Azure Blob Storage is a core feature within an Azure Storage Account. It allows you to store large amounts of unstructured data such as images, documents, and videos.
What Is a Storage Account?
A Storage Account is a logical container in Azure that holds your storage services. This includes blob storage, file shares, queues, and tables. In the context of blob storage:
- A Storage Account can contain one or more containers.
- Each container holds multiple blobs.
- A blob is a Binary Large Object, used to store files like videos, documents, and backups.
Note – don’t confuse the term “container” with Azure Container Instances. They are entirely different concepts, although they can work together.
Storage accounts are designed to be:
- Secure – supports Azure RBAC and private endpoints.
- Highly available – supports replication across zones or regions.
- Durable – protects data from hardware failures.
- Massively scalable – suitable for enterprise workloads.
Types of Blobs
Azure Blob Storage supports different types of blobs, each optimized for different use cases:
Block Blobs
- Made up of blocks of data.
- Ideal for storing large files that do not change often, like videos and images.
- Best suited for serving web assets or app content.
Append Blobs
- Optimized for append operations.
- Supports files that are continually added to, such as logs.
- Cannot be updated or deleted in place.
- Each append blob can grow up to about 195 GB.
Use Cases for Blob Storage
Blob storage can be used for:
- Hosting images or documents for websites or applications.
- Streaming video or audio.
- Providing file access from applications or Virtual Machines (VMs).
- Backup and archiving solutions.
- Integration with Azure services or on-premises applications.
Blob storage is designed to serve a wide range of industries, from media streaming to enterprise backup.
Storage Account Options
When creating a storage account, you can configure:
- Performance tier (Standard or Premium)
- Replication type (Locally-redundant, Geo-redundant)
- Access tiers (Hot, Cool, Archive)
- Networking and security options, including private endpoints and firewalls
These settings help tailor the storage account to your application’s needs in terms of performance, cost, and compliance.
Conclusion
Azure Blob Storage offers powerful capabilities for storing unstructured data in the cloud. With its different blob types, secure containers, and flexible access tiers, it’s a reliable and scalable choice for many business needs.
To learn more about how blob storage works in real-world Azure deployments, check out our AZ-900 video course and follow along with practical demonstrations, or go back to our AZ-900 Topic List.
Please click here to find out more about Microsoft’s AZ-900 exam.
