According to Microsoft, the new Microsoft Azure Data Box is rugged and tamper-resistant. Moreover, it provides support for storing data volumes up to 100TB and are directly shipped to customers. As a customer, you can plug the devices that support standard NAS protocols such as CIFS and SMB.
The Microsoft Azure Data Box make use of 256-bit AES encryption technology to secure the data. As soon as the data is copied to the data center, Microsoft will automatically erase the data. Interestingly, the device ships with an integrated E-Ink display, which can be used as a return label.
Alternatively, it is also possible to copy the entire data to a traditional hard drive. The disk can then be shipped to Microsoft to load the data to a Microsoft Azure storage account as per the data center of your choice. There are various options available for customers to migrate data, backups and VM images.
Even before the release of the public preview, enterprise companies have been testing Azure Data Box. Moreover, companies such as Commvault, Veritas, Veeam have already developed a solution for backup and data management services based on the Box.
When it comes to Amazon, the Snowball device provides support for storing data volumes of 50TB and 80TB. It also provides support for 256-bit encryption, E-ink shipping label including a secure erasing tool. However, the e-commerce giant also offers 100TB storage for storing large volumes of data.
Like in the case of Microsoft and Amazon, Google also introduced a public beta of Google Transfer Appliance with support for 100TB and 480TB rackable storage respectively. By applying compression, the 480TB model can scale up to 1PB volume.
Microsoft Azure Data Box is currently available in the US and can be ordered via the Microsoft Azure Portal. It is also possible to track the device and investigate the progress of the data loading system after the device is returned.