Implement and manage storage
Azure Files, Blob Containers, and Access Tiers
CoreAdminister file shares and blob containers and place data in the appropriate current access tier.
Aligned to the current AZ-104 study guide, verified August 21, 2026.
Why this matters
Administrators must select the correct data model and then balance access frequency, retrieval delay, and storage cost without treating shares, containers, and tiers as interchangeable.
Must Know
- Azure Files provides managed SMB or NFS file shares; Blob Storage provides object data in containers.
- A file share has quota, protocol, access, snapshot, and protection settings; a blob container holds blobs and has its own access configuration.
- Hot, cool, and cold are online tiers with different storage and access economics; archive is offline and requires rehydration before normal reads.
- Tier choice should reflect expected access frequency, retention, retrieval timing, and early-deletion implications.
Compare and Distinguish
- Blob vs Azure Files: object access through Blob APIs vs shared hierarchical file access through file protocols.
- Hot vs cool vs cold vs archive: progressively lower storage cost and higher access or retrieval constraints, with archive requiring rehydration.
- Account default tier vs blob tier: a default for newly created eligible blobs vs an explicit tier on an individual blob.
Scenario examples
- Scenario: Several VMs need a shared directory through a file protocol. Think: Create an Azure Files share rather than a blob container.
- Scenario: Compliance data is almost never read but must be retrievable after an accepted delay. Think: Use archive only if rehydration time and retention economics fit.
- Scenario: Monthly reports remain online but are rarely downloaded. Think: Compare cool and cold using access frequency and retention horizon.
Exam traps
- A blob container is not mounted like a conventional shared file system merely because it stores files.
- Archive is not an immediately readable online tier.
- The cheapest storage charge may produce a higher total cost when data is read frequently or deleted early.
Key takeaways
- Choose Azure Files for shared file semantics and Blob Storage for object semantics.
- Choose a tier from the complete access pattern, including retrieval urgency and retention period.
How it works
- Azure Files exposes managed shares through supported file protocols, while Blob Storage addresses objects inside containers.
- Blob tier changes alter storage and access economics while the data remains governed by the account’s security controls.
Objects and administrative surfaces
- Storage account and file service — file shares, quota, protocol, identity access, snapshots, and soft delete.
- Storage account and blob service — containers, blobs, access tier, lifecycle, versioning, and delete protection.
When to use it
- Use Files for lift-and-shift shared directories and Blob for unstructured objects, backups, media, or data lakes.
- Use archive for genuinely dormant data when delayed retrieval is acceptable.
Security and governance implications
- Keep anonymous container access disabled unless a deliberate public-data requirement exists.
- Set share and container authorization independently from tier and quota decisions.
How to reason about this
- For access failure, confirm the correct service endpoint and protocol before checking network and identity layers.
- For tier-operation failure, inspect account kind, blob type, current tier, rehydration state, and applicable retention constraints.
More detail
- Administrators create shares and containers, set appropriate access, and manage service-specific properties rather than applying Blob settings to Files.
- Online tiers allow direct access; archived blobs need rehydration to an online tier before use.
Ready for the quiz?
- Which service fits applications that require SMB semantics?
- Why can archive fail a low-latency retrieval requirement?
- Which costs besides capacity influence tier selection?
Related objectives
- D2.3.S1 — Create and configure a file share in Azure Files
- D2.3.S2 — Create and configure a container in Azure Blob Storage
- D2.3.S3 — Configure storage tiers