# Ensure Redundancy Is Set to 'Geo-Redundant Storage (GRS)' on Critical Azure Storage Accounts

- Source: https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/62000234839-ensure-redundancy-is-set-to-geo-redundant-storage-grs-on-critical-azure-storage-accounts
- Section: [Solutions](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions) › [Azure Storage Services Benchmark v1.0.0](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/62000112694) › [Azure Storage Services Benchmark](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/folders/62000169262)
- Last updated: 2026-05-29
- Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com)

Profile Applicability:

-    **Level 2**

Description:  
 Geo-Redundant Storage (GRS) replicates data synchronously within the primary region and asynchronously to a secondary geographic region hundreds of miles away. Setting redundancy to GRS ensures that critical Azure Storage Accounts maintain high availability and durability even in the event of a regional outage.

Rationale:  
 Using GRS protects against regional disasters by providing automatic failover to a secondary region, enhancing business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities. This level of redundancy supports compliance with resiliency and data protection requirements.

Impact:

Pros:  

-   Provides high durability with geographic replication.  
    
-   Enhances disaster recovery and business continuity.  
    
-   Meets stringent regulatory and compliance needs.  
    

Cons:  

-   Incurs higher costs compared to locally redundant storage.  
    
-   Potential latency due to asynchronous replication.  
    

Default Value:  
 Many storage accounts default to locally redundant storage (LRS) unless specified.

Pre-requisites:

-   Azure subscription with permissions to configure storage account redundancy.  
    
-   Identification of critical storage accounts requiring GRS.  
    

### Remediation

Test Plan:

**Using Azure Portal:**

1.  Sign in to [https://portal.azure.com](https://portal.azure.com/).  
    
2.  Navigate to the Storage Account.  
    
3.  Under Configuration or Replication, verify that Geo-Redundant Storage (GRS) is selected.
    

**Using Azure CLI:**

1.  Check redundancy setting:  
    
    \# az storage account show --name <storage-account-name> --resource-group <resource-group> --query sku.name
    
2.  Confirm the output includes Standard\_GRS or Premium\_ZRS with geo-replication enabled.
    

### Implementation Plan

**Using Azure Portal:**

1.  Change the storage account redundancy setting to Geo-Redundant Storage (GRS).  
    
2.  Save and verify the configuration.  
    

**Using Azure CLI:**

1.  Update redundancy to GRS:  
    
    \# az storage account update --name <storage-account-name> --resource-group <resource-group> --sku Standard\_GRS
    
2.  Confirm the update.  
    

### Backout Plan

**Using Azure Portal:**

1.  Revert redundancy to a lower tier if required (e.g., Locally Redundant Storage).  
    
2.  Inform stakeholders of the change.  
    

**Using Azure CLI:**

Update redundancy to LRS:

\# az storage account update --name <storage-account-name> --resource-group <resource-group> --sku Standard\_LRS

[References:  
](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/common/storage-redundancy)

-   [Azure Storage redundancy options](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/common/storage-redundancy)
-   [Choose a replication strategy  
    ](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/common/storage-redundancy#choosing-a-replication-strategy)

## Related compliance guidance

- [SOC 2 compliance: a practical implementation guide for cloud-native SaaS teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria): Configuration checks like this one are the technical half of a SOC 2 / ISO 27001 programme — the guide shows where they fit, what else an auditor expects, and how to evidence them.
- [ISO/IEC 27001:2022 compliance: a practical implementation guide](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022): ISO 27001 Annex A.8 (technological controls) is where cloud hardening evidence lands; the guide shows how to run the ISMS around it.