Configure Azure Blob Storage

Azure Blob Storage is a service for storing large amounts of unstructured object data, such as text or binary data, that can be accessed from anywhere in the world via HTTP or HTTPS. It is a key topic in the AZ-104 Microsoft Azure Administrator Certification Exam and understanding how to configure it is essential.

Azure Blob Storage provides the concept of “containers” that are similar to directories in a file system. A storage account can contain an unlimited number of containers, and a container can store an unlimited number of blobs.

Creating a Storage Account

Before you create Blob Storage, you must first create a storage account. This can be done using the Azure Portal, Azure CLI, or Azure PowerShell. For this demonstration, we will use the Azure Portal:

• Sign in to the Azure portal.
• On the left-hand menu, click on ‘All services’.
• In the ‘Storage’ section, click on ‘Storage accounts’.
• On the new window, click on the ‘Add’ button at the top left.
• Fill the form with the appropriate details: subscription, resource group, storage account name, location, etc.
• Click on ‘Review + Create’, then on the ‘Create’ button.

Creating a Container

After creating a storage account, you can create a blob container. In the Azure Portal:

• Go to your newly created storage account.
• Click on the ‘Container’ option.
• Click on the ‘+ Container’ button at the top.
• Name your container according to your preferred naming convention.
• Choose the access level that is appropriate for your needs.

Creating and Uploading Blobs

Upon successful creation of a container, you can now create and upload blobs. This can be done in several ways. Using the Azure Portal for instance:

• Go to your container inside your storage account.
• Click on the ‘Upload’ button.
• Click on the folder button to choose the file to upload.
• Click on the ‘Upload’ button to upload the file.

Accessing Blobs

Blobs can be accessed in several ways depending on the public access level set for the container.

If public level access is set to Private (no anonymous access), then access to blobs will require the account key or a Shared Access Signature.

If the public level access is set to Blob (anonymous read access for blobs only) or Container (anonymous read access for containers and blobs), the blobs can be accessed anonymously over the internet using HTTP or HTTPS.

For instance:

https://myaccount.blob.core.windows.net/mycontainer/myblob

Configuring Firewalls and Virtual Networks

You can secure your blobs by configuring firewalls and virtual networks for your storage account. You can allow or deny connections to your storage account based on the network they’re coming from.

To configure a firewall:

• Go to your storage account in the Azure portal.
• Click on ‘Firewalls and virtual networks’ under ‘Settings’.
• Specify the ‘Allow access from’ option.
• Add the IP addresses or IP ranges.
• Click on ‘Save’.

To configure a virtual network:

• Go to your storage account in the Azure portal.
• Click on ‘Firewalls and virtual networks’ under ‘Settings’.
• Click on ‘Add existing virtual network’ or ‘Add new virtual network’.
• Select the subscription and the virtual network.
• Click on ‘Add’.
• Click on ‘Save’.

Understanding these basic procedures in configuring Azure Blob Storage is an integral part of preparing for the AZ-104 Microsoft Azure Administrator Certification Exam. The exam also covers more complex issues such as replication, encryption, and data protection, requiring more in-depth study of the Azure Blob Storage.

Practice Test

True or False: You can enable public access to an Azure Blob Storage.

• True
• False

Answer: True

Explanation: Azure Blob Storage allows you to enable public read access to your files.

Which of the following options can be used for managing Azure Blob data? (Multiple Select)

• A. Azure Storage Explorer
• B. Azure portal
• C. PowerShell
• D. SQL Server Management Studio

Answer: A, B, C

Explanation: Azure Storage Explorer, Azure portal and PowerShell are among methods used in managing Azure Blob data. SQL Server Management Studio is not relevant in this scenario as it is primarily used for managing relational databases.

Which tool can be used to monitor Azure Blob Storage performance?

• A. Azure Activity Log
• B. Azure Monitor
• C. Azure Traffic Manager
• D. Azure Cost Management

Answer: B. Azure Monitor

Explanation: Azure Monitor can be used to collect, analyze, and act on telemetry from your cloud and on-premises environments to monitor the performance and usage of Azure Blob Storage.

True or False: Azure Blob Storage Service only supports standard storage tier.

• True
• False

Answer: False.

Explanation: Apart from the Standard tier, Azure Blob Storage also supports Premium and Archive storage tier.

What is the purpose of a container in Azure Blob Storage?

• A. To act as a parent for a storage account
• B. To act as a partition for blob data
• C. To store metadata about a blob
• D. To act as a storage for virtual machines

Answer: B. To act as a partition for blob data

Explanation: A container organizes a set of blobs, similar to a directory in a file system.

What data types are supported by Azure Blob Storage? (Multiple Select)

• A. Block blobs
• B. Append blobs
• C. Page blobs
• D. Stream blobs

Answer: A, B, C

Explanation: Azure Blob Storage supports Block blobs, Append blobs, and Page blobs. Stream blob is not a supported blob type.

True or False: Azure Blob Storage can be used to back up data for disaster recovery.

• True
• False

Answer: True.

Explanation: Azure Blob Storage can be used to store data for backup, restore, and disaster recovery purposes.

