Patrick Domingues

In this tutorial I will show you how to configure Microsoft Azure Blob Storage. Microsoft Azure Blob Storage is a powerful cloud-based service offered by Microsoft Azure for storing large amounts of unstructured data such as text or binary data. It is a cost-effective and scalable solution for businesses that need to store, access and share data across multiple applications or services. In this article, we will guide you on how to configure Azure Blob Storage step by step.

Step 1: Create an Azure Storage Account Before you can start using Azure Blob Storage, you need to create an Azure Storage account. To create an account, follow these steps:

1. Login to the Azure portal
2. Click on the Create a resource button
3. Select Storage Account from the list of available resources
4. Choose a subscription, resource group, and storage account name
5. Select the location and performance tier
6. Choose your preferred replication method
7. Click on the Review + create button
8. Review your settings and click on the Create button to create the storage account

Step 2: Create a Blob Container Once you have created a storage account, you need to create a Blob container to store your data. To create a container, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Storage account you created in step 1
2. Click on the Containers tab
3. Click on the + Container button
4. Choose a name for your container
5. Choose the Public access level (Blob or Container)
6. Click on the Create button to create the container

Step 3: Configure Blob Access Policies To secure your Blob storage account, you need to configure access policies. Access policies define the permissions for accessing Blob containers and Blob data. To configure Blob access policies, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Storage account you created in step 1
2. Click on the Access keys tab
3. Click on the Add button under Key1 or Key2 to create a new key
4. Copy the connection string for the key you just created
5. Go to the Shared access signature tab
6. Choose the Start time and Expiry time for the access policy
7. Choose the Allowed services, Allowed resource types, Allowed permissions and Allowed protocols
8. Click on the Generate SAS and connection string button
9. Copy the connection string for the access policy

Step 4: Accessing Azure Blob Storage Once you have created a Blob container and configured Blob access policies, you can start using Azure Blob Storage. To access Azure Blob Storage, you can use the following methods:

1. Azure Portal: You can access Azure Blob Storage through the Azure portal by navigating to the Storage account and Blob container you created.
2. Azure Storage Explorer: Azure Storage Explorer is a free cross-platform application that allows you to manage Azure storage resources. You can download it from the Azure website.
3. Azure Blob Storage REST API: You can use the Azure Blob Storage REST API to access Blob containers and Blob data programmatically. The REST API provides a set of HTTP operations for working with Blob storage.

Conclusion

Configuring Azure Blob Storage is easy and straightforward. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can create a storage account, create a Blob container, configure access policies, and start using Azure Blob Storage to store and access your data. Azure Blob Storage is a cost-effective and scalable solution for businesses that need to store, access and share large amounts of unstructured data.