Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect ExpertDesign data storage solutionsMedium
A global pharmaceutical company is conducting a large-scale genomics research project. The project involves storing petabytes of raw genomic sequencing data (FASTQ, BAM files) along with associated metadata. This data is typically accessed by multiple data scientists and analytical tools (e.g., Apache Spark, Hadoop) for complex queries and machine learning model training. The company requires a storage solution that supports a hierarchical file system, fine-grained access control, and is optimized for big data analytics workloads. Which Azure storage solution is most suitable?
- AAzure Blob Storage (General-purpose v2)
- BAzure Files Premium
- CAzure Data Lake Storage Gen2
- DAzure SQL Database
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: C. Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2
Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 is built on Azure Blob Storage and specifically optimized for big data analytics workloads. It provides a hierarchical file system, POSIX-compliant access control lists (ACLs), and is highly scalable for petabytes of data, making it ideal for genomic research with Spark/Hadoop.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Azure Blob Storage (General-purpose v2) provides object storage but lacks the hierarchical file system and POSIX ACLs optimized for data lake analytics.
- B. Azure Files Premium offers high-performance file shares for SMB/NFS but is not designed for petabyte-scale big data analytics with tools like Spark/Hadoop.
- D. Azure SQL Database is a relational database and completely unsuitable for storing petabytes of raw genomic sequencing files.
Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2
A set of capabilities dedicated to big data analytics, built on Azure Blob Storage, providing a hierarchical file system, POSIX security, and optimized for high-throughput analytics.
- Combines benefits of Blob Storage (scale, tiers) with a file system interface.
- Supports HDFS compatibility for tools like Spark and Hadoop.
- Offers fine-grained, POSIX-compliant access control lists (ACLs).
Memory trick: Data Lake Gen2, the big data's true friend.