How to setup and use Azure SFTP Service with Azure Storage.

How to setup and use Azure SFTP Service with Azure Storage.

by | Jan 15, 2023 | Azure, Cloud Computing, Security, Storage Accounts

Azure SFTP Service with Azure Storage overview

Azure SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) is a service provided by Microsoft Azure that enables you to transfer files securely to and from Azure storage. The service is built on the SFTP protocol, which provides a secure way to transfer files over the internet by encrypting both the data in transit and the data at rest. Azure SFTP allows you to easily automate the transfer of large amounts of data such as backups and log files, to and from your Azure storage account. Additionally, it allows to set permissions and access control to limit access to specific users or groups.

Azure SFTP Service limitations and guidance

To use Azure SFTP, you will first need to create an Azure storage account. Once you have a storage account set up, you can create an SFTP server by going to the Azure portal and selecting the storage account you want to use. In the settings of the storage account, there is an option to create a new SFTP server.

Once the SFTP server is created, you will be provided with a unique hostname and port to connect to the server. To connect to the server, you will need to use an SFTP client, such as WinSCP or FileZilla. You will also need to provide your SFTP server credentials, which consist of a username and password.

Once you are connected to the SFTP server, you will be able to transfer files to and from your Azure storage account. The SFTP server will automatically create a new container within your storage account to store the files. You can also create new folders within the container to organize your files.

One of the benefits of using Azure SFTP is that it allows you to easily automate the transfer of files. You can use a tool like Azure Data Factory to schedule file transfers on a regular basis. Additionally, you can use Azure Automation to automate the creation of SFTP servers, which can save time and reduce the chances of human error.

Another benefit of using Azure SFTP is that it allows you to access your files securely from anywhere. The SFTP server uses industry standard encryption to protect your data in transit and at rest. Additionally, you can use Azure Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) to limit access to your SFTP server and storage account to specific users or groups.

There are some limitations to Azure SFTP that you should be aware of before using it. One limitation is that the SFTP server only supports a single concurrent connection per user. This means that if multiple people need to access the SFTP server at the same time, they will need to use different credentials. Additionally, Azure SFTP currently does not support SFTP version 6 or later, and it will not support it in near future.

Another limitation of Azure SFTP is that it does not currently support customization of SFTP server settings, such as the ability to change the default port or configure SSH options. Additionally, It does not support integration with other Azure services, such as Azure Monitor or Azure Security Center, for monitoring or logging of SFTP activity.

In conclusion, Azure SFTP is a powerful service that allows you to securely transfer files to and from Azure storage. It is easy to use, and can be automated to save time and reduce the chances of human error. It allows you to access your files securely from anywhere, and it uses industry standard encryption to protect your data in transit and at rest. However, it does have some limitations, such as not supporting multiple concurrent connections per user and not supporting customization of SFTP server settings.

How do you connect to Azure SFTP Service?

To connect to Azure SFTP Service, you will need to perform the following steps:

  1. Create an Azure storage account: You will need a storage account to create an SFTP server. You can create a storage account in the Azure portal or using Azure CLI or Azure PowerShell.
  2. Create an SFTP server: Go to the Azure portal, select your storage account, and then select the option to create a new SFTP server. Once the SFTP server is created, you will be provided with a unique hostname and port to connect to the server.
  3. Install an SFTP client: To connect to the SFTP server, you will need to use an SFTP client such as WinSCP, FileZilla, or Cyberduck.
  4. Connect to the SFTP server: Use the hostname and port provided in step 2, along with the SFTP server credentials (username and password) to connect to the SFTP server via the SFTP client.
  5. Transfer files: Once you are connected to the SFTP server, you can transfer files to and from your Azure storage account. By default, the SFTP server will create a new container within your storage account to store the files.

It is also worth mentioning that once you connect to the SFTP server you will have an access to all the capabilities of the SFTP protocol, including creation, deletion, editing, copying and moving of files, as well as folder structure management.

What is Azure Files and what are they used for?

What is Azure Files and what are they used for?

by | Jan 12, 2023 | Azure, Azure Blobs, Blob Storage, Cloud Computing, Storage Accounts

What are Azure Files?

Azure Files is a fully managed, cloud-based file storage service provided by Microsoft Azure that allows you to share files across multiple servers and platforms. One of the key features of Azure Files is the ability to create and organize files in folders, similar to how you would on a traditional file server. In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at how folders work in Azure Files and how you can use them to share files with others.

Azure Files Overview.

First, it’s important to understand the difference between a file share and a folder in Azure Files. A file share is the top-level object in Azure Files and acts as a logical grouping of file data. Each file share can have an unlimited number of files and folders, but cannot have sub-shares. On the other hand, a folder is a virtual directory within a file share, and can contain both other folders and files.

