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Storage Types

Types of Storage in Azure

1. Azure File Storage

Definition: Azure File Storage provides fully managed file shares in the cloud, accessible via SMB (Server Message Block) or NFS protocols. It’s like having a network drive in the cloud.

Key Features:

Feature Details
Access Protocol SMB 3.0 (for Windows/Linux), NFS 4.1 (premium tier).
Structure Folders and files (like a traditional file system).
Persistence Fully persistent, replicated.
Mounting Can mount directly to VMs, Azure Kubernetes, or local machines.
Typical Use Cases Lift-and-shift apps, shared storage for VMs, legacy apps needing a file system interface.

Example Use Case:

  • Shared logs folder for multiple Azure VMs.
  • Migrating on-premises applications that rely on file shares.

2. Azure Queue Storage

Definition: Azure Queue Storage provides a messaging queue for asynchronous communication between components of an application. Each message is stored for up to 7 days by default.

Key Features:

Feature Details
Structure A queue is a collection of messages. Each message is up to 64 KB.
Access REST API or Azure SDKs.
Persistence Messages are durably stored until dequeued or expired.
Processing Pattern FIFO-ish (first-in, first-out), but not guaranteed.
Typical Use Cases Decoupling application components, task scheduling, background jobs, buffering workloads.

Example Use Case:

  • A web app pushes tasks into a queue; a worker VM dequeues and processes them asynchronously.
  • Event-driven data pipelines.

3. Azure Table Storage

Definition: Azure Table Storage is a NoSQL key-value store for structured, semi-structured data. It’s highly scalable, low-latency, and schema-less.

Key Features:

Feature Details
Structure Tables → PartitionKey + RowKey + properties (columns).
Schema Schema-less; each row can have different properties.
Access REST API, SDKs, or OData.
Querying Efficient on PartitionKey + RowKey; limited secondary indexing.
Typical Use Cases Storing metadata, logs, IoT telemetry, lightweight structured datasets.

Example Use Case:

  • Storing IoT device readings (temperature, humidity) with timestamp.
  • Metadata store for blobs or files.
  • User session data in web applications.

4. Quick Comparison

Feature File Storage Queue Storage Table Storage
Type File system Messaging queue NoSQL key-value store
Access SMB/NFS REST API / SDK REST API / SDK
Data Structure Files & directories Messages Rows (PartitionKey + RowKey)
Use Case Shared storage, lift-and-shift apps Decoupled messaging, async tasks Structured/semi-structured data, logs, metadata
Persistence Durable Durable until read/expire Durable

✅ Summary / Guidance:

  • File Storage → Use when you need a traditional file system in the cloud.
  • Queue Storage → Use for decoupling components, async processing, or buffering workloads.
  • Table Storage → Use for scalable NoSQL storage with structured/semi-structured data.

1. What is Immutable Blob Storage?

Immutable Blob Storage is a type of Azure Storage account or configuration that prevents modification or deletion of blobs for a specified retention period.

  • Once a blob is written, it cannot be changed or deleted until the retention period expires.
  • Useful for compliance, regulatory, and audit requirements, e.g., finance, healthcare, or legal data.

2. Key Concepts

Concept Description
Immutability Policy Rules that define how long a blob is protected (e.g., 30 days, 365 days).
Legal Hold Option to indefinitely prevent deletion until explicitly removed.
Retention Period Duration (in days) for which blobs cannot be modified or deleted.
Write Once, Read Many (WORM) The blob can be read many times, but written only once.

3. Types of Immutable Policies

  1. Time-based retention

  2. Blobs cannot be modified or deleted for a fixed period.

  3. Example: 90-day retention for financial transactions.

  4. Legal hold

  5. Prevents modification/deletion indefinitely until legal hold is cleared.

  6. Often used in audits or legal investigations.

4. How it Works in Azure Blob Storage

  • Create a container in a storage account that supports immutability (must be a general-purpose v2 storage account).
  • Enable immutable storage on the container.

  • Apply a policy:

  • Time-based retention → specify days.

  • Legal hold → optionally apply.

  • Once a blob is uploaded:

  • It cannot be deleted or overwritten until the retention period expires.

  • Reads are allowed.

Important: Only newly uploaded blobs are protected. Existing blobs can be migrated into immutable containers if needed.

5. Use Cases

Scenario Why Immutable Storage?
Financial transaction logs Regulatory compliance (SOX, SEC, FINRA)
Healthcare records HIPAA compliance
Legal or audit archives Prevent tampering or accidental deletion
Backup data Ensure backups are safe from ransomware

6. Creating Immutable Blob Storage (Azure Portal)

  1. Go to Storage Account → Containers → + Container.
  2. Set Access level (private / blob).

  3. After creating the container:

  4. Go to Container → Immutable blob storage → Policies.

  5. Add Time-based retention (e.g., 365 days).
  6. Optionally, add a Legal hold.
  7. Upload blobs → they are now write-once, read-many (WORM).

7. Creating via Azure CLI

# Create a container
az storage container create \
    --name immutable-container \
    --account-name mystorageacct

# Set time-based immutability policy (e.g., 90 days)
az storage container immutability-policy create \
    --account-name mystorageacct \
    --container-name immutable-container \
    --period 90 \
    --allow-protected-append-writes true

--allow-protected-append-writes allows append operations (for logs) without breaking immutability.

✅ Summary

  • Immutable Blob Storage ensures write-once, read-many (WORM) behavior.
  • Supports time-based retention or legal hold.
  • Protects critical data from accidental or malicious deletion.
  • Common in compliance-heavy industries.