+ms.date: 03/24/2025
 ms.author: anfdocs
 ---
 
@@ -36,7 +36,8 @@ Azure NetApp Files is designed to provide high-performance file storage for ente
 | - | - | - | 
 | In-Azure bare-metal flash performance | Fast and reliable all-flash performance with submillisecond latency. | Run performance-intensive workloads in the cloud with on-premises infrastructure-level performance.
 | Multi-protocol support | Supports multiple protocols, including NFSv3, NFSv4.1, SMB 3.0, SMB 3.1.1, and simultaneous dual-protocol. | Seamlessly integrate with existing infrastructure and workflows without compatibility issues or complex configurations. |
-| Three flexible performance tiers (Standard, Premium, Ultra) | Three performance tiers with dynamic service-level change capability based on workload needs, including cool access for cold data. | Choose the right performance level for workloads and dynamically adjust performance without overspending on resources.
+| Four adaptable performance tiers (Standard, Premium, Ultra, Flexible) | Four performance tiers with dynamic service-level change capability based on workload needs, including cool access for cold data. | Choose the right performance level for workloads and dynamically adjust performance without overspending on resources.
+| Small-to-large volumes | Easily resize file volumes from 100 GiB up to 100 TiB without downtime. | Scale storage as business needs grow without over-provisioning, avoiding upfront cost.
 | Small-to-large volumes | Easily resize file volumes from 50 GiB up to 100 TiB without downtime. | Scale storage as business needs grow without over-provisioning, avoiding upfront cost.
 | 1-TiB minimum capacity pool size | 1-TiB capacity pool is a reduced-size storage pool compared to the initial 4-TiB minimum. | Save money by starting with a smaller storage footprint and lower entry point, without sacrificing performance or availability. Scale storage based on growth without high upfront costs.
 | 2,048-TiB maximum capacity pool | 2048-TiB capacity pool is an increased storage pool compared to the initial 500-TiB maximum. | Reduce waste by creating larger, pooled capacity and performance budget, and share and distribute across volumes.
@@ -45,7 +46,7 @@ Azure NetApp Files is designed to provide high-performance file storage for ente
 | Virtual machine (VM) networked storage performance | Higher VM network throughput compared to disk IO limits enable more demanding workloads on smaller Azure VMs. | Improve application performance at a smaller VM footprint, improving overall efficiency and lowering application license cost.
 | Deep workload readiness | Seamless deployment and migration of any-size workload with well-documented deployment guides. | Easily migrate any workload of any size to the platform. Enjoy a seamless, cost-effective deployment and migration experience.
 | Datastores for Azure VMware Solution | Use Azure NetApp Files as a storage solution for VMware workloads in Azure, reducing the need for superfluous compute nodes normally included with Azure VMware Solution expansions. | Save money by eliminating the need for unnecessary compute nodes when you expand storage, resulting in significant cost savings.
-| Cool access | Use the cool access option of Azure NetApp Files Standard service level to move inactive data transparently from Azure NetApp Files Standard service-level storage (the hot tier) to an Azure Storage account (the cool tier). | Save money by transitioning data that resides within Azure NetApp Files volumes (the hot tier) by moving blocks to the lower-cost storage (the cool tier). |
+| Cool access | Use the cool access option of Azure NetApp Files to move inactive data transparently from Azure NetApp Files storage (the hot tier) to an Azure Storage account (the cool tier). | Save money by transitioning data that resides within Azure NetApp Files volumes (the hot tier) by moving blocks to the lower-cost storage (the cool tier). |
 
 These features work together to provide a high-performance file storage solution for the demands of enterprise workloads. They help to ensure that your workloads experience optimal (low) storage latency, cost, and scale.
 

articles/azure-netapp-files/azure-netapp-files-resource-limits.md

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ services: azure-netapp-files
 author: b-hchen
 ms.service: azure-netapp-files
 ms.topic: conceptual
-ms.date: 03/18/2024
+ms.date: 03/24/2024
 ms.author: anfdocs
 ---
 # Resource limits for Azure NetApp Files
@@ -27,6 +27,8 @@ The following table describes resource limits for Azure NetApp Files:
 |  Number of IPs in a virtual network (including immediately peered virtual networks [VNets]) accessing volumes in an Azure NetApp Files hosting VNet    |   <ul><li>**Basic**: 1000</li><li>**Standard**: [Same standard limits as VMs](../azure-resource-manager/management/azure-subscription-service-limits.md#azure-resource-manager-virtual-networking-limits)</li></ul>  |    No    |
 |  Minimum size of a single capacity pool   |  1 TiB*     |    No  |
 |  Maximum size of a single capacity pool    |  2,048 TiB   |   No   |
+| Minimum throughput of a Flexible service level capacity pool | 128 MiB/second | No |
+| Maximum throughput of a Flexible service level capacity pool | [5 x 128 x Size of capacity pool in TiB](azure-netapp-files-set-up-capacity-pool.md#considerations) | No |
 |  Minimum size of a single regular volume    |    50 GiB    |    No    |
 |  Maximum size of a single regular volume     |    100 TiB    |    No    |
 |  Minimum size of a single [large volume](large-volumes-requirements-considerations.md) | 50 TiB |     No |
@@ -52,8 +54,6 @@ The following table describes resource limits for Azure NetApp Files:
 