Folders in Azure Files are not actual directories, but rather a virtual way of organizing your files. When you upload a file to a share, you can specify the path of the file within the share using a forward slash (/) as a delimiter. This creates the appearance of a hierarchical file system, where the forward slashes indicate the level of nesting. For example, if you upload a file to the share “myshare” with the path “documents/finance/budget.xlsx,” this creates the appearance of a folder “documents” within the share “myshare” containing a subfolder “finance” which in turn contains the file “budget.xlsx”.

How do you use Azure Files?

Folders in Azure Files can be created, deleted and listed in the same way as files, but the main difference is that folders do not have any properties and do not consume any storage. Instead, the size of a folder is determined by the size of the files within it.

One of the main benefits of using folders in Azure Files is the ability to share files with others. Azure Files allows you to create a shared access signature (SAS) for a specific folder, which can be used to grant read or write access to the files within that folder. This can be useful in scenarios where you need to share a group of files with a specific set of users, without giving them access to the entire file share.

Another benefit of using folders in Azure Files is that it allows for better organization and management of your files. By using folders, you can easily group files by project, department, or date, making it easier to find and manage your data, especially if you have a large amount of files in your share.

Folders in Azure Files also integrate well with other Azure services like Azure Data Factory, Azure Logic Apps and Azure Functions, with the ability to mount the file share as a network drive and access the data with the standard file system operations, you can easily automate data movement, workflows and integration with other services that need access to the files in the share.

In conclusion, folders in Azure Files are a powerful feature that can help you share and organize files more effectively. They can help you create a hierarchical file system, grant access to specific groups of users, and integrate with other Azure services. If you’re working with large amounts of files and need to share them with others, it’s worth taking the time to consider how you can use folders in Azure Files to make it more manageable and organized.

Now that you know a little about Azure Files, be sure to download a Trial of Cloud Storage Manager, which provides you further insights not only in to your Azure Files storage, but also Azure Blob Storage

Real-World Use Cases for Azure Files

Azure Files has a wide range of practical use cases. For businesses looking to transition from traditional on-premises file servers, Azure Files provides a scalable, cloud-based alternative that enables file sharing across departments, regions, and devices. An example use case is replacing on-prem file servers for businesses with multiple locations, enabling real-time collaboration and access to shared company documents. Azure Files can also support application data storage, allowing distributed applications to share data seamlessly. For development environments, it provides a consistent storage solution across Windows and Linux-based applications, facilitating easy file sharing between virtual machines.

Additionally, Azure File Sync allows businesses to keep critical files available locally while syncing data to the cloud, giving the benefits of cloud scalability while maintaining high-performance access for frequently used files.

Security Features of Azure Files

Azure Files implements enterprise-grade security features to ensure that your data is both protected and compliant. It supports integration with Azure Active Directory (Azure AD), providing centralized identity and access management for users across your organization. With Azure AD, administrators can define Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), granting different levels of access to users or groups, making it easy to ensure sensitive files are only accessible by authorized personnel.

Furthermore, encryption at rest and in transit is a standard feature with Azure Files. This means that data is protected when stored in the cloud and when being accessed or transferred over the network. Microsoft’s encryption complies with various regulatory standards, such as HIPAA, ISO 27001, and SOC 1/2, ensuring that organizations in heavily regulated industries can use Azure Files with confidence. For additional protection, you can also implement shared access signatures (SAS), which allows you to provide temporary, limited access to specific files without sharing your full storage account credentials.

Integration with Hybrid Environments and Cloud Services

One of the significant benefits of Azure Files is its ability to integrate with both cloud-based and on-premises systems. Through Azure File Sync, businesses can synchronize their on-prem file shares with Azure Files, enabling hybrid cloud scenarios. This is particularly useful for companies that need high-performance local access to certain files while taking advantage of the cloud’s scalability and redundancy for archiving or less frequently accessed data.

Azure Files is fully compatible with Azure Virtual Machines (VMs) and Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS). This makes it a valuable storage solution for companies running cloud-based applications. For example, applications running in Kubernetes clusters can use Azure Files as a persistent volume to store stateful data, ensuring data persists across container restarts. Similarly, Windows and Linux VMs can mount Azure Files shares, making it easy to share data between applications hosted on different VMs or platforms. This flexibility allows businesses to streamline their operations, reducing infrastructure complexity and enhancing the efficiency of hybrid environments.

Comparison to Alternatives: Azure Blob Storage and On-Premises Solutions

Azure Files and Azure Blob Storage both offer scalable cloud storage, but they cater to different needs. Azure Blob Storage is optimized for storing unstructured data like backups, logs, and media files, making it ideal for archiving large amounts of data that don’t need frequent access. On the other hand, Azure Files shines in scenarios that require traditional file sharing with consistent, platform-agnostic access. It offers SMB and NFS protocols, allowing integration with legacy systems and applications that rely on traditional file shares, something Blob Storage cannot do.

