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Configuring Shared File Storage for a Geographically Dispersed Company Using Azure

SULIAT — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 07:56:59 +0000

INTRODUCTION

Some companies do not use paper anymore. This means that if something is announced from headquarters, it has to stay somewhere and everyone involved has to get access to it. For a company that is geographically dispersed with offices in different locations, this becomes a real challenge. These offices need a way to share files and disseminate information across the board. One of the ways to get access to files and keep everyone on the same page is to use cloud storage and create a file share that everyone can access. The Finance department, for example, needs to confirm cost information for auditing and compliance, and that information needs to be stored somewhere that is easy to access and loads without delay. Some content, however, should only be accessed from selected corporate virtual networks to keep sensitive information secure.

To achieve all of this, the objectives are to create a storage account specifically for file shares, configure a file share and directory, configure snapshots and practice restoring files, and restrict access to a specific virtual network and subnet.
I will show you the steps on how to do this. The first thing you need to do is open the Azure portal and log in, and then follow the steps below. When choosing your storage option, always choose Premium and Premium only, because it is the only tier that offers low latency, meaning files load fast and without delay no matter where in the world your staff are connecting from.

Create and configure a storage account for Azure Files.

Create a storage account for the finance department’s shared files.
- In the portal, search for and select Storage accounts.

Select + Create.

For Resource group select Create new. Give your resource group a name and select OK to save your changes.

Provide a Storage account name. Ensure the name meets the naming requirements i.e the name must be unique.

Set the Performance to Premium. Set the Premium account type to File shares.

Set the Redundancy to Zone-redundant storage.

Select Review and then Create the storage account.

Wait for the resource to deploy.

Select Go to resource.

Create and configure a file share with directory.

1. Create a file share for the corporate office.

In the storage account, in the Data storage section, select the File shares blade.

Select + File share and provide a Name.

Review the other options, but take the defaults. Select Create.

2. Add a directory to the file share for the finance department. For future testing, upload a file.

Select your file share and select + Add directory.

Name the new directory finance.

Select Browse and then select the finance directory.

Notice you can Add directory to further organize your file share.

Upload a file of your choosing.

Configure and test snapshots.

1. Similar to blob storage, you need to protect against accidental deletion of files. You decide to use snapshots.

Select your file share.

In the Operations section, select the Snapshots blade.

Select + Add snapshot. The comment is optional. Select OK.

Select your snapshot and verify your file directory and uploaded file are included.

2. Practice using snapshots to restore a file.

Return to your file share.

Browse to your file directory.

Locate your uploaded file and in the Properties pane select Delete. Select Yes to confirm the deletion.

Select the Snapshots blade and then select your snapshot.

Navigate to the file you want to restore, Select the file and select Restore.

Provide a Restored file name.

Verify your file directory has the restored file.

Configure restricting storage access to selected virtual networks.

1. This tasks in this section require a virtual network with subnet. In a production environment these resources would already be created.

Search for and select Virtual networks.

Select Create. Select your resource group, and give the virtual network a name.

Take the defaults for other parameters, select Review + create, and then Create.

Wait for the resource to deploy.

Select Go to resource.

In the Settings section, select the Subnets blade.

Select the default subnet.

In the Service endpoints section choose Microsoft.Storage in the Services drop-down.

Do not make any other changes. Be sure to Save your changes.

2. The storage account should only be accessed from the virtual network you just created.

Return to your files storage account.

In the Security + networking section, select the Networking blade.

Change the Public network access to Enabled from selected virtual networks and IP addresses.

In the Virtual networks section, select Add existing virtual network.

Select your virtual network and subnet, select Add.

Be sure to Save your changes.

Select the Storage browser and navigate to your file share.

Verify the message not authorized to perform this operation. You are not connecting from the virtual network.

CONCLUSION

Setting up shared file storage for a geographically dispersed company does not have to be complicated. With a Premium Azure Files storage account, we built a secure, low-latency file share complete with snapshots for file recovery and network restrictions to keep sensitive data safe.

