What are the different Azure storage services and when should you use each?

Azure provides multiple storage services optimized for different data types and access patterns.

Azure Blob Storage: Object storage for unstructured data like images, videos, backups, and logs. Three access tiers: Hot (frequent access), Cool (infrequent, 30-day minimum), and Archive (rare access, 180-day minimum). Supports lifecycle management to auto-tier data. Equivalent to Amazon S3 or GCS.

Azure File Storage: Fully managed file shares via SMB and NFS protocols. Can be mounted on Windows, Linux, and macOS. Use for lifting on-premises file servers, shared config files, or Azure Files Sync for hybrid scenarios.

Azure Table Storage: NoSQL key-value store for semi-structured data. Serverless, auto-scaling. Good for large amounts of structured non-relational data at lower cost than Cosmos DB.

Azure Queue Storage: Message queue service for decoupling components. Messages up to 64KB. Use for async task processing and reliable messaging between services.

Azure Disk Storage: Persistent block storage for Azure VMs. Options include Premium SSD, Standard SSD, Standard HDD, and Ultra Disk. Managed disks are recommended as Azure handles availability and replication.

Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2: Hierarchical filesystem built on Blob Storage, optimized for analytics with Hadoop-compatible access. Used with Azure Databricks, HDInsight, and Synapse Analytics.