Azure Data Storage Solutions Flashcards

Which Azure storage service is best suited for storing petabytes of unstructured data for big data analytics workloads?

Answer: Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2

Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 is specifically designed for big data analytics with hierarchical namespace support and petabyte-scale capacity.

When configuring Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2, which authentication method provides the finest-grained access control at the file and directory level?

Answer: POSIX-compliant ACLs

POSIX-compliant ACLs in ADLS Gen2 allow granular access control at the file and directory level, beyond what RBAC alone provides.

What is the purpose of the hierarchical namespace feature in Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2?

Answer: To support atomic directory operations and improve analytics performance

Hierarchical namespace enables atomic directory operations, which dramatically improves analytics job performance by reducing overhead.

Which Azure Blob Storage access tier is most cost-effective for data that is rarely accessed and stored for at least 180 days?

Answer: Archive tier

The Archive tier offers the lowest storage cost for data accessed infrequently, with a recommended minimum retention of 180 days.

In Azure Synapse Analytics, what is a PolyBase external table used for?

Answer: Querying data stored outside Synapse such as ADLS Gen2 without importing it

PolyBase external tables allow Synapse Analytics to query data stored in external sources like ADLS Gen2 or Azure Blob Storage without moving it.

Which replication option provides the highest durability for Azure Storage by maintaining six copies across two geographically separated data centers?

Answer: Geo-Zone-Redundant Storage (GZRS)

GZRS combines zone redundancy within the primary region and geo-replication to a secondary region, providing the highest overall durability.