Setting Up Private Storage for Internal Company Documents

SULIAT — Sun, 24 May 2026 00:31:29 +0000

Introduction:

In my previous post, we explored Azure Storage and created a public website together. We established that a public website is one where all content is openly visible and accessible to anyone on the internet, just like Amazon, Temu, or Shein. When you visit Amazon to shop, every product image, description, and listing you see is publicly available. No login, no permission, and no special access is required. That is what makes it public.
Today, we are moving in a different direction. We are focusing on private storage for internal company documents, content that is not meant for everyone, but only for those who are specifically granted access. To achieve this, we will create a storage account, set up a container with restricted access inside it, configure a Shared Access Signature for partners, back up our public website storage, and implement lifecycle management to automatically move content to the cool tier.

Setting Up and Managing Private Storage

Before we dive in, it helps to understand Azure Storage's structure. Think of a storage account as a warehouse containers are the sections inside it that organize everything stored. Every file must live inside a container, you cannot store anything without one. The container we are creating today has restricted access, meaning unlike a public container where anyone with a link can view content, this one requires explicit permission. We will also back up the public website storage created previously, ensuring your content can be restored if anything goes wrong.
Equally important is lifecycle management. Think of how Amazon handles slow-selling products after weeks of inactivity, the algorithm quietly moves them away from prominent results without deleting them. Azure Storage works the same way. By default, content sits in the hot tier, designed for frequent access. When content goes untouched for a set period, such as 30 days, a lifecycle rule automatically moves it to the cool tier, which is more cost-effective for rarely accessed content. Nothing is deleted it simply moves to a more appropriate tier, quietly and automatically.
Since this is a private storage account, access requires a SAS token (Shared Access Signature). Rather than exposing your entire storage account, a SAS token grants specific access to one file for a limited window say, 12 hours after which it expires automatically. This gives external collaborators controlled, temporary access to private content without compromising your storage account's security.
Now, let us walk through the steps on how to set all of this up:

Create a storage account and configure high availability.

1. Create a storage account for the internal private company documents.

In the portal, search for and select Storage accounts.
Select + Create.

Select the Resource group created in the previous lab.

Set the Storage account name to private. Add an identifier to the name to ensure the name is unique.

Select Review, and then Create the storage account.

Wait for the storage account to deploy, and then select Go to resource.

2. This storage requires high availability if there’s a regional outage. Read access in the secondary region is not required. Configure the appropriate level of redundancy.

In the storage account, in the Data management section, select the Redundancy blade.

Ensure Geo-redundant storage (GRS) is selected.

Refresh the page.

Review the primary and secondary location information.

Save your changes.

Create a storage container, upload a file, and restrict access to the file.

1. Create a private storage container for the corporate data.

In the storage account, in the Data storage section, select the Containers blade.

Select + Container.

Ensure the Name of the container is private. Ensure the Public access level is Private (no anonymous access).

As you have time, review the Advanced settings, but take the defaults.

Select Create.

2. For testing, upload a file to the private container. he type of file doesn’t matter. A small image or text file is a good choice. Test to ensure the file isn’t publicly accessible.

Select the container.

Select Upload.

Browse to files and select a file.

Upload the file.

Select the uploaded file.

On the Overview tab, copy the URL.

Paste the URL into a new browser tab.

Verify the file doesn’t display and you receive an error.

3. An external partner requires read and write access to the file for at least the next 24 hours. Configure and test a shared access signature (SAS).

Select your uploaded blob file and move to the Generate SAS tab.

In the Permissions drop-down, ensure the partner has only Read permissions.

Verify the Start and expiry date/time is for the next 24 hours.

Select Generate SAS token and URL.

Copy the Blob SAS URL to a new browser tab.

Verify you can access the file. If you have uploaded an image file it will display in the browser. Other file types will be downloaded.

Configure storage access tiers and content replication.

To save on costs, after 30 days, move blobs from the hot tier to the cool tier.
- Return to the storage account.

In the Overview section, notice the Default access tier is set to Hot.

In the Data management section, select the Lifecycle management blade.

Select Add rule.

Set the Rule name to movetocool.

Set the Rule scope to Apply rule to all blobs in the storage account and select Next.

Ensure Last modified is selected.

Set More than (days ago) to 30.

In the Then drop-down select Move to cool storage.

As you have time, review other lifecycle options in the drop-down. Add the rule.

2. The public website files need to be backed up to another storage account.

In your storage account, create a new container called backup.

Navigate to your publicwebsite storage account. This storage account was created in the previous exercise.

In the Data management section, select the Object replication blade.

Select Create replication rules.

Set the Destination storage account to the private storage account.

