Many organizations now require some data to be stored in the cloud because it is faster to access from anywhere.
One of the most popular use cases for Azure Storage is as a data store for applications. Azure Storage can store data generated by applications, like logs, user data, and application configuration. Applications can fluently access the data stored in Azure Storage, which can help reduce the load on the application’s database. Also, by storing the data in Azure Storage, applications can scale more easily, as the data store can be scaled up or down as needed.
In terms of cost, Azure Storage is very affordable, making it an attractive option for businesses of all sizes. The pricing model is based on the amount of data stored, the number of requests made to the storage service, and the type of storage used. Also, users can take advantage of the Azure Hybrid Benefit, which allows them to save money by using existing licenses for Windows Server and SQL Server with Azure.
What is an Azure Storage Account?
Azure Storage Account is a service provided by Microsoft.
- It offers scalable, highly available, and cost-effective object, blob, file, and table data storage.
- It helps store and manage large amounts of unstructured and structured data in the cloud, which can be accessed through REST APIs.
- The storage account acts as a central repository, allowing you to store and manage large amounts of data in the cloud.
Types of Access Tiers
- Hot storage (Default): It is used for storing data that is accessed frequently.
- Cool Storage: It is used for storing data, but is not accessed frequently and stored for at least 30 days.
- Archive Storage: It is used for storing rarely accessed data for a minimum of 180 days.
Types of Azure Storage Accounts
- General-purpose V1 Account: It provides access to all Azure Storage services like blobs, files, queues, and tables but does not have the latest features. There are no supported access tiers.
- General-purpose V2 Account: Basic storage account types for blobs, files, queues, and tables are recommended for most scenarios using Azure Storage. It supports access tiers.
- Premium block blobs: Premium storage account type for block blobs and append blobs It only supports blob storage. It does not support geo-redundant storage; it only supports locally redundant storage and zone redundant storage for redundancy.
- Premium file shares: Premium storage accounts are only available for file shares. It only works with Azure Files and does not support geo-redundant storage. However, it supports the Data Lake Storage with locally redundant storage and zone redundant storage for redundancy.
Types of Azure Storage Services: -
- Azure Containers / Blobs: It is useful to store huge amounts of unstructured data stored to keep text and binary data.There are three types of blobs: -
- Block Blobs: Block blobs are used to store large amounts of unstructured data, such as text and binary data. They are used for uploading and downloading large files.
- Page Blobs: Page blobs are similar to block blobs, but are optimized for random read and write operations. They are used to store virtual hard disk (VHD) files for Azure virtual machines.
- Append Blobs: Append blobs are similar to block blobs. They are used to store logs and other append-only data, adding new data at the end of the blob.
- Azure Files: This file service is used for sharing files in the cloud or on-premises via the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol.
- Azure Queue: It is a messaging store for consistent messaging between application components.
- Azure Tables: They are used for a NoSQL store for schema-less storage of structured data.
Types of Azure Storage Redundancy
- Locally redundant storage (LRS): The data is replicated and synced three times in one data center in a region. It has a service level agreement (SLA) of 99.99 % for a year.
- Zone redundant storage (ZRS): The data is replicated and synced three times in multiple data centers within a zone in the same region. It has a service level agreement (SLA) of 99.99 percent for a year.
- Geo-redundant storage (GRS): The data is replicated and synced three times in multiple data centers in the primary and secondary regions asynchronously. It's given 99.99 % service level agreement (SLA) over a year
- Read-access geo-redundant storage (RA-GRS): The data is replicated and synced three times in multiple data center in the primary region as well as Secondary region asynchronously. Allowing read access from the second region.
Azure Storage is a highly scalable, highly available, and cost-effective solution for storing data in the cloud. Whether you need to store data for applications, backups, or archiving, Azure Storage provides a powerful, flexible, and secure result.
For more questions on Azure storage, you can contact the Microsoft Azure-certified professionals at MetaSys Software. Our Azure services portfolio includes new product development, application modernization, application migration, windows integration, web application development, and Azure consulting. Get in touch now!