Compared to on-premises file servers, Azure Files significantly reduces the overhead of managing physical infrastructure. Traditional servers require ongoing hardware maintenance, periodic upgrades, and manual scaling as storage needs grow. In contrast, Azure Files offers automated scaling, high availability, and built-in redundancy without the need for manual intervention. Disaster recovery and business continuity are also simplified with Azure Files since all data is replicated across multiple regions for resilience. Moreover, Azure Files eliminates the capital expense associated with maintaining on-premises file servers, offering a more flexible, pay-as-you-go model.

Overview of Folders in Azure Blob Storage

Overview of Folders in Azure Blob Storage

by | Jan 12, 2023 | Azure, Azure Blobs, Blob Storage, Cloud Computing

Azure Blob Storage is a popular and powerful object storage service provided by Microsoft Azure. It offers a wide range of features, including the ability to create and manage data in containers called “folders.” In this content audit, we will evaluate the quality of the overview of folders in Azure Blob Storage provided on a web page, and provide actionable suggestions for improvement. We will also discuss the use cases and potential risks and limitations associated with using folders in Azure Blob Storage.

What are Folders in Azure Blob Storage?

Azure Blob Storage is a fully managed, scalable, and reliable object storage service provided by Microsoft Azure. One of the key features of Azure Blob Storage is the ability to create and organize data in containers called “folders.” In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at how folders work in Azure Blob Storage and how you can use them to organize and manage your data.

First, it’s important to understand the difference between a container and a folder in Azure Blob Storage. A container is the top-level object in Azure Blob Storage and acts as a logical grouping of blob data. Each container can have an unlimited number of blobs, but cannot have sub-containers or sub-folders. On the other hand, a folder is a virtual directory within a container, and can contain both other folders and blobs.

Whats the difference between Folders and Containers in Azure?

Folders in Azure Blob Storage are not actual directories, but rather a virtual way of organizing your blobs. When you upload a blob to a container, you can specify the path of the blob within the container using a forward slash (/) as a delimiter. This creates the appearance of a hierarchical file system, where the forward slashes indicate the level of nesting. For example, if you upload a blob to the container “mycontainer” with the path “images/summer/beach.jpg,” this creates the appearance of a folder “images” within the container “mycontainer” containing a subfolder “summer” which in turn contains the blob “beach.jpg”.

Use Cases of Folders in Azure Blob Storage:

Use Case Description
Organizing Data Folders allow users to organize their data in a hierarchical file system, making it easier to locate and manage data, especially in scenarios with a large amount of data. Users can organize data by date, project, customer, or other criteria.
Granular Permissions Folders can be used to apply permissions at a more granular level, allowing users to give access to a specific folder within a container rather than the entire container. This enhances security by limiting the access of users to sensitive data.
Hierarchical Namespace Folders can be used with Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 to create a hierarchical file system on top of the blob data, allowing users to take advantage of features such as hierarchical storage, hierarchical namespace, and hierarchical access controls. This helps to enhance performance and scalability.

Risks and Limitations of Folders in Azure Blob Storage:

Risk/Limitation Description
Limited Support for Folders Azure Blob Storage provides limited support for folders, which are virtual directories and do not have any properties or consume any storage. Users may encounter challenges in creating, deleting, and listing folders in Azure Blob Storage.
Performance Overhead Using folders in Azure Blob Storage may result in a performance overhead, especially in scenarios with a large amount of data. Users need to be aware of this and optimize the performance accordingly.
Complexity The use of folders in Azure Blob Storage may add complexity to the system, especially when using hierarchical namespaces. This may increase the learning curve for users and the maintenance efforts for administrators.

Overall, the use of folders in Azure Blob Storage is beneficial for organizing data, applying granular permissions, and leveraging hierarchical namespaces. However, users need to be aware of the potential risks and limitations, such as limited support for folders, performance overhead, and complexity, when using folders in Azure Blob Storage. To improve the content of the web page, we recommend providing more detailed information on the use cases and potential risks and limitations of folders in Azure Blob Storage, and offering actionable tips on how to optimize the performance and reduce the complexity.


Cloud Storage Manager Storage Container Tab

Folders in Azure Blob Storage FAQs

What is the hierarchy structure in blob storage?

Azure Blob Storage uses a hierarchical structure that helps organize and manage data efficiently. The top-level object in Blob Storage is a container, which acts as a logical grouping of blob data. Within each container, you can create virtual directories called folders. These folders are a way of organizing blobs and other folders in a hierarchical file system, making it easier to find and manage data.

Is a blob just a file?

