Azure storage types

Azure Storage is a Microsoft Azure cloud storage service that provides a variety of storage options for structured and unstructured data, such as files, documents, images, audio, video, and more. Azure Storage is built to be scalable, durable, and highly available, making it a dependable option for storing and accessing data from anywhere.

Azure Storage is divided into four categories, each with its own set of features and capabilities:

1. Azure Blob Storage: Azure Blob Storage is a service that allows you to store large amounts of unstructured data like images, audio, video, and documents. Blobs can be stored in containers, which can hold an infinite number of blobs. Blobs can be accessed through HTTP or HTTPS and managed through the Azure Storage API or Azure Storage Client Libraries.
2. Azure File Storage: Azure File Storage is a service that allows you to store files that can be shared among multiple VMs and accessed via the SMB protocol. Shares hold files, and each share can hold an unlimited number of files. Azure File Storage can be used to store application data, log files, and other types of files that must be shared among VMs.
3. Azure Table Storage: Azure Table Storage is a service that allows you to store structured NoSQL data as tables. Tables are partitioned, and each partition can store an infinite number of entities (rows). Table Storage is well-suited to storing large amounts of structured data that must be queried and accessed quickly.
4. Azure Queue Storage: Azure Queue Storage is a service for storing large numbers of messages that can be accessed via HTTP or HTTPS from anywhere in the world. Queues are used to store and transmit messages between different components of an application, and they can be used to build asynchronous workflows or to decouple application components.

Azure also provides other storage options, such as Azure Disk Storage for storing virtual hard disks (VHDs) and Azure Data Lake Storage for storing large amounts of data in a Hadoop-compatible file system.

Now, let’s take a closer look at each of these storage options.

Azure Blob Storage

Azure Blob Storage is a cloud storage service for large amounts of unstructured data. Blobs of any type and size, up to 4.75 TB, can be accessed via HTTP or HTTPS. Blobs are stored in containers, which can hold an infinite number of blobs.

Blobs can be used to store images, audio, video, and documents, among other things. They can be accessed through the Azure Storage API or Azure Storage Client Libraries, both of which are available for a variety of programming languages. Blobs can also be accessed via Azure Blob Storage Explorer, a tool that allows you to browse and manage blobs via a graphical user interface.

Azure Blob Storage includes several features to assist you in storing and managing your data, including:

• Three different storage tiers: Hot, Cool, and Archive. The Hot tier stores frequently accessed data, the Cool tier stores infrequently accessed data, and the Archive tier stores rarely accessed data. This allows you to optimize your storage costs based on your data’s access patterns.

• Versioning: Versioning in Azure Blob Storage allows you to store multiple versions of a blob and retrieve any version at any time. This is useful for tracking data changes or recovering from accidental deletion or overwriting.
  
• Lifecycle management: Azure Blob Storage includes a lifecycle management feature that allows you to define rules for moving data between storage tiers or deleting data after a specified time period. This can assist you in lowering your storage costs and ensuring that you are only paying for the data you require.

Azure File Storage

Azure File Storage is a service that stores files that can be shared among multiple virtual machines (VMs) and accessed via the SMB protocol. Shares hold files, and each share can hold an unlimited number of files. Azure File Storage can be used to store application data, log files, and other types of files that must be shared among VMs.

Azure File Storage provides several features to assist you in storing and managing your data, including:

• High availability: Azure File Storage is built to be highly available, with redundancy and failover built in. This ensures that your files are always available, even if there are hardware failures or other interruptions.
• Scalability: Azure File Storage is designed to scale up or down in response to your needs, allowing you to store as much data as you need without having to worry about capacity planning.
• Secure access: Azure File Storage supports secure file access via SMB 3.0, which includes encryption and multi-factor authentication.
• Integration with Azure Storage Sync: You can use Azure Storage Sync to synchronize your file shares with local file servers, allowing you to access your data from anywhere and keep it in sync across multiple locations.

Azure Table Storage

Azure Table Storage is a service that stores structured NoSQL data as tables. Tables are partitioned, and each partition can store an infinite number of entities (rows). Table Storage is well-suited to storing large amounts of structured data that must be queried and accessed quickly.

Azure Table Storage includes several features to assist you in storing and managing your data, including:

• Scalability: Azure Table Storage is designed to scale up or down based on your requirements, allowing you to store as much data as you require without having to worry about capacity planning.
• Performance: Azure Table Storage has a high performance, handling millions of transactions per second.
• Query capabilities: Azure Table Storage offers a variety of query options, such as filters, projections, and aggregation functions. This enables you to retrieve and analyze data in a variety of ways.
• Integration with Azure Cosmos DB: Azure Table Storage is built on top of Azure Cosmos DB, a globally distributed database service that provides additional features such as global distribution, low latency, and high availability.

Azure Queue Storage

Azure Queue Storage is a service for storing large numbers of messages that can be accessed via HTTP or HTTPS from anywhere in the world. Queues are used to store and transmit messages between different components of an application, and they can be used to build asynchronous workflows or to decouple application components.

Azure Queue Storage includes several features to assist you in storing and managing your data, including:

• Scalability: Azure Queue Storage is designed to scale up or down based on your requirements, allowing you to store as much data as you require without having to worry about capacity planning.
• Performance: Azure Queue Storage has a high performance, handling millions of transactions per second.
• Durability: Azure Queue Storage is built to last, with multiple copies of your data stored in various locations. This ensures that your data is always accessible, even if hardware fails or other disruptions occur.
• Security: Azure Queue Storage provides secure access to your messages via SSL, as well as encryption and access control.

So to summarize, Azure Storage is a robust and adaptable cloud storage service that provides a variety of options for storing structured and unstructured data. It can be difficult to know where to start if you are just beginning your Azure journey, but you can be sure that if you need to store images, audio, video, documents, or other types of data, Azure Storage has a solution for you.