Set the Source container to public and the Destination container to backup.

Create the replication rule.

Upload a file to the public container. Return to the private storage account and refresh the backup container. Within a few minutes your public website file will appear in the backup folder.

Conclusion:

With these steps, your private storage environment is fully configured. You have built a storage environment that is secure, organized, and cost-aware. Your private container is configured, your public storage is backed up, lifecycle management is running automatically, and SAS tokens are in place to control external access.

Deploying Azure Virtual Machines the GUI Way: A Step-by-Step Guide

SULIAT — Fri, 15 May 2026 11:11:40 +0000

What is a Virtual Machine?

A Virtual Machine (VM) is like a computer within a computer in the cloud. A VM uses software to create a computer that can run its own operating system separately from your actual device. A VM is basically a software-based computer that runs inside another computer. For example, on a MacBook, you can have your main operating system, and run Windows or Linux inside a virtual machine at the same time, while having its own storage, processing power, memory (RAM), and operating system.

Before deploying a virtual machine on Azure, there are two essential prerequisites to have in place:

An active Azure account: Log in to the Azure Portal using your credentials. If you do not have an account yet, you can sign up for a free trial account on the Microsoft's Azure website.
A Resource Group: A resource group serves as a logical container that organizes and holds related Azure resources together. It is the foundation of any Azure workflow, meaning it is always the first thing you set up before anything else.

With everything in place, we will walk through the process step by step, beginning with creating a resource group and then deploying the virtual machine, all through the Azure Portal's Graphical User Interface(GUI).

1. Create and deploy a resource group to hold all your project resources.

In the Azure portal, search for and select Resource groups.

Select + Create.

Give your resource group a name. Select a region. Use this region throughout the project.

Select Review and create to validate the resource group.

Select Create to deploy the resource group.

2. Create and deploy a Virtual Machine to host your application in the cloud.

In the Azure portal, search for and select Virtual Machines.

Select + Create. Click on Virtual machine. This will take you to the basics tab.

On the Basics tab, head over to the Project Details section, where you will select your Subscription and the Resource group deployed in the previous step."

On the Basics tab, scroll down to the Instance Details section and configure the following settings:

i. Virtual Machine Name: Give the virtual machine a name. Every computer has a name, so the next logical thing to do is to give the VM a name.

ii. Region: Select a region where you want the VM to be hosted.

iii. Availability Options: Since it is a free trial account subscription, select No Infrastructure Redundancy Required.

iv. Security Type: Select Trusted Launch Virtual Machine.

v. Image: Select Windows 10. In regards to a VM, the image refers to your choice of operating system.

vi. Leave the rest of the settings under Instance Details at their default values.

Still on the Basics tab, scroll down to the Administrator Account section and configure the following: Username and Password. Since all computers have a username and password, the next logical thing to do is to give the virtual machine a username and password.

Further down on the Basics tab, scroll down to the Inbound Port Rules section and configure the following: Select the Public inbound ports, select inbound ports HTTP (80) and the default RDP (3389). These ports will allow you to connect the VM to the internet.

Further down on the Basics tab, locate the Licensing section and check the box to confirm your licensing agreement before proceeding.

Having completed the Basics tab, scroll back up and click on the Monitoring tab. Under the Boot Diagnostics blade, select Disable. Disabling boot diagnostics ensures that your local device does not monitor or track the activity on the VM every time it is restarted.

Select Review and create to validate the Virtual machine.

Select Create to deploy the Virtual machine.

Wait for the Virtual machine to deploy and then Go to resource.

3. Configuring the IP Address.

Once the deployment is complete, click on Go to Resource to open the virtual machine. Navigate to the Networking or Essentials section to locate the IP Address, then click on it to begin configuration.

Under the IP address settings, locate the Idle Timeout option and change the default time from 4 minutes to 30 minutes. This ensures that the VM does not disconnect or time out prematurely during periods of inactivity, keeping your session active and stable for longer.

Select Apply.

With the IP address configured, navigate back to the virtual machine and click the Connect button.

From the dropdown, click on the Check Access blade, once you are checked in, the VM is good to go.

Select Download RDP File to download the connection file to your actual device. Note for macOS Users Unlike Windows, macOS does not support RDP files. If you are using a Mac, you will need to download the Windows App from the Apple App Store first before you can open and run the RDP file to connect to your virtual machine.

Once the RDP file has been downloaded, click on the Download icon located at the top right of your browser. Locate the RDP file you just downloaded and click the Connect button directly in front of it to initiate the connection.

Enter the username and password you set up earlier in the Administrator Account section. Click Continue to proceed.

A security certificate warning will appear. Click **Continue **to accept and continue.

At this point, your virtual machine is fully configured and ready for use.

Complete with the Start menu confirming that your VM is fully up and running.

Conclusion

Creating a virtual machine on Azure through the graphical user interface is a straightforward process that does not require any command-line experience. By following the steps outlined in this article, you have successfully deploy a fully functional Windows 10 virtual machine in the cloud.

How to Setup Storage for a Public Website.

SULIAT — Sun, 03 May 2026 11:39:22 +0000

what is a Public Website?

A public website is one that anyone in the world can open and browse without needing to sign in. Think of websites like Amazon, Temu, or Shein, you land on the page and you immediately see products, photos, videos, and reviews. No login required, that is what makes them "public." For a website like this to work well, the images, videos, and customer stories it shows must be stored somewhere reliable, fast, and accessible to everyone.
That "somewhere" is called a Storage Account. The storage account holds everything the website needs to display, and it makes those files available to anyone who visits the site, wherever they are in the world.

In this article, I will show you how to set up a storage account for a public website. By the time we are done, you will know exactly how to get your content online, keep it accessible to everyone, and protect it from accidental loss. To get there, we will be working through the following five steps:

1. Create a storage account with high availability:

Since customers are located worldwide and demand is rapidly growing, we need this storage account to be set up with high availability. This means the storage account is built to stay online and keep serving content even if something goes wrong on one server.
a) Create a storage account to support the public website.

In the portal, search for and select Storage accounts.
Select + Create.

For resource group select new. Give your resource group a name and select OK.

Set the Storage account name to publicwebsite. Make sure the storage account name is unique by adding an identifier.

Take the defaults for other settings.

Select Review and then Create.

Wait for the storage account to deploy, and then select Go to resource.

b) This storage requires high availability if there’s a regional outage. Additionally, enable read access to the secondary region.

In the storage account, in the Data management section, select the Redundancy blade.

Ensure Read-access Geo-redundant storage is selected.

Review the primary and secondary location information.

c) Information on the public website should be accessible without requiring customers to login.

In the storage account, in the Settings section, select the Configuration blade.

Ensure the Allow blob anonymous access setting is Enabled.

Be sure to Save your changes.

2. Create a blob storage container with anonymous read access:

With the storage account ready and open to the public, the next step is to create a container inside it, and this step is non-negotiable. You cannot just throw files loosely into a storage account. Containers are used for storing Blobs. Think of the storage account as a fridge and the container as the bowl you put food into before placing it in the fridge that way everything stays neat, organized, and easy to find. Without the bowl, everything is a mess and hard to manage. A blob storage container works exactly the same way. The container keeps Blobs organized and structured.
a) The public website has various images and documents. Create a blob storage container for the content.

In your storage account, in the Data storage section, select the Containers blade.

Select + Container.

Ensure the Name of the container is public.

Select Create.

b) Customers should be able to view the images without being authenticated. Configure anonymous read access for the public container blobs.

Select your public container.

On the Overview blade, select Change access level.

Ensure the Public access level is Blob (anonymous read access for blobs only).

Select OK.

3. Practice uploading files and testing access.

a) For testing, upload a file to the public container. The type of file doesn’t matter. A small image or text file is a good choice.

Ensure you are viewing your container.

Select Upload.

Browse to files and select a file. Browse to a file of your choice.

Select Upload.

Close the upload window, Refresh the page and ensure your file was uploaded. b) Determine the URL for your uploaded file. Open a browser and test the URL.
Select your uploaded file.

On the Overview tab, copy the URL.

Paste the URL into a new browser tab.

If you have uploaded an image file it will display in the browser. Other file types should be downloaded.

4. Configure soft delete:

Accidents happen. Someone might delete an important product image or video by mistake. Soft delete is a safety feature that makes sure a deleted file is not gone forever. Instead, when a file is removed, the system quietly holds onto it in the background for a set number of days. During that time, you can go back and restore it with just a few clicks. It is like retrieving something from the recycling bin before it is permanently emptied. I will show you the steps on how to enable and retrieving soft delete for blobs.
a) It’s important that the website documents can be restored if they’re deleted. Configure blob soft delete for 21 days.