A blob in Azure Blob Storage is not just a file, but rather a collection of data that can include files, images, audio, video, and other types of unstructured data. Blobs are stored as a single entity, and each blob is identified by a unique address or URL. Blobs can be accessed and manipulated as a whole, but they can also be broken down into smaller chunks for efficient processing and streaming.

What data is stored in Azure blob storage?

Azure Blob Storage is designed to store unstructured data such as text and binary data, media files, documents, and backups. The data can be of any type, size, or format, and is stored in blobs. Blobs can be accessed and managed using various programming languages and tools, making it easy to integrate Blob Storage into your applications and workflows.

How files are stored in blob storage?

Files are stored in Azure Blob Storage as blobs, which are essentially a collection of binary data. When a file is uploaded to Blob Storage, it is broken down into smaller chunks and stored as a single blob. Each blob is identified by a unique URL, which can be used to access and manipulate the data. Blobs can be organized using virtual directories called folders, which create a hierarchical structure for managing data. Blob Storage also provides features such as redundancy, scalability, and security to ensure that your files are safe and easily accessible.

What are folders in Azure Blob Storage?

Folders in Azure Blob Storage are a virtual way of organizing your blobs. They do not actually exist as directories, but they create the appearance of a hierarchical file system within a container.

How are folders different from containers in Azure Blob Storage?

A container is the top-level object in Azure Blob Storage and acts as a logical grouping of blob data. Each container can have an unlimited number of blobs, but cannot have sub-containers or sub-folders. On the other hand, a folder is a virtual directory within a container, and can contain both other folders and blobs.

Can I apply permissions to a folder in Azure Blob Storage?

Yes, you can apply permissions to a folder in Azure Blob Storage at a more granular level than you can with a container. For example, you can give a user access to only a specific folder within a container, rather than giving them access to the entire container.

How can I use folders to organize my data in Azure Blob Storage?

You can use folders in Azure Blob Storage to organize your data in a number of ways, such as by date, project, or customer. This can make it easier to find and manage your data, especially if you have a large amount of data in your container.

Are there any limitations to using folders in Azure Blob Storage?

Folders in Azure Blob Storage do not have any properties and do not consume any storage. However, there are some limitations to using folders, such as the fact that they are not actual directories and cannot be nested more than one level deep.

How can I access folders in Azure Blob Storage?

You can access folders in Azure Blob Storage through the Azure portal, Azure Storage Explorer, or by using one of the Azure Blob Storage APIs or SDKs or using Cloud Storage Manager.


Cloud Storage Manager Blobs Tab

Folders in Azure Blob Storage Conclusion

Folders in Azure Blob Storage can be created, deleted and list in the same way as blobs, but the main difference is that folders do not have any properties and do not consume any storage.

Folders in Azure Blob Storage can be useful in a number of different scenarios. For example, you can use folders to organize your data by date, by project, or by customer. This can make it easier to find and manage your data, especially if you have a large amount of data in your container. You can also use folders to apply permissions at a more granular level. For example, you can give a user access to only a specific folder within a container, rather than giving them access to the entire container.

Another great feature of folders in Azure Blob Storage is that you can use them with Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2. Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 allows you to use the hierarchical namespace feature of Azure Blob Storage with the file system semantics of Azure Data Lake Storage, like access controls and other features. This allows you to create a hierarchical file system on top of your blob data, and take advantage of features like hierarchical storage, hierarchical namespace, and hierarchical access controls

In conclusion, folders in Azure Blob Storage are a powerful feature that can help you organize and manage your data more effectively. They can help you create a hierarchical file system, apply permissions at a more granular level, and use Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 feature on top of it. If you’re working with large amounts of data in Azure Blob Storage, it’s worth taking the time to consider how you can use folders to organize your data and make it more manageable.

If you need analysis of your Azure Blob Storage, trial our Software, Cloud Storage Manager that provides insights in to your Azure Storage Consumption.

How to change the Tiering of Azure Blobs

How to change the Tiering of Azure Blobs

by | Oct 11, 2022 | Azure, Azure Blobs, Features, How To, Storage Accounts

If you are an Azure Cloud Storage user, you will know that Azure offers three different storage tiers for storing data: hot, cool, and archive tiers. These Azure Storage tiers offer different levels of performance and cost efficiency. In this post, we’ll show you how to move blob content between these storage tiers, whether it is an individual Azure Blob, multiple Azure Blobs, or all the Azure Blobs in your Storage Accounts, using Cloud Storage Manager.

Why Change Azure Blob Tiering?

There are cost benefits to moving your Azure Blobs down to a lower Storage Tier. Hot is the most expensive, with cool a little bit cheaper, and the Archive Blob Tier having the lowest cost option. For more Azure Storage Cost-saving ideas, we cover some great cost-saving initiatives in another blog, or perhaps you want to see just how much Azure Storage you are consuming across your complete Microsoft Tenancy in this blog. These are just some of the functions you can perform with Cloud Storage Manager.

