In every institution, we need to save guide company’ files and documents. That means, we need to have a dedicated shared storage in a high availability and safe zone where users can have access at any given time.
Let’s discuss what Azure storage is: Azure Blob Storage?
Azure Blob Storage is Microsoft’s cloud-based object storage solution designed to store massive amounts of unstructured data such as text, images, videos, and backups.
In short, Azure Blob Storage is the backbone for storing and managing unstructured data in the cloud, making it essential for modern applications that require scalability, durability, and global accessibility.
🌐 What Azure Blob Storage Is and what it does
Object storage solution: Stores data as "blobs" (Binary Large Objects) rather than in traditional file hierarchies.
Unstructured data support: Ideal for data without a fixed schema, like multimedia files, logs, or backups.
Cloud-native accessibility: Data can be accessed from anywhere in the world using REST APIs, SDKs, or Azure Portal.
📂 Here are Key Use Cases
Serving images or documents directly to browsers.
Streaming video and audio for applications.
Backup and disaster recovery to ensure business continuity.
Data archiving for compliance or long-term storage.
Analytics integration with Azure services or on-premises systems
🔒 Here are Key Benefits
Scalability: Handles petabytes of data seamlessly.
Cost-effectiveness: Multiple storage tiers (Hot, Cool, Archive) to optimize cost vs. performance.
Security: Supports encryption, role-based access control, and shared access signatures.
Integration: Works smoothly with Azure Data Lake, analytics, and machine learning services.
In today’s exercise: We will demonstrate how to Create Azure *Resource *Group (RG) and Azure Storage Account in Azure portal and sets policies on each resource.
Let’s begin.
Open Azure portal https://portal.azure.com/?l=en.en-gb#home
Step 1. Create and deploy a resource group to hold all your project resources.
In the Azure portal, search for and select Resource groups.
Give your resource group a name. For example, *newworldRG.
Select a *region. Use this region throughout the project. Ours is East Canada region.
Select Review and create to validate the resource group.
Select Create to **deploy **the resource group.
Step 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, In the drop down select your Resource group.
Provide a Storage account name. For example, newworldsa. The storage account name must be globally unique in Azure. For example, you can not use another storage account with this same name.
Set the Performance to Standard.
Select Review, and then Create.
Now Let’s Perform and Configure simple settings in Azure storage account.
Since we are using Free subscription our solution in this exercise doesn’t require high availability or durability. A lowest cost storage solution is desired for testing purposes. Always ensure to delete object, for example Resource Group, Storage Account, Virtual Machine before the day ends. Doing so would allows your Free subscription not to get charged.
Step 1. Configure simple settings in the storage account.
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. Automatically the secondary location disappears from the location and on the geographical map.
Step 2. Allow the storage account to accept requests from secure connections.
In the Settings section, select the Configuration blade.
Ensure Secure transfer required is Enabled.
Step 3. Our *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.
Step 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.
Step 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.
Our company website supplies product images, videos, marketing literature, and customer success stories. Customers are located worldwide and demand is rapidly expanding. The content is mission-critical and requires low latency load times. It’s important to keep track of the document versions and to quickly restore documents if they’re deleted.
From the Architecture diagram
In our next topic, we will demonstrate how to perform create Public website, Storage account and Container backups and snapshot in Azure.
Create a storage account with high availability.
Step 1. **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 name it **publicwebsiteRG. Give your resource group a name and select OK.
Set the Storage account name to **publicwebsiite. If the name is already taken, use another name. 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.
Step 2. 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.
Step 3. 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.
In this exercise let’s Create a blob storage container with anonymous read access
The *public website has various images and documents. Create a blob storage container for the content.
Step 1. 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.
Step 2. 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). You will encounter (anonymous access to this container is being block because anonymous access on storage account is disabled). Go back to storage account and select **publicwebsiite, On Data Storage, select container, click on public
Change access level from private to Blob (anonymous read access only)
Select OK.
Let’s perform a test Practice uploading files and testing access
Step 1. 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.
In the portal, search for and select Storage accounts.
Select and open **publicwebsiite **Storage account.
Ensure **public is listed.
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.
Configure soft delete
Step 1. It’s important that the website documents can be restored if accidental 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 is 21.
Notice you can also Enable soft delete for containers.
Don’t forget to Save your changes.
Step 2. If something gets deleted, you need to practice using soft delete to restore the files.
Navigate to your container where you uploaded a file, ours is public.
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. The toggle is the right of the search box scroll to the end and click the … icon.
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.
In our next exercise, let’s Configure blob versioning
Step 1. 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.
Finally
Step 2. As you have time, perform some 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.
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