Go to the Overview blade of the storage account.
On the Properties page, locate the **Blob service **section.

Select the Blob soft delete setting.

Ensure the Enable soft delete for blobs is checked.

Change the Keep deleted blobs for (in days) setting to 21.

Notice you can also Enable soft delete for containers.

Don’t forget to Save your changes.

b) If something gets deleted, you need to practice using soft delete to restore the files.

Navigate to your container where you uploaded a file.

Select the file you uploaded and then select Delete.

Select OK to confirm deleting the file.
On the container Overview page, toggle the slider Show deleted blobs. This toggle is to the right of the search box.

Select your deleted file, and use the ellipses on the far right, to Undelete the file.

Refresh the container and confirm the file has been restored.

5. Configure blob versioning:

The final step is enabling versioning. Versioning means that every time we update a file, the old version is saved too. you always have a history of your files and can go back to an older version at any time if something goes wrong.
a) It’s important to keep track of the different website product document versions.

Go to the Overview blade of the storage account.

In the Properties section, locate the Blob service section.

Select the Versioning setting.

Ensure the Enable versioning for blobs checkbox is checked.

Notice your options to keep all versions or delete versions after.

Don’t forget to Save your changes.

b) As you have time experiment with restoring previous blob versions.

Upload another version of your container file. This overwrites your existing file.

Your previous file version is listed on Show deleted blobs page.

By following the steps outlined in this guide, you have now built a storage setup that is fully functional, secure, ready to power a real, live, public website. Starting from creating a high-availability storage account, all the way through to enabling soft delete and versioning.

Providing Storage for the IT Testing and Training Department : A Step-by-Step Guide.

SULIAT — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 13:04:44 +0000

What is Azure Storage

Azure storage is Microsoft's-managed cloud-based storage service that allows individuals and organizations to store, manage, and access data such as files, Blobs and more. Azure Storage is used in applications such as serving videos, pictures, game content, PDFs, and any other content stored on a user's computer. It is known for its highly scalable, reliable, secure, and durable capabilities, and is accessible from anywhere in the world. Azure Storage always stores multiple copies of your data to protect it from planned and unplanned events.
Setting up Azure Storage is fast and easy. The setup has to be done within an Azure Storage account under your Azure subscription. This can be done by adding a new storage account using the Azure portal, meaning you need to be logged into the Azure portal to be able to use the various services offered by Azure.

In this article, I will walk through the process of creating a storage account for the Testing and Training IT department using the following steps:

Create a resource group and a storage account.

1. Create and deploy a resource group to hold all your project resources.

In the Azure portal, search for and select Resource groups.

Select + Create.

Give your resource group a name. For example, storagerg.

Select a region. Use this region throughout the project.

Select Review and create to validate the resource group.

Select Create to deploy the resource group.

2. Create and deploy a storage account to support testing and training.

In the Azure portal, search for and select Storage accounts.

Select + Create.

On the Basics tab, select your Resource group.

Provide a Storage account name. The storage account name must be unique in Azure.

Set the Performance to Standard.

Select Review, and then Create.

Wait for the storage account to deploy and then Go to resource.

Configure simple settings in the storage account.

1. The data in this storage account doesn’t require high availability or durability. A lowest cost storage solution is desired.

In your storage account, in the Data management section, select the Redundancy blade.

Select Locally-redundant storage (LRS) in the Redundancy drop-down.

Be sure to Save your changes.

Refresh the page and notice the content only exists in the primary location.

2. The storage account should only accept requests from secure connections.

In the Settings section, select the Configuration blade.

Ensure Secure transfer required is Enabled.

3. Developers would like the storage account to use at least TLS version 1.2.

In the Settings section, select the Configuration blade.

Ensure the Minimal TLS version is set to Version 1.2.

4. Until the storage is needed again, disable requests to the storage account.

In the Settings section, select the Configuration blade.

Ensure Allow storage account key access is Disabled.

Be sure to Save your changes

5. Ensure the storage account allows public access from all networks.

In the Security + networking section, select the Networking blade.

Ensure Public network access is set to** Enabled from all networks.**

Be sure to Save your changes.