Cloud Storage Manager is a powerful tool for managing your Azure Cloud Storage. In this blog post, I will show you how easy it is to move a single Azure Blob or even select multiple or the complete container and move those blobs from any storage tiering to another with just a few clicks.

Easily change single, multiple or all your Blobs to any selected Azure Storage Tier

In this blog post, I will show you how easy it is to move a single Azure Blob or even select multiple or the complete container and move those blobs from any storage tiering to another with just a few clicks. 

There are cost benefits moving your Azure Blobs down to a lower Storage Tier, Hot being the most expensive, with a cool a little bit cheaper, and the Archive Blob Tier having the lowest cost option. For more Azure Storage Cost saving ideas, we cover some great cost saving initiatives in another blog, or perhaps you wont to see just how much Azure Storage you are consuming across your complete Microsoft Tenancy in this blog. These are just some of the functions you can perform with Cloud Storage Manager.

Now perhaps you want to setup Azure Storage Lifecycle Management Policy, which will automatically move Azure Blobs to the Azure Storage Tier when certain conditions have been met. Well in one of our previous blog posts shows you exactly how to do this.

This blog post however, is if you would like to manually move a single or bulk amount of Azure Blobs to a different storage tier. 

Launch Cloud Storage Manager

Hopefully you have installed Cloud Storage Manager and have completed a full scan of your Azure Storage Accounts.

If you havent installed it yet, or want to download a Demo and try it for yourself, you can get a trial by visiting this page. Remember, this tool is completely FREE for everyone to use.

So moving on, Ill assume have the above completed. First Open Cloud Storage Manager and navigate by the Azure Storage Tree and locate the Storage Account you want to change the Blob Storage Tiering for. 


Choose Azure Storage Account

Select the Blob View

Select the Azure Storage Container you want to change the Blob Tiering for, then select the Blob View Window.

Here you will see information about all the Azure Blobs in that Storage container. 

You will notice the Tiering of each of the Blobs, with a Fire Symbol showing they are in the Hot Storage Tier, an Icycle Symbol showing they reside in the Cool Storage Tier, or lastly a Tape Icon detailing the Azure Blobs are in the Azure Archive Storage Tier.


Azure Blob Storage Tiering

Select the Blobs you want to change Storage Tiering for.

Now from this view you can see all the Azure Blobs in that Storage Container. 

See details like the Blob Name, which Subscription, Storage Account and Container the Blob resides in, also the size, Tiering (of course thats why we are here), when the Blob was created and last modified. 

Simply select the Azure Blobs you want to change the Tiering of, using control and a left click of the mouse to select multiple individual Blobs, or press Control and A to select them all.


Select Blobs to change tier

Select individual or multiple Azure Blobs.

Now right click a Blob and you will be shown the Cloud Storage Manager right click menu. 

You can perform the folliwing functions to selected Azure Blobs from this menu; 

  • Change the Tier of the selected Azure Blobs
  • Delete the Selected Azure Blobs
  • Show or Hide the Parent Columns
  • Jump back to the Storage Account Window
  • Jump back to the Container Window
  • See the Blob Properties
  • Copy the Values displayed of the Blobs
  • Download the selected Blobs to your own Computer
  • Refresh the view you are currently looking at.

Now, since we are wanting to change the tiering of the selected Azure Blobs, I am going to left click on Change Tier


Change individual and multiple Blob Tier

Select individual or multiple Azure Blobs.

This is where we now select which tier you want the selected Azure Blobs changed to. 

In this example, Ill move those Blobs to the Archive Storage Tier.

Select Archive Tier and then click on OK.


Change Azure Blob Access Tier

Azure Blob Tiering Change

Cloud Storage Manager has now initiated a tiering change job for all the Azure Blobs I have selected. 

Cloud Storage Manager will now change the storage tiering type for each of these Azure Blobs selected.


Azure Blob Tier Updates

Check the status of the Blob Tiering Change

You can see the status of Azure Blob Tiering change by viewing the Activity Log within Cloud Storage Manager.

Each of those Blobs selected are now being moved to the Azure Blob Storage Archive Tier.


Cloud Storage Manager Activity Log

View the change in Tiering of your Azure Blobs

Now go back to the Blob view of the Storage Container we orginally selected. 

You can see here that those Azure Blobs I selected have now changed to the Archive Tier.

And thats all there is to it, we changed selected Azure Blobs storage tiers from the Hot Tier to the Archive Tier with just a few clicks. 

If you want to trial Cloud Storage Manager for yourself, simply visit the Cloud Storage Manager product page and download a trial for yourself. It is completely FREE to use for everyone.

