Leverage New or Existing Everpure SAN Storage with Azure Local and DataON Servers

Download this solution brief

Scale Azure Local Seamlessly with Enterprise SAN Storage

Microsoft, DataON and Everpure have jointly engineered and validated a disaggregated hybrid cloud infrastructure that pairs DataON Premier Solutions+ for Azure Local with the Everpure FlashArray SAN storage platform. This architecture delivers enterprise-grade performance, cloud-native management, and investment protection.

Azure Local provides storage flexibility with iSCSI and Fibre Channel SAN support 

Many organizations are choosing Microsoft Azure Local for a modern infrastructure platform that delivers consistent Azure operations across data center and edge. It’s a purpose-built operating system designed to bridge cloud and on-premises environments.

Azure Local now supports both iSCSI and Fibre Channel (FC) SAN integration, allowing organizations to connect external storage to IP-based or Fibre Channel networks. Organizations can choose between two flexible SAN deployment approaches while maintaining a unified, Azure-consistent management experience. 

Deployment ModelHow It WorksKey Benefits
Disaggregated
(SAN only)		Uses external SAN storage as the primary platform for all infrastructure and workloads.Lowers hyper-converged disk costs, scales compute and storage independently, and supports larger-scale setups.
Hybrid
(S2D + SAN)		Attaches external SAN storage to existing clusters while keeping Storage Spaces Direct (S2D) for some workloads.Incremental modernization; reuses existing storage investments.

Organizations that are utilizing disaggregated SAN storage for Azure Local are finding that SAN storage delivers better efficiency and flexibility than traditional hyper‑converged deployments.

  • Unmatched storage efficiency across workloads – SAN-backed Azure Local environments unlock significant storage efficiency gains. Customers benefit from the SAN’s ability to apply global deduplication and compression across all clusters.
  • Flexible, scalable storage without cluster constraints – Hyper-converged storage ties capacity to a fixed cluster. SAN storage breaks that limitation. Customers can carve out LUNs, expand capacity on demand, and scale storage independently from compute—a familiar model for traditional SAN users. This portability gives IT teams freedom to grow without locking into node‑based cost structures.
  • Faster, safer, more predictable updates – Customers running Azure Local with SANs report faster update cycles because there’s no need for storage re-sync. This separation of compute and storage reduces maintenance windows.
  • A clean separation of responsibilities – With disaggregated architecture, Azure Local manages compute, VMs, and hybrid operations, while Everpure handles data services with industry‑leading efficiency. Each platform does what it does best, and the integration is seamless. Customers gain a modern Azure‑consistent operating model backed by enterprise‑class storage reliability.

Three specific use cases that might drive organizations to choose disaggregated storage over traditional HCI include:

  • An organization is migrating off VMware vSphere or a traditional 3-tier architecture to Azure Local and wants to re-use existing storage area networks (SANs) or add a new SAN.
  • An organization has an existing Azure Local installation, but their storage needs are outpacing their compute needs. They need independent scaling of storage and compute.
  • An organization has an Azure Local installation and needs to optimize their Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) storage efficiency. Large-scale VDI deployments require a SAN to provide a centralized, shared storage pool, allowing the system to run global inline deduplication across the entire environment. This can greatly reduce total data storage needs.

DataON and Everpure provide supported solutions for Azure Local with SAN storage

DataON and Everpure provide validated joint Azure Local solutions that bring together Azure Arc-managed infrastructure from DataON with enterprise-class external block storage.

This combination gives customers a flexible, high-performance option for running virtual machines (VMs), containers, and Azure services on DataON Premier Solutions+ for Azure Local while using Everpure FlashArrays as the external SAN storage platform in their data center.

DataON Premier Solutions+ for Azure Local give you a premium Azure Local experience and have the highest level of Azure Local validation from Microsoft. They go beyond the standard Microsoft Premier Solution tier requirements, providing a more complete experience that includes deployment, integration, and training. DataON solutions not only get you up and running quickly but also help your team to be confident in managing Azure Local.

DataON Premier Solutions+ also feature easy lifecycle management with cluster aware updating and DataON Solution Builder Extension (SBE). They simplify lifecycle management, improve reliability, and ensure seamless orchestration of firmware, drivers, and diagnostics. Updates can be applied as part of a full solution update, with minimal disruption to your environment.

Everpure FlashArrays are all-flash storage systems that unify high-performance block, file, and object data into a single platform. They replace traditional spinning hard drives with solid-state flash memory to run critical business applications quickly and efficiently.

  • Unified storage: Manages block, file, and object data from one simple control panel.
  • Non-disruptive upgrades: Allows hardware and software updates without taking applications offline or causing downtime.
  • Data reduction: Saves physical space using built-in data compression and deduplication.
  • High reliability: Delivers up to 99.9999% data availability with built-in disaster recovery features.

The following models are qualified to integrate with Azure Local: