Azure Storage

 

What is Azure Storage?

Azure Storage is a cloud storage service provided by Microsoft Azure that allows you to store different types of data securely in the cloud.

Instead of storing files, images, videos, databases, or application data on your local server, you store them in Microsoft's Azure data centers and access them through APIs.

Azure Storage is:

• Highly available
• Scalable (can store GB to PB of data)
• Secure
• Cost-effective
• Accessible from anywhere

5

---

Types of Azure Storage

1. Azure Blob Storage (Most Used)

Blob = Binary Large Object

Used for storing unstructured data:

Examples:

• Images
• Videos
• PDF files
• Documents
• Backups
• Logs
• Website files

Real-time example:

A job portal like TechNokri:

User uploads Resume.pdf
          |
          ↓
ASP.NET Core API
          |
          ↓
Azure Blob Storage
          |
          ↓
Resume stored in Cloud

Your database stores only:

UserId | Name | ResumeURL
--------------------------------
1      | Rahul | https://storage.azure.com/resume.pdf

---

2. Azure File Storage

Works like a normal Windows folder shared over the network.

Example:

Company has:

\\companyserver\documents

Replace it with:

Azure File Share

Multiple users can access files.

Use cases:

• Shared folders
• Migration of old applications
• Team documents

---

3. Azure Queue Storage

Used for communication between applications.

Example:

Online shopping:

Customer places order

        |
        ↓

Order API
        |
        ↓

Azure Queue
        |
        ↓

Email Service sends mail

Queue message:

{
 OrderId:101,
 Email:"abc@gmail.com",
 Amount:5000
}

---

4. Azure Table Storage

NoSQL key-value storage.

Example:

Student data:

PartitionKey | RowKey | Name | Course
---------------------------------------
Student      101      Rahul  .NET
Student      102      Amit   Azure

Used for:

• Simple data
• Large scale NoSQL storage

---

Example: Upload Image Using Azure Blob Storage (.NET)

Scenario

User uploads profile photo.

Flow:

Angular/React
       |
       |
 ASP.NET Core API
       |
       |
 Azure Blob Storage
       |
       |
 image.jpg

---

Step 1: Create Storage Account

Azure Portal:

Create Resource
      |
Storage Account
      |
Create

After creation:

You get:

Connection String

Example:

DefaultEndpointsProtocol=https;
AccountName=mystorage;
AccountKey=xxxx;
EndpointSuffix=core.windows.net

---

Step 2: Install NuGet Package

ASP.NET Core:

Microsoft.Azure.Storage.Blob

or latest:

Azure.Storage.Blobs

---

Step 3: appsettings.json

{
 "AzureStorage": {
   "ConnectionString":
   "your_connection_string",

   "ContainerName":
   "images"
 }
}

---

Step 4: Create Blob Service

using Azure.Storage.Blobs;

public class BlobService
{
    private readonly BlobContainerClient _container;


    public BlobService(IConfiguration config)
    {
        var connection =
        config["AzureStorage:ConnectionString"];

        var container =
        config["AzureStorage:ContainerName"];


        _container =
        new BlobContainerClient(
        connection,
        container);


        _container.CreateIfNotExists();
    }


    public async Task<string> Upload(
        IFormFile file)
    {

        var blob =
        _container.GetBlobClient(file.FileName);


        await blob.UploadAsync(
        file.OpenReadStream(),
        true);


        return blob.Uri.ToString();
    }
}

---

Step 5: Controller

[HttpPost("upload")]
public async Task<IActionResult> Upload(
IFormFile file)
{

    var url =
    await _blobService.Upload(file);


    return Ok(new
    {
        ImageURL=url
    });

}

---

Response

{
 "imageURL":
 "https://mystorage.blob.core.windows.net/images/photo.jpg"
}

---

Real Company Usage Examples

Application	Azure Storage Usage
Netflix	Video storage
E-commerce	Product images
Banking	Document storage
Hospital	Patient reports
Job Portal	Resume storage
YouTube-like app	Video files

---

Azure Storage vs Database

Database	Azure Storage
Stores structured data	Stores files/objects
Tables	Containers
Rows/columns	Files/blobs
SQL queries	URL/API access

Example:

SQL Server:

Employee
---------
Id
Name
Salary

Azure Blob:

employee_resume.pdf
profile.jpg
offer_letter.pdf