Not only can Cloud Storage Manager change the tiering of bulk amounts of Azure Blobs with a few clicks, you can also see which Storage Accounts are not being used, and gain further insights in to your Azure Storage Consumption. 


Azure Blob Storage Tiering FAQs

Question Answer
What does blob stand for in Azure?
 Blob stands for Binary Large OBject.
What are the 3 tiers of blob storage?
 The 3 tiers of blob storage are Hot, Cool, and Archive.
What is block blob vs append blob vs page blob?
 Block blobs are used for streaming and storing large binary objects. Append blobs are used for logging scenarios. Page blobs are used for random read/write operations.
What is hot tier in used for in Azure Storage?
 The Hot tier is used for frequently accessed data that requires high-performance access times.
What is the cold tier used for in Azure Storage?
 The Cool tier is used for infrequently accessed data that requires low-cost storage.
What is the archive tier used for in Azure Storage?
 The Archive tier is used for rarely accessed data that needs to be stored for a long time at a very low cost.
What is the difference between blob and block blob?
 Blob is a general term for data stored in Azure Storage. Block blobs are a type of blob that are used for large binary objects.
What is the content type of Azure blobs?
 Azure blobs can have any content type specified by the user.
How can I get the consumption of my Azure Blob Storage?
 Use Cloud Storage Manager to provide you with an overview and more indepth insights in to your Azure Storage consumption. Find out exactly how much storage each storage account, container or folder contains.
Is Azure blob storage equivalent to S3?
 Yes, Azure blob storage is equivalent to S3 in AWS.
Is Azure blob storage a data lake?
 No, Azure blob storage is not a data lake.
Can Azure blob storage store structured data?
 Yes, Azure blob storage can store structured data in the form of text, JSON, or XML files.
What is the maximum number of blob containers in an Azure storage account?
 The maximum number of blob containers in an Azure storage account is 500,000.
Azure Blob Storage vs Azure File Storage

Azure Blob Storage vs Azure File Storage

by | Feb 3, 2022 | Azure, Azure Blobs, Comparison, Storage Accounts

Are you confused about which Azure Storage Service to use, for mapping a drive, or just dumping large amounts of data in to? This post goes indepth in to the differences between Azure Blob Storage and Azure File Services.

Azure Blob Storage vs Azure File Storage:

Choosing the Right Storage Solution for Your Business

Azure Storage

In today’s digital age, data storage is an essential part of any business strategy. As more and more businesses move their operations to the cloud, choosing the right storage solution can make a significant impact on your organization’s efficiency and productivity. Azure, Microsoft’s cloud computing platform, offers two primary storage solutions: Azure Blob Storage and Azure File Storage.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at both Azure Blob Storage and Azure File Storage and help you decide which one is the best fit for your business.

What is Azure Blob Storage?

Azure Blob Storage is a massively scalable object storage service that allows you to store and manage large amounts of unstructured data. It is ideal for storing files such as videos, images, audio, and text documents. Blob storage is designed to handle large amounts of data and can scale to meet your business needs, making it an excellent choice for businesses that require large-scale data storage.

Benefits of Azure Blob Storage

  • Massive Scalability: Azure Blob Storage can handle massive amounts of data and can scale to meet your business needs.
  • Cost-Effective: Blob storage offers a cost-effective solution for storing large amounts of unstructured data.
  • Durability: Data stored in Blob storage is highly durable and can be replicated across different regions to ensure high availability.
  • Security: Blob storage provides granular access control, allowing you to control who can access your data.
  • Integration: Blob storage can easily integrate with other Azure services, making it easy to build scalable and reliable applications.


azure blob example

What is Azure File Storage?

Azure File Storage is a fully managed file sharing service that allows you to share files with both Windows and Linux clients. It is ideal for storing structured data such as application data and virtual machine files. With Azure File Storage, you can access your files from anywhere and at any time, making it an excellent choice for businesses with remote workers or multiple office locations.

Benefits of Azure File Storage

  • Fully Managed: Azure File Storage is a fully managed service, which means that Microsoft takes care of the infrastructure and maintenance, allowing you to focus on your business.
  • Easy to Use: Azure File Storage is easy to set up and use, with a simple interface that allows you to manage your files from anywhere.
  • Secure: Azure File Storage provides granular access control, ensuring that your data is secure.
  • Integration: Azure File Storage can easily integrate with other Azure services, making it easy to build scalable and reliable applications.
  • Multi-Platform: Azure File Storage supports both Windows and Linux clients, making it a versatile option for businesses with a variety of operating systems.


azure files example

Choosing the Right Storage Solution

Now let’s explore the key differences between Azure Blob Storage and Azure File Storage.

