Azure AZ-900 Fundamentals Exam

Examine Azure File Storage

Azure File Storage is a service that allows you to create file shares in the cloud, which can be accessed using the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol. This makes it easy to share files across multiple machines and applications, similar to how you would with a traditional file server. Azure File Storage is particularly useful for scenarios where you need shared storage that can be accessed by multiple virtual machines or applications. One of the key features of Azure File Storage is its support for the SMB protocol, which is widely used for file sharing in Windows environments. This means you can easily integrate Azure File Storage with your existing on-premises infrastructure, making it a great option for hybrid cloud scenarios.

For example, you can use Azure File Sync to synchronize your on-premises file servers with Azure File Storage, ensuring that your data is always available and up-to-date. Azure File Storage is also highly scalable and can handle a large number of simultaneous connections, making it suitable for a wide range of use cases. Whether you need to store and share documents, media files, or application data, Azure File Storage provides a reliable and secure solution. Additionally, it offers features like snapshot support, which allows you to create point-in-time backups of your file shares, ensuring that your data is protected against accidental deletion or corruption.

In summary, Azure File Storage is a versatile and powerful service that provides shared file storage in the cloud. Its support for the SMB protocol and integration with on-premises environments through Azure File Sync make it an excellent choice for hybrid cloud scenarios. With its scalability and robust feature set, Azure File Storage can meet the needs of a wide range of applications and workloads.

Evaluate Azure Table Storage

Azure Table Storage is a service that stores large amounts of structured, non-relational data in the cloud. It is a type of NoSQL datastore that provides a key/attribute store with a schemaless design, making it easy to adapt your data as your application needs evolve. This flexibility is ideal for storing datasets like user data, device information, and metadata. Table Storage is cost-effective and offers fast access to data, typically at a lower cost than traditional SQL databases for similar data volumes. Key Features of Azure Table Storage include its ability to handle large volumes of structured data without the need for complex joins, foreign keys, or stored procedures. It supports quick data queries using a clustered index and allows access via the OData protocol and LINQ queries with WCF Data Service .NET Libraries. This makes it suitable for applications that require scalable, high-performance data storage.

Table Storage Components consist of several elements:

• URL Format: Tables are accessed using a specific URL format.

• Accounts: All access is done through a storage account.

• Tables: Collections of entities that do not enforce a schema.

• Entities: Sets of properties similar to database rows, with each entity having a unique identifier within a partition.

• Properties: Name-value pairs that store data within entities.

Use Cases for Azure Table Storage include storing TBs of structured data for web-scale applications, datasets that can be denormalized for fast access, and scenarios where quick querying of data is essential. It is particularly useful for applications that need to scale as demand increases, providing a robust solution for managing large datasets efficiently.

In summary, Azure Table Storage offers a flexible, scalable, and cost-effective solution for storing and querying large sets of structured, non-relational data. Its schemaless design and support for quick data access make it an excellent choice for various cloud-based applications.

Differentiate Azure Disk Storage

Azure Disk Storage is a key component of Azure's cloud infrastructure, providing block-level storage volumes for Azure Virtual Machines (VMs).

Managed disks are the primary type of disk storage, offering high availability and durability. Managed disks are virtualized, meaning Azure handles the storage management, allowing users to simply specify the disk size and type. The main types of managed disks include Ultra Disks, Premium SSDs, Standard SSDs, and Standard HDDs. Each type has different performance characteristics and use cases, making it important to choose the right one based on your workload requirements.

Ultra Disks are designed for high-performance applications that require low latency and high throughput, such as data-intensive workloads and databases.

Premium SSDs offer high performance and low latency, suitable for production workloads that require consistent performance.

Standard SSDs provide a balance between cost and performance, making them ideal for web servers and lightly used enterprise applications.

Standard HDDs are the most cost-effective option, suitable for backup and non-critical workloads that do not require high performance. Azure managed disks also support availability sets and availability zones, which help ensure high availability and fault tolerance. Availability sets distribute VMs across multiple physical servers, while availability zones provide isolation within a region by using separate datacenters. This setup helps protect applications from hardware failures and datacenter outages. Additionally, managed disks can be integrated with Azure Backup to create time-based backups and retention policies, ensuring data protection and disaster recovery.

Disk performance is another critical aspect of Azure Disk Storage. Performance is determined by the disk type and size, with each type offering different IOPS (input/output operations per second) and throughput limits. For example, Premium SSDs have performance tiers that can be adjusted to meet specific needs, and Ultra Disks offer the highest performance with customizable IOPS and throughput. Azure also provides features like disk bursting for Premium SSDs, allowing temporary performance boosts beyond the provisioned limits.