 \* [!INCLUDE [Limitations for capacity pool minimum of 1 TiB](includes/2-tib-capacity-pool.md)]
 
-
-
 \** 2-PiB [large volume](large-volumes-requirements-considerations.md) large volumes are available on request depending on regional dedicated capacity availability. To request 2-PiB large volumes, contact your account team. 
 
 For more information, see [Capacity management FAQs](faq-capacity-management.md).

articles/azure-netapp-files/azure-netapp-files-service-levels.md

@@ -5,15 +5,16 @@ services: azure-netapp-files
 author: b-hchen
 ms.service: azure-netapp-files
 ms.topic: conceptual
-ms.date: 09/05/2024
+ms.date: 03/25/2025
 ms.author: anfdocs
 ---
 # Service levels for Azure NetApp Files
+
 Service levels are an attribute of a capacity pool. Service levels are defined and differentiated by the allowed maximum throughput for a volume in the capacity pool based on the quota that is assigned to the volume. Throughput is a combination of read and write speed. 
 
 ## Supported service levels
 
-Azure NetApp Files supports three service levels: *Ultra*, *Premium*, and *Standard*.   
+Azure NetApp Files supports four service levels: *Standard*, *Premium*, *Ultra*, and *Flexible*.   
 
 * <a name="Standard"></a>Standard storage:   
     The Standard service level provides up to 16 MiB/s of throughput per 1 TiB of capacity provisioned.   
@@ -24,6 +25,13 @@ Azure NetApp Files supports three service levels: *Ultra*, *Premium*, and *Stand
 * <a name="Ultra"></a>Ultra storage:   
     The Ultra service level provides up to 128 MiB/s of throughput per 1 TiB of capacity provisioned. 
 
+* <a name="Flexible"></a>Flexible storage (preview):
+
+    The Flexible service level enables you to adjust throughput and size limits independently. This service level is designed for demanding applications such as Oracle or SAP HANA. You can also use the Flexible service level to create high-capacity volumes with (relatively) low throughput requirements or the reverse: low-capacity volumes with high throughput requirements. The minimum throughput to be assigned to a Flexible capacity pool is 128 MiB/second regardless of the pool quota. The first 128 MiB/s of throughput, known as the baseline, is included in the Flexible service level. The maximum throughput is 5 x 128 x the size of the capacity pool in TiB. For more information see [Flexible service level throughput examples](#flexible-examples). You can assign throughput and capacity to volumes that are part of a Flexible capacity pool in the same way you do volumes that are part of a manual QoS capacity pool of any service level. Cool access isn't currently supported with the Flexible service level. 
+
+    >[!IMPORTANT]
+    >The Flexible service level is only supported for new _manual QoS_ capacity pools. For a list of regions that support the Flexible service level, see [Create a capacity pool for Azure NetApp Files](azure-netapp-files-set-up-capacity-pool.md#regions).
+
 * Storage with cool access:      
     Cool access storage is available with the Standard, Premium, and Ultra service levels. The throughput experience for any of these service levels with cool access is the same for cool access as it is for data in the hot tier. It may differ when data that resides in the cool tier is accessed. For more information, see [Azure NetApp Files storage with cool access](cool-access-introduction.md) and [Performance considerations for storage with cool access](performance-considerations-cool-access.md). 
 
@@ -46,7 +54,7 @@ The following diagram shows throughput limit examples of volumes in an auto QoS
 
 ### Throughput limit examples of volumes in a manual QoS capacity pool 
 
-If you use a manual QoS capacity pool, you can assign the capacity and throughput for a volume independently. When you create a volume in a manual QoS capacity pool, you can specify the throughput (MiB/S) value. The total throughput assigned to volumes in a manual QoS capacity pool depends on the size of the pool and the service level. Throughput limits are capped by a formula: capacity pool size in TiB x service level throughput/TiB. For instance, a 10-TiB capacity pool with the Ultra service level has a total throughput capacity of 1280 MiB/s (10 TiB x 128 MiB/s/TiB) available for the volumes.
+If you use a manual QoS capacity pool, you can assign the capacity and throughput for a volume independently. When you create a volume in a manual QoS capacity pool, you can specify the throughput (MiB/S) value. The total throughput assigned to volumes in a manual QoS capacity pool depends on the size of the pool and the service level. Throughput limits for the Standard, Premium, and Ultra service levels are capped by a formula: capacity pool size in TiB x service level throughput/TiB. For instance, a 10-TiB capacity pool with the Ultra service level has a total throughput capacity of 1,280 MiB/s (10 TiB x 128 MiB/s/TiB) available for the volumes. For the Flexible service level, the formula is 5 x capacity pool size in TiB x minimum service level throughput (128 MiB/s/TiB). For examples, see [Flexible service level throughput examples](#flexible-examples). 
 