Structure

Azure Blob Storage stores data as blobs within containers, allowing for a flat storage structure. In contrast, Azure File Storage uses a hierarchical structure, with directories and subdirectories, similar to a traditional file system.

Access

Blob Storage supports REST APIs, Azure Storage SDKs, and Azure Storage Explorer for data access. File Storage allows access via the SMB protocol, enabling you to mount file shares directly to your virtual machines or on-premises systems.

Scalability

Blob Storage can scale to store petabytes of data, with individual blobs up to 4.75 TB in size. File Storage, while still scalable, has a maximum share size of 100 TiB.

Performance

Blob Storage provides higher throughput and lower latency than File Storage. However, File Storage offers better performance for small file read and write operations, which can be crucial for specific applications.

Security

Both services provide data encryption at rest and in transit. However, Blob Storage also supports object-level access control through shared access signatures, while File Storage relies on share-level access control.

When choosing between Azure Blob Storage and Azure File Storage, it’s important to consider your business’s needs. If you need to store large amounts of unstructured data such as videos, images, and audio, Azure Blob Storage is the best choice. If you need to store structured data such as application data and virtual machine files and share files with Windows and Linux clients, Azure File Storage is the better option.

Azure Blob Storage FAQs:

What types of data can I store in Azure Blob Storage?

You can store various types of unstructured data, including text, images, audio, and video files.

How scalable is Azure Blob Storage?

Azure Blob Storage is massively scalable and can handle large amounts of data. It can scale to meet your business needs.

Is my data safe in Azure Blob Storage?

Yes, your data is safe in Azure Blob Storage. Data stored in Blob storage is highly durable and can be replicated across different regions to ensure high availability. Blob storage also provides granular access control, allowing you to control who can access your data.

Can I integrate Azure Blob Storage with other Azure services?

Yes, you can easily integrate Azure Blob Storage with other Azure services, such as Azure Data Factory, Azure Functions, and Azure Stream Analytics.

How much does Azure Blob Storage cost?

Azure Blob Storage pricing is based on the amount of data stored, data access, and data transfer. You can find more information about Azure Blob Storage pricing on the Azure website.

Azure File Storage FAQs:

What types of data can I store in Azure File Storage?

You can store structured data such as application data and virtual machine files in Azure File Storage. It is designed for file sharing with Windows and Linux clients.

Is Azure File Storage easy to use?

Yes, Azure File Storage is easy to use, with a simple interface that allows you to manage your files from anywhere.

How secure is Azure File Storage?

Azure File Storage provides granular access control, ensuring that your data is secure. You can control who can access your data and what they can do with it.

Can I integrate Azure File Storage with other Azure services?

Yes, Azure File Storage can easily integrate with other Azure services, such as Azure Virtual Machines, Azure Backup, and Azure Site Recovery.

How much does Azure File Storage cost? 

Azure File Storage pricing is based on the amount of data stored and data access. You can find more information about Azure File Storage pricing on the Azure website.

Azure Blob and File Storage Use Cases

Use Case Azure Blob Storage Azure File Storage
Unstructured Data Storage Best suited for storing unstructured data, such as text, images, audio, and video files. Designed for structured data storage, such as application data and virtual machine files.
Data Access Provides block-level access to data, making it ideal for streaming and storing large media files. Provides SMB-based file access, making it ideal for sharing files across Windows and Linux clients.
Scalability Highly scalable and can handle large amounts of data. Can also scale to meet business needs, but not as well-suited for extremely large data sets.
Security Provides granular access control, ensuring that data is secure. Provides granular access control, ensuring that data is secure.
Integration Can integrate with other Azure services, such as Azure Data Factory, Azure Functions, and Azure Stream Analytics. Can easily integrate with other Azure services, such as Azure Virtual Machines and Azure Backup.

How can I connect to Azure Blob Storage?

With Azure Blob Storage access is provided over HTTPS, so you cant traditionally mount Blob Storage as a mapped network drive to a Virtual Machine or Users desktop. 

 

You can however browse all the Azure Blobs contained within this Storage Account through your web browser, using Microsoft’s Azure Storage Explorer, the Azure Storage Rest API, Powershell or even the Azure CLI. Alternatively, you can use our software, Cloud Storage Manager to do the same thing and more.

 


Cloud Storage Manager Screen with right click

How can I connect to Azure File Storage?

As stated before, Azure File Services is more like your standard file server, in that you can create multiple network shares with folders and files within. These shares can of course be mapped directly to your machines as a network drive using the SMB protocol. To map a network drive to an Azure File Share, Microsoft lets you create a login script direct from the Azure Portal using powershell to connect the share.

Here is an example powershell script to connect an Azure File share to a users computer as a Y drive mapping.

