Windows Azure - Storage Basics

In this article we are discussing Storage Accounts in Windows Azure. We will start with the purpose first.

What is the purpose of Storage Accounts?

We know that in our traditional applications we need persistence like:

• Storing Data in Database
• Storing Information in Files

The persistence is needed for retrieving them later. As Windows Azure is a different platform (Operating System) the storage mechanisms also differ.

Types of Storage in Windows Azure

There are mainly three types of storage:

• Local Storage
• Windows Azure Storage
• SQL Azure Database Storage

Local Storage

• Similar to normal file system storage
• Faster way of storing data
• Used for Temporary purposes and data is removed on instance restart
• Multiple application access is restricted
• No price involved

Windows Azure Storage

• Durable Storage service
• Multiple application access is possible
• Pricing involved
• 3 Types of storage: Blobs, Tables and Queues

Sql Azure Database Storage

• RDBMS (Relational Database Management System)
• Sql Server on the Cloud
• Access data using ADO.NET or ODBC technologies
• Pricing involved

The following image summarizes the types of storage.



Each storage example will be provided in the further articles.

More Information

More information on the pricing and features can be found in link