Microsoft Certified Azure Administrator Associate Exam (AZ-104) Lab Preparation #4.1: Storage Account and Blob Storage

Introduction

To pass the AZ-104 exam, you must complete several live online lab tests. This article focuses on blob storage, guiding you through an exercise on how to store and access files securely. All data is protected by 256-bit AES encryption by default. Let's dive into the process of working with blob storage.

Storage Account

A storage account contains all your Azure Storage data objects: blobs, files, queues, and tables. For more information, refer to the Azure Storage Account Overview.

Blob Storage

Blob Storage is designed for various use cases, including:

• Serving images or documents directly to a browser.
• Storing files for distributed access.
• Streaming video and audio.
• Writing to log files.
• Storing data for backup and restore, disaster recovery, and archiving.
• Storing data for analysis by on-premises or Azure-hosted services.

Prerequisite

Prepare the photo to be uploaded. We will upload the photo named "hello_david.jpg".

Steps

Step 1: Create a Storage Account
Navigate to "Storage accounts".
Click "Create".

Step 2: Configure the Basics
In the Basics tab, name it "davidaystorageaccount", which will be used as the access endpoint later.
Example endpoint: https://.z[00-50].blob.storage.azure.net.

Select "ZRS" as the redundancy option, ensuring that your data is replicated across at least three different datacenters in a specific region.

Step 3: Set the Access Tier
In the Advanced tab, select "Hot" as the access tier.

1. Hot tier: Optimized for frequently accessed data with higher storage costs but lower access costs.
2. Cool tier: For infrequently accessed data, stored for a minimum of 30 days.
3. Cold tier: For rarely accessed data that requires fast retrieval, stored for a minimum of 90 days.
4. Archive tier: For rarely accessed data with flexible latency requirements, stored for a minimum of 180 days.

Step 4: Configure Network Access
In the Networking tab, select "Enable public access from all networks". (You can tailor this for your business needs.)

Step 5: Review and Create
Click "Review + create".
Click "Create".

Step 6: Enable Blob Anonymous Access
Navigate to "Storage accounts" again.
Select "davidaystorageaccount".
Click the link "Disabled" in Blob anonymous access.

Enable "Allow Blob anonymous access".

Important: Remember to disable this feature after the exercise for security and cost reasons.

Click "Save".

Step 7: Create a Container
Navigate to "Storage accounts" again.

Select "Containers".

Click "Add Container".

Name it "folder1" and select "Blob" for the anonymous access level.
Click "Create".

Step 8: Upload the Photo
Navigate to "folder1".
Click "Upload".

Upload "hello_david.jpg".
Click "Upload".

Step 9: Copy the Blob URL
Click "hello_david.jpg".
Copy the URL.

Testing

Paste https://davidaystorageaccount.blob.core.windows.net/folder1/hello_david.jpg into your browser. (Note: Ensure access is disabled afterward.)

Conclusion

In this lab exercise, you successfully created a storage account, configured blob storage, and uploaded a file while ensuring data security through encryption. This hands-on experience is essential for mastering Azure Storage concepts and prepares you well for the AZ-104 exam. Always remember to manage permissions and monitor costs effectively in your Azure environment. Good luck with your studies and the exam preparation!