Q1: What are the different types of Azure Storage services, and how do they differ?
Answer:
Azure offers several storage solutions, each designed for different use cases:
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Azure Blob Storage: Object storage for unstructured data like text, images, videos, etc. Great for large files and backups.
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Azure File Storage: Managed file shares accessible via SMB protocol, suitable for scenarios where you need to lift and shift on-premises applications.
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Azure Table Storage: NoSQL key-value store for structured data, perfect for scenarios requiring fast access to large amounts of data.
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Azure Queue Storage: Used for message queuing between distributed application components.
Q2: What is the difference between Azure SQL Database and Cosmos DB?
Answer:
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Azure SQL Database is a fully managed relational database service based on SQL Server, suitable for structured data and applications that require relational data models and SQL querying.
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Azure Cosmos DB is a globally distributed NoSQL database service designed for high availability and low-latency access to large volumes of unstructured data. It supports multiple APIs, including SQL, MongoDB, Cassandra, and Gremlin, making it ideal for applications requiring fast, scalable, and highly available data access.
Q3: How does Azure Redis Cache improve application performance?
Answer:
Azure Redis Cache is an in-memory caching service that stores frequently accessed data in memory, reducing the need to query databases repeatedly. By caching data, it improves the response time of applications and reduces latency, which is critical for high-performance web applications and real-time data processing.
Q4: What is the use of Azure Data Lake, and how is it different from Blob Storage?
Answer:
Azure Data Lake is designed for big data analytics. It supports both structured and unstructured data, providing enhanced features like hierarchical namespace support and advanced security. While Azure Blob Storage is good for general-purpose storage, Data Lake is optimized for large-scale analytics workloads, allowing better performance for large datasets and integration with tools like Azure HDInsight and Azure Databricks.
Q5: How would you implement a backup and disaster recovery strategy in Azure?
Answer:
Azure offers various tools for backup and disaster recovery:
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Azure Backup: A reliable service to back up data and VMs to the cloud.
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Azure Site Recovery: Allows you to replicate on-premises workloads to Azure for disaster recovery.
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Azure Blob Storage with geo-redundant storage (GRS): Ensures that your data is stored in multiple geographically isolated locations for enhanced disaster recovery capabilities.