Microsoft Azure Data FundamentalsDescribe how to work with non-relational data on AzureEasy
A software development team is building a new application that requires storing large amounts of unstructured text data, such as customer reviews and social media posts. This data will be infrequently accessed after initial ingestion but needs to be retained for compliance and future analytics. Which Azure non-relational storage service and access tier combination is the most cost-effective for this scenario?
- AAzure Blob Storage - Hot tier
- BAzure Data Lake Storage Gen2 - Cool tier
- CAzure Files Premium tier
- DAzure Blob Storage - Archive tier
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: D. Azure Blob Storage - Archive tier
For infrequently accessed unstructured data that needs long-term retention, the Azure Blob Storage Archive tier offers the most cost-effective storage. It has the lowest storage costs but higher access costs and latency, which is acceptable for infrequent access for compliance and future analytics.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Hot tier is for frequently accessed data, making it more expensive than necessary for infrequent access.
- B. Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 is for big data analytics workloads, and while Cool tier offers cost savings, Archive tier in Blob Storage is specifically designed for the lowest storage cost for rarely accessed data.
- C. Azure Files is for file shares, not blob storage, and Premium tier is for high performance, not cost-effective archival.
Azure Blob Storage Archive Tier
The Azure Blob Storage Archive tier is an offline tier optimized for rarely accessed data that can tolerate several hours of retrieval latency. It offers the lowest storage cost but the highest access costs.
- Lowest storage cost compared to Hot and Cool tiers.
- Highest data retrieval cost and latency (hours).
- Ideal for long-term backup, archival, and compliance data.
- Data must be rehydrated to Hot or Cool tier before it can be read.
Memory trick: Think 'Hot for Now, Cool for Later, Archive for Never (almost)'.