Azure Storage

Services
Storage Account
Table of Contents :

• Storage Account
• Types of Storage
• Access Tiers
• Replication Types
Storage Types :

Azure Storage is a cloud storage solution provided by Microsoft Azure, offering a range of
storage services to meet various needs of businesses and developers. These services include
Blob storage, File storage, Queue storage, Table storage, and Disk storage.
Blob Storage:

•Blob storage is optimized for storing massive amounts of unstructured data, such as text or
binary data.

•It is ideal for serving documents, images, videos, and other media files to users over the
internet.

•Blob storage offers three types of blobs: block blobs, append blobs, and page blobs, each
designed for specific use cases.

•It supports hot, cool, and archive access tiers, allowing users to optimize costs based on the
access frequency of their data.
Picture Represents Blob storage Access Tires and Blob Types.
1.Block Blobs:
1. Block blobs are optimized for storing large amounts of data, such as documents, images, videos, and
backups.
2. They are comprised of blocks of data, which can be individually managed and uploaded in parallel to
improve performance.
3. Block blobs are ideal for scenarios where data is appended or updated frequently, as they support
efficient block-level updates.
2.Append Blobs:
1. Append blobs are optimized for scenarios where data needs to be appended to an existing blob, such
as log files, streaming data, or telemetry data.
2. They support only appending new data to the end of the blob, making them suitable for scenarios
where data is continuously added over time.
3. Append blobs are highly efficient for write-heavy workloads, as they minimize the overhead
associated with updating existing data.
3.Page Blobs:
1. Page blobs are optimized for scenarios that require random access to data, such as virtual hard disks
(VHDs) used by Azure Virtual Machines.
2. They are organized into pages, allowing for efficient read and write operations at the page level.
3. Page blobs support features like snapshots, which enable creating read-only copies of blobs at a point
in time, making them useful for backup and disaster recovery scenarios.
File Storage:
•Azure File Storage provides fully managed file shares in the cloud that can be accessed via the
industry-standard SMB (Server Message Block) protocol.
•It allows organizations to easily lift and shift their on-premises applications that rely on file
shares to the cloud without significant changes.
•Azure File Sync enables synchronization of on-premises file servers with Azure File shares,
providing centralized file services and enabling hybrid cloud scenarios.
Queue Storage:
•Azure Queue Storage is a messaging service that allows decoupling of components in
cloud applications, enabling asynchronous communication between them.
•It is well-suited for building scalable and resilient applications, handling tasks such as
offloading processing, load leveling, and implementing workflows.
•Queue messages can be up to 64 KB in size, making it suitable for passing small
pieces of data between components.
Use Cases:

•Decoupling Components:

•Allows different parts of an application to communicate without needing to be directly connected. For
example, a web application can place a message in a queue that triggers background processing by a separate
worker service.

Example Scenarios:

E-commerce Application:
•When an order is placed, a message can be queued for order processing. Another service can read from the
queue, process the order, and update inventory and shipping status.

Log Aggregation:
•Applications can send log messages to a queue. A separate logging service can read from the queue and write
logs to a database or file system for later analysis.

Key Features:

FIFO Ordering:
•Messages are typically processed in the order they are added to the queue (First In, First Out). This ensures
that messages are handled in the sequence they were received.
Table Storage:
•Azure Table Storage is a NoSQL data store that provides schema-less storage of
structured data.
•It is well-suited for storing semi-structured data, such as logs, metrics, and sensor
data, with high scalability and low latency.
•Table storage supports massive scale and can handle large volumes of data, making
it suitable for applications that require fast and flexible data access.
Disk Storage:
•Azure Disk Storage offers managed disks that provide scalable and high-performance block
storage for Azure Virtual Machines.
•It supports both HDD (Hard Disk Drive) and SSD (Solid-State Drive) disks, allowing users
to choose the appropriate disk type based on their performance and cost requirements.
•Managed disks simplify disk management by handling disk provisioning, resizing, and high
availability, thus reducing administrative overhead.
Azure Storage offers several replication options to ensure data redundancy, high
availability, and durability. These replication options include:

• Locally Redundant Storage (LRS):

LRS copies your data synchronously three times within a single physical
location in the primary region. LRS is the least expensive replication option,
but isn't recommended for applications requiring high availability or
durability.
• Zone-Redundant Storage (ZRS):

ZRS copies your data synchronously across three Azure availability zones
in the primary region. For applications requiring high availability,
Microsoft recommends using ZRS in the primary region, and also
replicating to a secondary region.
• Geo-Redundant Storage (GRS):

copies your data synchronously three times within a single physical

location in the primary region using LRS. It then copies your data
asynchronously to a single physical location in the secondary region.
Within the secondary region, your data is copied synchronously three times
using LRS.
• Geo-Zone-Redundant Storage (GZRS):
GZRS copies your data synchronously across three Azure availability zones
in the primary region using ZRS. It then copies your data asynchronously to a
single physical location in the secondary region. Within the secondary region,
your data is copied synchronously three times using LRS.
• Read-Access Geo-Redundant Storage (RA-GRS):
1. RA-GRS provides the same replication capabilities as GRS but with the additional
benefit of read access to the secondary region.
2. This allows you to read data from the secondary region for read-only operations, such as
analytics or reporting, while still maintaining data redundancy and disaster recovery
capabilities.
3. RA-GRS is suitable for scenarios where read access to data in the secondary region is
required for business continuity or compliance reasons.
Choosing the appropriate replication option depends on factors such as data
redundancy requirements, compliance regulations, cost considerations, and
geographic distribution of users.
Thank you