Deploy Storage Account

This guide deploys an Azure Storage Account as the destination for Parquet files from the Haltian IoT Data API. This is a simpler and more cost-effective alternative to OneLake. After completing this guide, proceed to Deploy Function App.

Download Source Files

Download all Terraform files for this module:

Place all files in a directory (e.g., infra/storageaccount/) before running Terraform.

What Gets Created

The infra/storageaccount Terraform module provisions:

%%{init: {'theme': 'base', 'themeVariables': {'primaryColor': '#F6FAFA', 'primaryTextColor': '#143633', 'primaryBorderColor': '#143633', 'lineColor': '#143633', 'secondaryColor': '#C7FDE6', 'tertiaryColor': '#73F9C1', 'clusterBkg': '#ffffff', 'clusterBorder': '#143633', 'edgeLabelBackground': '#ffffff'}}}%%
flowchart TB
    subgraph Azure["Azure Subscription"]
        RG["fa:fa-folder Resource Group"]

        subgraph Storage["Storage Account"]
            SA["fa:fa-hdd Standard LRS<br/>TLS 1.2+ · Private Access"]
            Container["fa:fa-box Blob Container<br/>incoming"]
        end
    end

    subgraph Access["Access Methods"]
        ConnStr["Connection String"]
        MSI["Managed Identity (RBAC)"]
    end

    RG --> SA
    SA --> Container
    SA --> ConnStr
    SA --> MSI

Prerequisites

• Terraform ≥ 1.5.0
• Azure CLI authenticated (az login)
• Subscription Contributor or Storage Account Contributor role

No Fabric capacity or Global Admin required — this path is significantly simpler than OneLake.

Deployment with Terraform

Step 1: Gather Azure Information

# Get your subscription ID
az account show --query id -o tsv

# Get your tenant ID
az account show --query tenantId -o tsv

Step 2: Configure terraform.tfvars

Navigate to the infra/storageaccount directory and create terraform.tfvars:

# Azure Subscription Settings
subscription_id        = "YOUR_SUBSCRIPTION_ID"
fabric_tenant_id       = "YOUR_TENANT_ID"

# Resource Group
resource_group_name    = "rg-storage-demo"
create_resource_group  = true
location               = "westeurope"

# Naming prefix
prefix                 = "s3storage"

# Storage Account Configuration
storage_use_existing              = false
upload_storage_container_name     = "incoming"
upload_subpath                    = "upload/"

# Optional: Grant Power BI Desktop users read access
# blob_readers_email = ["analyst@yourorganization.com"]

Step 3: Deploy

cd infra/storageaccount

terraform init
terraform plan
terraform apply

Deployment takes approximately 2–5 minutes.

Step 4: Capture Outputs for Function App

After deployment, generate a ready-to-use terraform.tfvars for the Function App module:

terraform output function_app_template_tfvars \
  | grep -v EOT \
  > ../../azure-function/terraform/terraform.tfvars

Then edit the generated file to add your S3 credentials.

Key Outputs

# View all outputs
terraform output

# Get storage details
terraform output storage_account_name
terraform output storage_account_url
terraform output storage_container_name

# Get connection string (sensitive)
terraform output -raw storage_connection_string

Deployment via Azure Portal

1. Create Resource Group

1. In Azure Portal, click + Create a resource → search Resource Group
2. Configure:
   • Resource group: rg-storage-demo
   • Region: West Europe
3. Click Review + create → Create

2. Create Storage Account

1. Click + Create a resource → search Storage account
2. Configure:
   • Resource group: rg-storage-demo
   • Storage account name: a globally unique name (e.g., s3storagedata)
   • Region: West Europe
   • Performance: Standard
   • Redundancy: Locally-redundant storage (LRS)
3. On the Advanced tab, keep defaults (TLS 1.2)
4. Click Review + create → Create

3. Create Container

1. In your storage account, click Containers under Data storage
2. Click + Container
3. Name: incoming, access level: Private
4. Click Create

4. Note the Connection Details

1. Connection String: Go to Access keys → click Show → copy Connection string
2. Storage URL: From Overview, copy the Blob service endpoint URL
3. Container name: incoming

You’ll need these values when deploying the Function App.

Storage Account Naming Rules

Azure Storage Account names must be:

• Globally unique across all of Azure
• 3–24 characters long
• Lowercase letters and numbers only (no hyphens)

The Terraform module automatically sanitizes names from the prefix.

Cost Estimates

Azure Storage is extremely cost-effective:

Compare this to the OneLake path which starts at ~€240/month for Fabric capacity. Storage Account is ideal for straightforward file landing and Power BI connectivity.

Next Steps

→ Deploy Function App to set up automated S3-to-Storage data transfer