 For example, for an SAP HANA system, this capacity pool can be used to create the following volumes. Each volume provides the individual size and throughput to meet your application requirements:
 
@@ -59,6 +67,33 @@ The following diagram illustrates the scenarios for the SAP HANA volumes:
 
 ![QoS SAP HANA volume scenarios](./media/azure-netapp-files-service-levels/qos-sap-hana-volume-scenarios.png) 
 
+The following diagram illustrates the scenarios for the SAP HANA volumes but with the Flexible service level and a baseline throughput of 128 MiB/S:
+
+:::image type="content" source="./media/azure-netapp-files-service-levels/flexible-service-sap-hana-examples.png" alt-text="Diagram of Flexible service level throughput with SAP HANA volumes." lightbox="./media/azure-netapp-files-service-levels/flexible-service-sap-hana-examples.png":::
+
+The example extends to the Flexible service level as well. A Flexible service level capacity pool can be used to create the following volumes. Each volume provides the individual size and throughput to meet your application requirements:
+
+- SAP HANA data volume: Size 4 TiB with up to 704 MiB/s
+- SAP HANA log volume: Size 0.5 TiB with up to 256 MiB/s
+- SAP HANA shared volume: Size 1 TiB with up to 64 MiB/s
+- SAP HANA backup volume: Size 4.5 TiB with up to 384 MiB/s
+
+As illustrated in the diagram, the SAP HANA backup volume received the 128MiB/s additional baseline throughput.
+ 
+#### <a name="flexible-examples">Flexible service level throughput examples:</a>
+
+| Flexible pool size (TiB) | Allowable throughput minimum (MiB/s) | Allowable throughput maximum (MiB/s) |
+| - | - | -- |
+| 1 | 128 | 5 * 128 * 1 = 640 |
+| 2 | 128 | 5 * 128 * 2 = 1,280 |
+| 10 | 128 | 5 * 128 * 10 = 6,400 |
+| 50 | 128 | 5 * 128 * 50 = 32,000 |
+| 100 | 128 | 5 * 128 * 100 = 64,000 |
+| 1,024 | 128 | 5 * 128 * 1,024 = 655,360 |
+
+>[!NOTE]
+>A baseline throughput of 128 MiB/s is provided for every pool, at no additional cost.
+
 ## Next steps
 
 - [Azure NetApp Files pricing page](https://azure.microsoft.com/pricing/details/storage/netapp/)

articles/azure-netapp-files/azure-netapp-files-set-up-capacity-pool.md

@@ -5,8 +5,9 @@ services: azure-netapp-files
 author: b-hchen
 ms.service: azure-netapp-files
 ms.topic: how-to
-ms.date: 09/30/2024
+ms.date: 03/25/2025
 ms.author: anfdocs
+ms.custom: references_regions
 ---
 # Create a capacity pool for Azure NetApp Files
 
@@ -16,11 +17,64 @@ Creating a capacity pool enables you to create volumes within it.
 
