Azure Storage Accounts

What is an Azure Storage Account?

An Azure Storage account provides a unique namespace in Azure for your data. This namespace is accessible from anywhere in the world over HTTP or HTTPS. A storage account contains all of your Azure Storage data objects, including:

• Blobs (object storage)
• Files (shared file systems)
• Queues (messaging)
• Tables (NoSQL datastore)
• Disks (for Azure Virtual Machines)

The type of storage account you choose depends on your specific needs. Azure offers several types, each optimized for different scenarios:

Types of Storage Accounts

Azure Storage offers various types of storage accounts, each with its own characteristics and intended use cases:

• General-purpose v2 (GPv2) accounts: These are the recommended general-purpose storage accounts for most scenarios. They support all the latest features and are optimized for performance. GPv2 accounts provide access to all the data services (Blobs, Files, Queues, Tables) and support the latest storage features and functionalities.
• Blob storage accounts: Optimized for storing massive amounts of unstructured data like text or binary data. This includes images, documents, streaming media, backup data, and data for analysis. Blob storage offers different access tiers (Hot, Cool, Archive) to optimize costs.
• File storage accounts: Provide fully managed cloud file shares that are accessible via the industry-standard Server Message Block (SMB) protocol. Azure Files can be mounted concurrently by cloud or on-premises Windows, Linux, and macOS operating systems.
• Queue storage accounts: Used for storing large numbers of messages that can be accessed from anywhere in the world. This is ideal for building applications that require asynchronous processing.
• Table storage accounts: Used for storing large amounts of structured, non-relational data. Table storage is a NoSQL key-attribute store that allows for faster development and quicker iteration on unstructured or semi-structured data.

Key Features and Benefits

• Durability and High Availability: Azure Storage offers multiple redundancy options (LRS, GRS, RA-GRS) to ensure your data is always accessible and protected against hardware failures.
• Scalability: Designed to handle massive amounts of data, Azure Storage can scale to meet the demands of your applications.
• Security: Azure Storage provides robust security features, including access control, encryption at rest and in transit, and network security options.
• Cost-Effectiveness: With various pricing tiers and performance options, you can optimize costs based on your data access patterns and performance requirements.
• Global Reach: Access your data from anywhere in the world through REST APIs or SDKs.

Getting Started

To begin using Azure Storage, you'll need an Azure subscription. You can create a storage account directly from the Azure portal, using PowerShell, or via the Azure CLI.

Here's a simplified example of creating a storage account using the Azure CLI:

az storage account create \
    --name mystorageaccountname \
    --resource-group myresourcegroup \
    --location westus2 \
    --sku Standard_LRS \
    --kind StorageV2
            

Once your storage account is created, you can start creating containers and uploading your data.

Learn More

Explore the following sections to dive deeper into specific Azure Storage services:

• Azure Blob Storage
• Azure Files
• Azure Queue Storage
• Azure Table Storage