Microsoft Azure Storage offers a variety of options to the users to save the data on the cloud. For each business need, there is a different option available on the Azure Storage services. Furthermore, it also provides flexibility to migrate to a different storage option if necessary. Blob Storage and File Storage are two comprehensive options offered by Microsoft Azure Storage.
This article will dive deep into two different types of Azure Storage services: File Storage and Blob Storage. It will also cover the type of data the storage services can store, the distinct versions, and common use cases.
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Difference Between Azure Blob Storage and Azure File Storage
Azure Blob Storage
The object storage solution for the cloud is Azure Blob Storage. Objects are unstructured data that require no specific data model. Azure Blob Storage stores the objects utilizing the flat namespace to store files. Although the naming convention used by users may make it seem like a normal file structure, however, that is not true. In Azure Blob Storage, the objects are stored in the key-value pair, where the key is the name of the stored object, and the value is the object’s data.
One way to think of Azure Blob Storage is metadata, and its storage is set up in different components. The users first set up the storage account followed by the creation of Blob Storage. The Blob Storage can have multiple containers inside it, and each container contains the actual blob object. Furthermore, the Blob Objects can be saved in several ways: Page Blobs, Block Bobs, and Append Blobs. A Page Blob can store a virtual hard drive, which is accessed by the operating system. On the other hand, a Block Blob is used to store binary or textual data. Moreover, Append Blobs are used to store logs which usually do not require any editing.
For instance, Azure Blobs are very useful for the scenarios where developers in an organization need access to IDE without downloading it from the internet. Using Azure Blob Storage, the organization can store the tool and share the access link to its development team. In addition, some common scenarios in which users can utilize Azure Blob Storage are,
- Saving files for distributed access
- Streaming audio or video data
- Storing logs in files
- Saving data for backup and recovery
Azure File Storage
The file storage solution for the cloud, as the name implies, is Azure File Storage. It should be mounted or deployed on any operating system before the configuration. Furthermore, the users are familiar with this type of storage as it can be related to a regular file system in Windows operating systems. The only difference is that Azure File Storage is mounted remotely with unlimited storage capacity.
To mount the Azure File Storage systems, the users can utilize the virtual machines or their local machines. Additionally, at the same time, different machines can mount several shares. In addition to that, Azure File Storage comes in two distinct versions: Standard Storage and Premium Storage. The only difference between the two is that Premium Storage Services run on solid-state drives (SSD), which makes file operations faster as compared to the Standard Storage option.
Azure File Storage targets internal file handling by mounting it on VM. Some common scenarios in which users can utilize Azure Blob Storage are:
- Replacing local file servers with cloud-based file servers
- Simplify the cloud access to the files
In summary, the difference between the two storage services is that Azure Blob Storage is a store for objects capable of storing large amounts of unstructured data. On the other hand, Azure File Storage is a distributed, cloud-based file system. The users and organization can opt for any Azure Storage as per the requirement. Azure Blob Storage would be an ideal choice for storing an enormous amount of data inexpensively, while Azure File Storage would be suitable for lift-and-shift activities.
I hope that this detailed guide will assist you in understanding and choosing the right type of Azure Storage Account Service for your organization.
Happy coding friends!