 * You need [a NetApp account](azure-netapp-files-create-netapp-account.md).   
 * If you're using Azure CLI, ensure that you're using the latest version. For more information, see [How to update the Azure CLI](/cli/azure/update-azure-cli).
+* To enable cool access, ensure you are registered to use [cool access](manage-cool-access.md).
 * If you're using PowerShell, ensure that you're using the latest version of the Az.NetAppFiles module. To update to the latest version, use the 'Update-Module Az.NetAppFiles' command. For more information, see [Update-Module](/powershell/module/powershellget/update-module).
 * If you're using the Azure REST API, ensure that you specify the latest version.
     >[!IMPORTANT]
-    >To create a 1-TiB capacity pool with a tag, you must use API versions `2023-07-01_preview` to `2024-01-01_preview` or stable releases from `2024-01-01`. 
-    
+    >To create a 1-TiB capacity pool with a tag, you must use API versions `2023-07-01_preview` to `2024-01-01_preview` or stable releases from `2024-01-01`.
+* The Standard, Premium, and Ultra service levels are generally available (GA). No registration is required. 
+* The **Flexible** service level is currently in preview. Before creating a Flexible service level capacity pool, you must first register the feature:  
+
+    1. Register the feature: 
+        ```azurepowershell-interactive
+        Register-AzProviderFeature -ProviderNamespace Microsoft.NetApp -FeatureName ANFFlexibleServiceLevel
+        ```
+    2. Check the status of the feature registration: 
+        > [!NOTE]
+        > The **RegistrationState** may be in the `Registering` state for up to 60 minutes before changing to `Registered`. Wait until the status is **Registered** before continuing.
+        ```azurepowershell-interactive
+        Get-AzProviderFeature -ProviderNamespace Microsoft.NetApp -FeatureName ANFFlexibleServiceLevel
+        ```
+        You can also use [Azure CLI commands](/cli/azure/feature) `az feature register` and `az feature show` to register the feature and display the registration status. 
+
+### <a name="regions"></a> Supported regions for the Flexible service level
+
+>[!NOTE]
+>Standard, Premium, and Ultra service levels are supported in all Azure NetApp Files regions. This list only applies to the _Flexible_ service level. 
+The Flexible service level is currently available in the following regions:
+
+- Australia Central
+- Brazil South
+- Canada East
+- East Asia
+- East US
+- East US 2
+- France Central
+- Israel Central
+- Japan West
+- Korea Central
+- North Central US
+- Qatar Central
+- South Africa North
+- UAE North
+- US Gov Arizona
+- US Gov Texas
+- US Gov Virginia
+- West US 2
+- West US 3
+
+## Considerations
+
+* If you're using the **Flexible** service level:
+    * The Flexible service level is only available for manual QoS capacity pools. 
+    * The Flexible service level is only available on newly created capacity pools. You can't convert an existing capacity pool to use the Flexible service level. 
+        * Flexible service level capacity pools can't be converted to the Standard, Premium, or Ultra service level. 
+    * The minimum throughput for Flexible service level capacity pools is 128 MiB/second. Maximum throughput is calculated based on the size of the capacity pool using the formula 5 x 128 x capacity pool size in TiB. If your capacity pool is 1 TiB, the maximum is 640 MiB/second (5 x 128 x 1). For more examples, see [Service levels for Azure NetApp Files](azure-netapp-files-service-levels.md#flexible-examples).
+    * You can increase the throughput of a Flexible service level pool at any time. Decreases to throughput on Flexible service level capacity pools can only occur following a 24-hour cool-down period. The 24-hour cool-down period initiates after any change to the throughput of the Flexible service level capacity pool.
+    * Cool access isn't currently supported with the Flexible service level. 
+    * Only single encryption is currently supported for Flexible service level capacity pools. 
+    * Volumes in Flexible service level capacity pools can't be moved to capacity pools of a different service level. Similarly, you can't move volumes from capacity pools with different service levels into a Flexible service level capacity pool.
+
 ## Steps 
 
 1. In the Azure portal, go to your NetApp account. From the navigation pane, select **Capacity pools**.  
@@ -37,7 +91,10 @@ Creating a capacity pool enables you to create volumes within it.
 
    * **Service level**   
      This field shows the target performance for the capacity pool.  
-     Specify the service level for the capacity pool: [**Ultra**](azure-netapp-files-service-levels.md#Ultra), [**Premium**](azure-netapp-files-service-levels.md#Premium), or [**Standard**](azure-netapp-files-service-levels.md#Standard).
+     Specify the service level for the capacity pool: [**Ultra**](azure-netapp-files-service-levels.md#Ultra), [**Premium**](azure-netapp-files-service-levels.md#Premium), [**Standard**](azure-netapp-files-service-levels.md#Standard), or [**Flexible**](azure-netapp-files-service-levels.md#Flexible).
+
+    >[!NOTE]
+    >The **Flexible** service level is only supported for manual QoS capacity pools.
 
     * **Size**     
      Specify the size of the capacity pool that you're purchasing.        
@@ -46,8 +103,11 @@ Creating a capacity pool enables you to create volumes within it.
     >[!NOTE]
     >[!INCLUDE [Limitations for capacity pool minimum of 1 TiB](includes/2-tib-capacity-pool.md)]
 
+    * **Throughput** 
+        This option is only available for Flexible service level capacity pools. The minimum value is 128 MiB/second. Maximum throughput depends on the size of the capacity pool. For calculation details, see [Considerations](#considerations).  
+
     * **Enable cool access**
-        This option specifies whether volumes in the capacity pool support cool access. For details about using this option, see [Manage Azure NetApp Files storage with cool access](manage-cool-access.md). 
+        This option specifies whether volumes in the capacity pool support cool access. For details about using this option, see [Manage Azure NetApp Files storage with cool access](manage-cool-access.md). Cool access isn't currently supported on Flexible service level. 
 
     * **QoS**   
         Specify whether the capacity pool should use the **Manual** or **Auto** QoS type.  See [Storage Hierarchy](azure-netapp-files-understand-storage-hierarchy.md) and [Performance Considerations](azure-netapp-files-performance-considerations.md) to understand the QoS types.