Azure File Storage Overview

Azure File Storage is a fully managed cloud file share service that is accessible via the industry-standard Server Message Block (SMB) protocol. It also supports the Network File System (NFS) protocol for Linux workloads.

Key takeaway

Azure Files offers cloud-native, fully managed file shares that can be mounted by multiple clients simultaneously, providing a familiar file system interface for your applications.

What is Azure File Storage?

Azure File Storage provides a highly available, scalable, and durable file share solution in the cloud. It enables you to lift and shift existing applications that rely on file shares without significant code changes.

With Azure Files, you can:

Share data across multiple VMs and applications: Mount the same file share from on-premises Windows machines, Linux machines, and Azure VMs.
Migrate legacy applications: Easily move applications that require a file share interface to Azure.
Use managed disks for VMs: Use Azure Files as temporary storage or for sharing data between VMs.
Implement shared configuration files: Store application settings or configuration files in a central, accessible location.

Key Features and Benefits

SMB and NFS Support

Leverage the widely adopted SMB protocol for Windows clients and NFS v4.1 for Linux clients, ensuring broad compatibility.

Fully Managed Service

Microsoft manages the underlying infrastructure, including hardware, networking, and software updates, reducing your operational burden.

Scalability and Performance

Scale your file shares up or down as needed and achieve high levels of throughput and IOPS to meet demanding workloads.

Durability and Availability

Benefit from Azure's robust infrastructure, offering high durability and availability for your critical data.

Hybrid Cloud Scenarios

Use Azure File Sync to synchronize on-premises Windows File Server data with Azure Files for cloud tiering and disaster recovery.

Security

Secure your file shares with Azure Active Directory Domain Services (Azure AD DS) authentication or storage account key authentication. Encrypt data at rest and in transit.

Common Use Cases

Shared Application Settings: Storing configuration files that multiple application instances need to access.
Development and Testing: Providing shared storage for development tools, SDKs, and test data.
Container Storage: Using Azure Files as persistent storage for containers in Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) or other orchestration platforms.
Disaster Recovery: Syncing on-premises file shares to Azure Files for a resilient DR strategy.
Profile Shares: Storing user profiles for domain-joined virtual machines.

Getting Started

You can create an Azure File share directly from the Azure portal, using Azure CLI, Azure PowerShell, or programmatically via SDKs.

Here's a simple example of creating a file share using Azure CLI:

az storage share create \
    --name mystorageaccount \
    --account-name <your-storage-account-name> \
    --account-key <your-storage-account-key>

Once created, you can mount the file share to your client machines:

Windows: Use the net use command.
Linux: Use the mount command with the SMB or NFS protocol.

Azure Storage Docs