What is Azure Files?
Azure Files offers a fully managed cloud file share service that is accessible via the industry-standard Server Message Block (SMB) protocol and the Network File System (NFS) protocol. This makes it simple to "lift and shift" legacy applications that rely on file shares to Azure. It's also perfect for modern cloud applications that need to share configuration data or diagnostics between multiple application instances.
With Azure Files, you can replace or supplement your on-premises file servers, providing highly available and durable storage that can be accessed from anywhere.
Key Benefits:
- Managed Service: No need to manage hardware or infrastructure.
- Accessible: Access via SMB and NFS protocols from Windows, Linux, and macOS.
- Scalable: Scales to meet your storage and performance needs.
- Durable & Highly Available: Built for reliability with automatic redundancy.
- Secure: Supports Azure Active Directory integration, Shared Key, and SAS authentication.
Core Concepts
Azure Files is built around a few core components:
- Storage Account: A container for all your Azure Storage data objects. You create a storage account to host your file shares.
- File Share: The primary component of Azure Files, where you store your files. You can create multiple file shares within a storage account.
- File & Directory: Standard file system objects within a file share.
Common Use Cases
Azure Files is versatile and can be used in various scenarios:
Lift and Shift Applications
Easily migrate applications that rely on traditional file shares to the cloud without significant code changes.
Shared Configuration
Store application configuration files in a central location accessible by multiple instances of your application.
Development and Testing
Provide shared storage for development teams, tools, and test data.
Software Defined Networking (SDN)
Used as a file store for network controllers in environments like Windows Server Software-Defined Networking.
Application Data Storage
Store user-generated content, logs, or other application data that requires file-like access.
Getting Started
You can get started with Azure Files by creating a storage account and then creating a file share within it. You can access your file shares using the Azure portal, Azure CLI, PowerShell, or client libraries.
Explore the official Azure Files documentation for more detailed information.