Azure Queue Storage on Microsoft Azure
What is Azure Queue Storage?
Azure Queue Storage is a simple, cost-effective message queue service for asynchronous communication between application components. As part of Azure Storage, it provides reliable message storage with HTTP/HTTPS-based access.
Queue Storage stores millions of messages (up to 64 KB each) that can be read by any number of clients. Messages have a configurable time-to-live and can be made “invisible” for processing (visibility timeout).
The service is ideal for simple producer-consumer scenarios without the complexity of a full-fledged message broker. For advanced scenarios (topics, subscriptions, dead letter queues), Azure Service Bus is recommended.
Typical Use Cases
Background processing: Web applications write time-intensive tasks (image processing, report generation, email sending) to a queue. Worker processes handle messages asynchronously.
Load leveling: Buffering requests during peak loads. Producers write faster than consumers can process; the queue smooths out fluctuations.
Microservice communication: Loose coupling between services. If a consumer service fails, messages are preserved and processed later.
Batch processing: Collecting events or orders over time, periodic processing in batches.
Frequently Asked Questions about Azure Queue Storage
What is the difference to Azure Service Bus?
Queue Storage is simpler and cheaper: no topics/subscriptions, no dead letter queues, FIFO not guaranteed, max 64 KB/message. Service Bus offers advanced features for enterprise messaging. Queue Storage for simple scenarios, Service Bus for complex ones.
How large can messages be?
Maximum 64 KB per message. For larger payloads, store data in Blob Storage and send only a reference (URL) in the queue message.
Is ordering guaranteed?
No, Queue Storage does not guarantee FIFO ordering. For strict ordering, use Azure Service Bus Queues with sessions.
How long are messages stored?
By default 7 days (configurable up to 7 days). Unprocessed messages are automatically deleted after expiration.
What does Queue Storage cost?
Very affordable: approximately 0.004 EUR per 10,000 transactions plus minimal storage costs. Significantly cheaper than Service Bus, ideal for high transaction volumes.
Integration with innFactory
As a Microsoft Solutions Partner, innFactory supports you in integrating Azure Queue Storage for asynchronous workloads. We help with architecture design, worker implementation, and monitoring.
Contact us for a non-binding consultation on Azure Queue Storage and messaging architectures.
