ADS 12 Azure Cloud Storage Introduction

What is Azure Blob Storage?

A massively scalable object storage solution by Microsoft for text and binary data in the cloud.

What types of data does Azure Blob Storage support?

Unstructured data such as text, images, and videos; supports Big Data analytics via Data Lake Storage Gen2.

What are common use cases for Azure Blob Storage?

Serving images/documents to browsers, storing files for distributed systems, streaming media, backup/disaster recovery, data analysis.

How can you access Azure Blob Storage globally?

Through HTTP/HTTPS via Direct URLs, REST API, Azure PowerShell, Azure CLI, or client libraries (.NET, Java, Node.js, Python, PHP, Ruby).

What are key characteristics of Azure Blob Storage?

Massively scalable, cloud-native, secure, globally accessible, integrates with Azure Data Lake Gen2.

What is Azure Files?

Managed file shares in the cloud, accessible from cloud and on-premises using SMB protocol.

Which protocol does Azure Files use?

SMB (Server Message Block) - supports read/write access by multiple VMs simultaneously.

How can Azure Files be accessed?

Through SMB protocol, REST interface, or Azure Storage client libraries.

What is a Shared Access Signature (SAS) token in Azure Files?

A temporary, secure URL that grants limited access to private files.

What are the use cases for Azure Files?

Lift & shift legacy apps, shared config files for VMs, dev tools access, log and crash dump analysis.

What are key features of Azure Files?

Fully managed, highly available, multi-access, cross-platform (Windows, Linux, macOS), fine-grained access via SAS.

What is Azure Table Storage?

A NoSQL service for storing structured, non-relational data in the cloud.

What is the data model used in Azure Table Storage?

Key/attribute pairs in a schemaless format.

What are key features of Azure Table Storage?

Schemaless design, cost-effective, highly scalable, supports multiple tables per storage account.

What are common use cases for Azure Table Storage?

User profiles, contact lists, device/app metadata, and configuration settings.

What are the benefits of Azure Table Storage?

Fast access, low cost, flexible data modeling, cloud-native scalability.

What is Azure Disk Storage?

Block-level storage used as virtual hard disks (VHDs) for Azure Virtual Machines (VMs).

What type of disk is used in Azure Disk Storage?

Managed disks - Azure handles replication, scaling, and maintenance.

How is data stored in Azure Disks?

As page blobs optimized for random I/O operations.

What are the types of Azure Disks based on performance?

Standard HDD, Standard SSD, Premium SSD, Ultra Disk.

What are key features of Azure Disks?

Fully managed, durable, high-performance, encrypted at rest, VM-attachable like physical disks.