AZ-305 Question 87
Single answerAn automotive research company needs to store large volumes of high-resolution test images and video files for long-term archival and occasional retrieval. These files can be gigabytes in size, and they must be accessible from multiple global offices and easily integrated into analytical workflows. Which Azure service is the most appropriate choice for cost-effective, highly scalable unstructured data storage in this scenario?
- A
Use Azure Blob Storage with tiered storage options and geo-redundancy.
- B
Use Azure Files with the premium file share tier.
- C
Use Azure SQL Database with FILESTREAM or FileTable for image storage.
- D
Use Azure Cosmos DB for storing and querying images as documents.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
Azure Blob Storage is Microsoft’s primary service for hosting unstructured data at scale. It provides cost-efficient access tiers, integrates seamlessly with other Azure analytics services, and offers global replication options that meet enterprise availability and durability requirements. For more details, refer to Microsoft’s documentation on Blob Storage best practices (https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/storage/blobs/storage-blob-best-practices).
- A. Correct.
Option 1 is correct. Azure Blob Storage is designed specifically for unstructured data such as images, videos, and other media. It offers different access tiers (Hot, Cool, and Archive) that help optimize costs for data that is not frequently accessed. Geo-redundancy ensures high availability and durability across regions, and Blob Storage easily integrates with services like Azure Data Lake Storage and analytics solutions.
- B. Incorrect.
Option 2 is incorrect. While Azure Files provides a fully managed file share in the cloud, it is typically used for shared file system scenarios for applications and workloads that require SMB or NFS access. For storing large unstructured content with global scale needs, Azure Blob Storage is more cost-effective and scalable.
- C. Incorrect.
Option 3 is incorrect. Storing massive unstructured data in Azure SQL Database using FILESTREAM or FileTable can be cumbersome and costly. SQL Database is not primarily optimized for hosting very large files and can quickly become expensive for data that does not require relational capabilities.
- D. Incorrect.
Option 4 is incorrect. Although Azure Cosmos DB is a globally distributed, multi-model database, it is not primarily intended for storing large binary files such as high-resolution images or videos. Cosmos DB is better suited for scenarios that require low-latency access to JSON or document-based data rather than large-scale media files.