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storage-table-concepts-include.md

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author tamram
ms.service azure-storage
ms.topic include
ms.date 10/26/2018
ms.author tamram

What is Table storage

Azure Table storage stores large amounts of structured data. The service is a NoSQL datastore which accepts authenticated calls from inside and outside the Azure cloud. Azure tables are ideal for storing structured, non-relational data. Common uses of Table storage include:

  • Storing TBs of structured data capable of serving web scale applications
  • Storing datasets that don't require complex joins, foreign keys, or stored procedures and can be denormalized for fast access
  • Quickly querying data using a clustered index
  • Accessing data using the OData protocol and LINQ queries with WCF Data Service .NET Libraries

You can use Table storage to store and query huge sets of structured, non-relational data, and your tables will scale as demand increases.

Table storage concepts

Table storage contains the following components:

Tables storage component diagram

  • URL format: Azure Table Storage accounts use this format: http://<storage account>.table.core.windows.net/<table>

    You can address Azure tables directly using this address with the OData protocol. For more information, see OData.org.

  • Accounts: All access to Azure Storage is done through a storage account. For more information about storage accounts, see Storage account overview.

    All access to Azure Cosmos DB is done through an Azure Cosmos DB for Table account. For more information, see Create an Azure Cosmos DB for Table account.

  • Table: A table is a collection of entities. Tables don't enforce a schema on entities, which means a single table can contain entities that have different sets of properties.

  • Entity: An entity is a set of properties, similar to a database row. An entity in Azure Storage can be up to 1MB in size. An entity in Azure Cosmos DB can be up to 2MB in size.

  • Properties: A property is a name-value pair. Each entity can include up to 252 properties to store data. Each entity also has three system properties that specify a partition key, a row key, and a timestamp. Entities with the same partition key can be queried more quickly, and inserted/updated in atomic operations. An entity's row key is its unique identifier within a partition.

For details about naming tables and properties, see Understanding the Table Service Data Model.