$connectTestResult = Test-NetConnection -ComputerName storageaccountname.file.core.windows.net -Port 445

if ($connectTestResult.TcpTestSucceeded) {

    # Save the password so the drive will persist on reboot

    cmd.exe /C “cmdkey /add:`”storageaccountname.file.core.windows.net`” /user:`”localhoststorageaccoun`” /pass:`”longpasswordabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz`””

    # Mount the drive

    New-PSDrive -Name Y -PSProvider FileSystem -Root “\storageaccountname.file.core.windows.netfileservicestest” -Persist

} else {

    Write-Error -Message “Unable to reach the Azure storage account via port 445. Check to make sure your organization or ISP is not blocking port 445, or use Azure P2S VPN, Azure S2S VPN, or Express Route to tunnel SMB traffic over a different port.”

}

With Azure Files you can also set NTFS permissions on the shares, folders and files. Additionally you can integrate this service with your Azure AD so that permissions can be set using normal AD groups and users. 

One thing that differentiates Azure File Services from an on-premise File Server is that you can access the folders and files from anywhere with an internet connection.

Allow access to Azure Storage Account using a Shared Access Signature

The Shared Access Signature can be created to allow access over HTTP or HTTPS for a limited time to any of the Azure Storage Services. This includes Blob, File, Queue and Table Services. 

You can be granular with the access you want to provide. Perhaps you have a third party that you only want to give access to your data and  certain services for a fixed amount of time. 

Options you can choose are;

  • Allowed Services;
    • Blob
    • File
    • Queue
    • Table
  • Allowed Resource Types
    • Service
    • Container
    • Object
  • Allowed Permissions
    • Read
    • Write
    • Delete
    • List
    • Add
    • Create
    • Update
    • Process
    • Immutable Storage

Choose this options carefully, as you can see you can be as granular as you want to allow access to your Azure Storage Accounts. 

Whats a Use Case Example for Azure Blob Storage?

Azure Blob Storage has several use cases. Its great for the following types of data storage;

  • Serving documents, images or videos direct to a browsers.
  • Storing of files for quick and easy access 
  • Streaming video and audio
  • Great for dumping of logs files for analysis
  • A good target for backup files, archiving and disaster recovery.

Whats a Use Case Example for Azure File Storage?

Azure File Services is great for the following use cases;

  • Replacing or supplementing your on-premise File Servers
  • Allowing network share access to anywhere in the world with an internet connection
  •  Lift and Shift your applications to the Cloud that require a network share
  • Improving the resilience and uptime of your network shares
  • Removing the need to patch and maitain Windows File Servers

So what are the main differences between Azure Blob Storage and Azure File Services?

Item

Azure Blob Storage

Azure File Services
Tiering
 Hot
Cool
Archive		 Premium
Transaction Optimized
Hot
Cool
Note – No Archive Tier available for Azure File Services
Authentication
 SAS Token
Storage Access Keys
Azure AD Integration
Anonymous public read access		 SAS Token
Storage Access Keys
Azure AD
On-Premise Active Directory – Synced with Azure AD
Redundancy
 LRS – Locally Redundant Storage
ZRS – Zone Redundant Storage
GRS – Geo Redundant Storage
GZRS – Geo Zone Redundant Storage		 LRS – Locally Redundant Storage
ZRS – Zone Redundant Storage
GRS – Geo Redundant Storage
GZRS – Geo Zone Redundant Storage
Maximum Size
 500TB 100TiB per File Share
Maximum File Size
 Azure BLOBs are 2 types; Page and Block.
Max Page is 8TiB, max block is 200TiB		 1 TB per File
Authentication
 SAS Token
Storage Access Keys
Azure AD Integration
Anonymous public read access

SAS Token
Storage Access Keys
Azure AD Integration

On-Premise Active Directory – Synced with Azure AD

Choosing the Right Storage Solution

When choosing between Azure Blob Storage and Azure File Storage, it’s important to consider your business’s needs. If you need to store large amounts of unstructured data such as videos, images, and audio, Azure Blob Storage is the best choice. If you need to store structured data such as application data and virtual machine files and share files with Windows and Linux clients, Azure File Storage is the better option.

In conclusion, Cloud Storage Manager is an effective tool that helps organizations to manage their Azure storage usage and costs. With its powerful features such as Map View, Tree View, Azure Storage Reporting, Azure Blob Search, and Azure Files Complete Overview, the software enables users to gain insights into their Azure Blob and Azure File storage consumption, identify the areas where costs can be reduced, and take appropriate actions. By visualizing Azure storage locations, browsing through Azure storage trees, generating reports, searching and scanning Azure storage accounts, users can quickly see where their storage is going and take back control of their Azure Blob storage costs. Cloud Storage Manager is a valuable tool that saves money, enhances productivity, and helps organizations to manage their storage accounts efficiently.