What is Azure Blob Storage lifecycle management?

• A. A feature to optimize costs by transitioning blobs to the best access tier
• B. A feature to monitor blob storage
• C. A feature to encrypt blob storage
• D. A feature to increase storage capacity.

Answer: A. A feature to optimize costs by transitioning blobs to the best access tier

Explanation: The lifecycle management in Azure Storage allows you to automatically transition your data to the best access tier and archive infrequently accessed data at a low cost.

Which of the following services can be integrated with Azure Blob Storage for data analysis?

• A. Azure Analysis Services
• B. Azure Stream Analytics
• C. Azure Machine Learning
• D. All of the above

Answer: D. All of the above

Explanation: You can integrate Azure Analysis Services, Azure Stream Analytics, and Azure Machine Learning with Azure Blob Storage to analyze your data.

True or False: Azure Blob Storage supports server-side encryption.

• True
• False

Answer: True.

Explanation: Azure Storage Service Encryption (SSE) allows for automatic encryption at rest and it happens server-side.

Can you store video contents in Azure Blob Storage?

• A. Yes
• B. No

Answer: A. Yes

Explanation: Azure Blob Storage can be used to store any type of data including text files, images, and video content.

What type of blob storage is best for storing large amounts of text or binary data?

• A. Block blobs
• B. Append blobs
• C. Page blobs
• D. All of the above

Answer: A. Block blobs

Explanation: Block blobs are ideal for storing text and binary data in the cloud, like files, images, and blobs.

True or False: All Azure blobs must be inside a container.

• True
• False

Answer: True.

Explanation: In Azure Blob Storage, blobs must always be inside a container, similar how files must be inside a folder in a file system.

What data type is best for storing virtual machine disk files in Azure Blob Storage?

• A. Block blobs
• B. Append blobs
• C. Page blobs
• D. All of the above

Answer: C. Page blobs

Explanation: Page blobs are a collection of 512-byte pages optimized for read/write operations. This makes them suitable for storing virtual machine disk files.

True or False: Azure Blob Storage does not support data replication.

• True
• False

Answer: False.

Explanation: Azure Blob Storage supports multiple data replication options such as Local Redundancy Storage (LRS), Zone-Redundant Storage (ZRS), Geo-Redundant Storage (GRS), and Read-access Geo-Redundant Storage (RA-GRS).

Interview Questions

What is Azure Blob Storage?

Azure Blob Storage is Microsoft’s object storage solution for the cloud. Blob storage is optimized for storing massive amounts of unstructured data, such as text or binary data.

What are the different types of blobs supported in Azure Storage?

The different types of blobs supported in Azure Storage are block blobs, append blobs and page blobs.

What is the significance of a storage account in Azure Blob Storage?

A storage account provides a unique namespace in Azure for data. Every object that is stored in Azure Storage has an address that includes the name of the storage account.

How can you secure data in Azure Blob storage?

Data in Azure Blob storage can be secured by using Azure Active Directory (Azure AD), managing access with shared access signatures (SAS), setting public access level for containers, and using service endpoints for Azure VNet.

What is a blob container in Azure Storage?

A blob container is a logical set of blobs. All blobs reside within a container.

What is the use of Azure Blob Storage Lifecycle Management?

Azure Blob Storage Lifecycle Management allows you to create rule-based policies that move your data to the appropriate access tiers or expire at the end of the data’s lifecycle.

How would you automate data movement based on an object’s age in Azure Blob storage?

The automation of data movement based on an object’s age in Azure Blob storage is achieved through blob lifecycle management.

What is Azure Blob Storage redundancy?

Azure Blob Storage redundancy enables your data to be replicated across different locations, enhancing durability and availability. The options include Locally redundant storage (LRS), Zone-redundant storage (ZRS), Geo-redundant storage (GRS), and Read-access geo-redundant storage (RA-GRS).

How can you interact with Azure Blob Storage?

Users can interact with Azure Blob Storage through Azure Portal, Azure PowerShell, Azure CLI, and Azure Storage Client Libraries.

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

A Shared Access Signature (SAS) provides secure delegated access to resources in a storage account. With SAS, you have granular control over how a client can access your data.

What is a block blob?

Block blobs are composed of blocks, each of which is identified by a block ID. You use block blobs when you have large amounts of binary or text data like a video file, an image file, or a log file.

What is a page blob?

Page blobs are a collection of pages which are optimized for random read and write operations. These blobs provide the ability to write to a range of bytes in a blob.

What is Azure Blob Storage Account failover?

Azure Blob Storage Account failover enables you to initiate a failover instead of waiting for Microsoft to do it. You might choose to do this if there’s a large-scale outage and recovery time objectives aren’t being met.

Can you restore the previous version of a blob if blob versioning is enabled in Azure Blob storage?

Yes, Azure Blob Storage introduces blob versioning, which automatically maintains previous versions of a blob and lets you restore a prior version if
required.

What is an append blob?

Append blobs are made up of blocks like block blobs, but they are optimized for append operations, allowing you to append to the end of a blob without having to read it first. Append blobs are perfect for logging data from virtual machines.