In summary, Azure Disk Storage offers a range of managed disk options tailored to different performance and cost requirements. By understanding the characteristics and use cases of each disk type, users can effectively choose the right storage solution for their applications. Managed disks provide high availability, scalability, and integration with other Azure services, making them a robust choice for cloud-based workloads.

Understand Azure Blob Storage

Azure Blob Storage is a service designed to store large amounts of unstructured data, such as text or binary data. It is highly scalable and can handle a vast amount of data, making it ideal for various use cases like backup, disaster recovery, and big data analytics. Blob Storage is organized into containers, which are similar to directories, and within these containers, data is stored as blobs.

Access Tiers

Azure Blob Storage offers three access tiers to optimize costs based on how frequently data is accessed:

• Hot Tier: This tier is suitable for data that is accessed frequently. It has a higher storage cost but a lower access cost.

• Cool Tier: This tier is designed for data that is infrequently accessed and stored for at least 30 days. It has a lower storage cost compared to the hot tier but a higher access cost.

• Archive Tier: This tier is for data that is rarely accessed and stored for at least 180 days. It offers the lowest storage cost but the highest access cost, as data needs to be rehydrated before it can be accessed.

Cost Optimization

To optimize costs, it is crucial to choose the most appropriate access tier based on the data usage patterns. For instance, frequently accessed data should be stored in the hot tier, while data that is rarely accessed can be moved to the cool or archive tier. Azure provides tools and guidelines to help estimate the cost savings of using different tiers and to automate the movement of data between tiers using lifecycle management policies.

Data Management

Azure Blob Storage supports various features to manage and organize data efficiently:

• Blob Index Tags: These are user-defined key-value pairs that help categorize and find blobs within containers. They offer flexibility in managing data without changing the container structure.

• Lifecycle Management: Policies can be set to automatically move data between tiers or delete it based on specified conditions, such as the last access time or the age of the data.

• Versioning: This feature allows maintaining previous versions of blobs, which can be useful for data that is frequently modified.

Use Cases

Common use cases for Azure Blob Storage include:

• Backup and Disaster Recovery: Storing backups in Blob Storage ensures data durability and availability, with the ability to restore data when needed.

• Big Data Analytics: Blob Storage can store large datasets that can be processed using Azure's analytics services like HDInsight or Databricks.

• Content Storage and Delivery: It is ideal for storing and serving media files, documents, and other content to users.

By understanding and leveraging these features, students can effectively use Azure Blob Storage to meet various data storage needs while optimizing costs and ensuring data management efficiency.

Analyze Azure Queue Storage

Azure Queue Storage is a service that helps in managing and storing large numbers of messages that can be accessed from anywhere in the world via authenticated calls using HTTP or HTTPS. It is particularly useful for decoupling application components, which means that different parts of an application can communicate with each other asynchronously. This decoupling helps in building scalable and resilient cloud applications, as it allows different parts of the application to operate independently and handle varying loads efficiently.

Key Features: Azure Queue Storage supports a variety of operations such as adding messages to a queue, peeking at messages, retrieving messages, and deleting messages. Each message in the queue can be up to 64 KB in size, and a queue can contain millions of messages, making it suitable for high-volume workloads. The service ensures that messages are processed in a reliable and orderly manner, which is crucial for maintaining the integrity of application workflows.

Use Cases: Azure Queue Storage is ideal for scenarios where you need to manage tasks asynchronously. For example, it can be used to handle background processing tasks, such as processing orders in an e-commerce application, where the order details are placed in a queue and processed by a separate worker role. This allows the main application to continue functioning smoothly without waiting for the order processing to complete.

Performance and Scalability: The service is designed to be highly scalable, allowing you to handle large volumes of messages efficiently. It supports high throughput and low latency, ensuring that messages are processed quickly. Additionally, Azure Queue Storage integrates seamlessly with other Azure services, such as Azure Functions and Azure Logic Apps, enabling you to build complex workflows and automate tasks easily.

Monitoring and Management: Azure provides various tools to monitor and manage your Queue Storage. You can use Azure Monitor to analyze metrics and logs, which helps in tracking the performance and health of your queues. Metrics such as the number of messages in the queue, the number of messages processed, and the average time a message spends in the queue can be monitored to ensure optimal performance.

In summary, Azure Queue Storage is a powerful service for managing asynchronous communication between application components. Its scalability, reliability, and integration with other Azure services make it an essential tool for building modern, cloud-based applications.