Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate (AZ-204)Develop for Azure storageEasy

A company is migrating an existing application to Azure. The application currently uses a shared file system to store configuration files and user-uploaded documents. These files need to be accessible from multiple virtual machines (VMs) simultaneously using standard file system protocols (SMB). Which Azure storage service should you recommend?

  1. AAzure Table Storage
  2. BAzure Files
  3. CAzure Blob Storage
  4. DAzure Queue Storage
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: B. Azure Files

Azure Files offers fully managed file shares in the cloud that are accessible via the industry-standard Server Message Block (SMB) protocol. This allows multiple VMs to access the same files simultaneously, just like a traditional file share.

Why the other options are wrong

  • A. Azure Table Storage is a NoSQL database service for structured data, not for file sharing.
  • C. Azure Blob Storage is for storing large objects like images, videos, and documents, but doesn't natively support SMB for multi-VM access like a file share.
  • D. Azure Queue Storage is for message queuing, not for storing and sharing files.

Azure Files

A fully managed file share service in the cloud that can be accessed via the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol, allowing multiple VMs to share files.

  • SMB/NFS protocol support.
  • Can be mounted by multiple VMs.
  • Replaces traditional file servers.

Memory trick: Azure Files is like having a shared network drive in the cloud.

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