What is Azure storage?

Azure Storage, offered by Microsoft Azure, is a cloud storage solution that provides a range of services for storing and controlling data in the cloud. It is compatible with various forms of data, such as structured, unstructured, and semi-structured data, and is built for superior availability, durability, and scalability.

Below are the essential elements of Azure Storage:

1. Blob Storage: Employed to store vast quantities of disorganized data, like pictures, films, and backups. It provides different access tiers to help with managing costs.

2. Data Storage: Offers completely managed file shares in the cloud, accessible through the SMB (Server Message Block) protocol. This is beneficial for applications requiring shared file storage.

3. Queue Storage: A service that stores and retrieves messages between application components, enabling asynchronous communication.

4. Table Storage: An NoSQL key-value database for partially-structured information, offering quick retrieval and expansion for high-performance storage needs.

5. Storage for Disks: Utilized for virtual machine (VM) disks, providing both managed and unmanaged disks for Azure VMs.

6. Azure Data Lake Storage is a dedicated service designed for big data analysis, offering a hierarchical namespace and enhancements for extensive analytics tasks.

Azure Storage is connected with various Azure services, allowing users to create applications that can scale and withstand challenges. It provides features such as encryption, redundancy choices, and access control to guarantee data security and compliance.

Here are the steps to set up storage for the IT department's testing and training activities:

Step 1. Create a resource group and a storage account.
A resource group is a container used to organize and manage related resources in cloud computing environments.

• 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.

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, select your Resource groups
• 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 the resource.

Configure simple settings in the storage account.

Step 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. Step2. The storage account should only accept requests from secure connections.
• In the Settings section, select the Configuration blade.

• Ensure the Secure transfer required is Enabled.

Step3. 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. Learn more about disabling shared keys.

• In the Settings section, select the Configuration blade

• Ensure Allow storage account key access is Disabled.
• Be sure to Save your changes.

Conclusion

Setting up Azure Storage for the IT department's testing and training needs provides a secure, scalable, and cost-effective environment that supports learning and development activities in a real-world cloud context. Through this guide, we've walked through the essential steps to configure a customized storage solution using Microsoft Azure — from creating a resource group to deploying and securing a storage account with tailored settings.

By selecting Locally Redundant Storage (LRS) , we ensured minimal costs while maintaining sufficient durability for non-production use. Enforcing secure transfer and setting the minimum TLS version to 1.2 helped align the configuration with modern security standards. Disabling shared key access added an extra layer of control, allowing the team to manage access effectively and disable it when the storage is not in use.

This setup not only meets the immediate requirements of the IT department but also serves as a practical learning tool for understanding Azure’s cloud capabilities, making it highly relevant for professionals aiming to grow in #devops, #cloud, and broader #career paths. It reinforces best practices around resource organization, security, and cost management, all of which are crucial skills in today’s cloud-driven IT landscape.

In summary, this article demonstrates how to efficiently deploy and configure Azure Storage to support internal training and testing, while also contributing to long-term skill development and operational readiness in cloud environments.