imanihall announces general availability of priority replication for Azure GRS and Object Replication, detailing SLA guarantees and new monitoring tools for accelerated and reliable cross-region replication.

Priority Replication for Geo Redundant Storage and Object Replication is Generally Available

Author: imanihall

Overview

Azure Storage now offers Priority Replication for Geo Redundant Storage (GRS), Geo-Zone-Redundant Storage (GZRS), and Object Replication (OR), providing guaranteed 15-minute synchronization between regions for Block Blob data, backed by a Service Level Agreement (SLA). This advancement helps ensure better data durability and disaster recovery capabilities for applications requiring cross-region replication.

Key Highlights

  • Geo Priority Replication offers an SLA-backed guarantee that the Last Sync Time (LST) of Block Blob data in GRS/GZRS accounts will be 15 minutes or less 99% of each billing month.
  • Object Replication Priority Replication ensures 99% of operations are replicated across accounts within 15 minutes on the same continent, also SLA-backed.
  • Supported SKUs: GRS, RA-GRS, GZRS, RA-GZRS for Block Blob data.
  • Enhanced monitoring via Azure Portal, including new metrics such as Geo Blob Lag, Pending Operations, and Pending Bytes.

What is Geo Priority Replication?

  • Standard GRS/GZRS: Data is asynchronously replicated from the primary to secondary region, causing potential data loss if primary fails unexpectedly.
  • Last Sync Time (LST): Indicates the most recent time data is guaranteed to be in the secondary region—essential for recovery point objectives (RPO).
  • With Priority Replication: Accelerated process ensures LST/RPO for Block Blob data meets the SLA, helping mitigate data loss fears and increasing resilience.
  • More Information: Azure Storage Geo Priority Replication Documentation

What is Object Replication Priority Replication?

  • Object Replication: Asynchronous copy of operations from a source to one or more destination storage accounts under a replication policy (OR policy).
  • With Priority Replication: Completion time is SLA-guaranteed within 15 minutes (for 99% of operations in the billing month) for accounts in the same continent.
  • Eligibility details: See official SLA Terms

Monitoring SLA Compliance

Geo Priority Replication

  • Geo Blob Lag: Metric to track seconds since last full data synchronization; staying within 900 seconds (15 minutes) indicates SLA compliance.
  • Viewable in Azure Portal. For more: Geo Blob Lag Metric

Object Replication Priority Replication

  • Pending Operations: Tracks number of operations pending replication.
  • Pending Bytes: Tracks total volume of data pending replication.
  • Metrics are grouped into time buckets like 0-5 min, 10-15 min, and >24 hours to help users assess SLA compliance.
  • Azure Portal experience helps monitor and troubleshoot delays.
  • Replication status of individual blobs can be checked to confirm completeness.

Getting Started

Feedback & Support

Email questions or feedback: priorityreplication@microsoft.com

Updated: Nov 10, 2025
Version: 1.0

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