The Windows Azure storage services provide persistent, durable storage. All storage services are managed through a storage account, which you can create by using the Windows Azure Platform Management Portal. The storage services include:

• The Blob service, for storing binary data

• The Queue service, for reliable, persistent messaging between role instances

• The Table service, for structured storage that you can query

You can access data in the Windows Azure storage services from your code by using the classes provided in the Windows Azure Managed Library, or by using the Windows Azure Storage Services REST API.

Note
In addition to the Windows Azure storage services, the Windows Azure platform provides Microsoft SQL Azure, a cloud-based relational database that is built on Microsoft SQL Server.