Using Managed Disks in conjunction with Azure VMs for SQL Server data files is the preferred choice due to several key reasons related to performance, reliability, and ease of management.
Managed Disks offer high availability and scalability, allowing you to efficiently manage the storage capacity without worrying about the underlying virtual hard disks. This management convenience does not require you to handle the storage accounts explicitly, thus simplifying the configuration and operational tasks. Additionally, Managed Disks come with built-in redundancy options, such as locally redundant storage (LRS) and geo-redundant storage (GRS), which enhance data durability and availability.
In the context of SQL Server workloads, performance is critical. Managed Disks are optimized for I/O operations, providing the required throughput and latency characteristics essential for database operations. They can be configured to use different performance tiers (Standard or Premium), allowing you to select the best option based on your SQL Server workload requirements.
In contrast, while Blob Storage can handle SQL Server data backups or file storage, it is not optimized for direct access by SQL Server instances. File Shares, although useful for certain scenarios, do not offer the same level of performance and management capabilities as Managed Disks. Local SSDs, on the other hand, are ephemeral and