Azure Storage Documentation

Use Case: Migrating existing applications that depend on traditional Windows or Linux file shares to the cloud without requiring significant code changes.

Description: Azure Files allows you to replace your on-premises file servers with managed cloud file shares. Applications can mount these shares using SMB or NFS, enabling seamless migration. This is a common strategy for migrating legacy applications, shared configuration files, and application data.

Benefits:

• Reduces the need for costly refactoring.
• Leverages existing application architecture.
• Provides scalable and durable storage.

Considerations: Network latency and bandwidth are key factors for performance. Consider using Azure Files with Azure File Sync for hybrid scenarios or Azure NetApp Files for high-performance needs.

Use Case: Centralizing configuration files, settings, and potentially logs for multiple application instances or services running in Azure.

Description: Instead of managing configuration on each VM or container, you can store it in a central Azure File Share. Applications can then read their configurations from the mounted share. This simplifies management, deployment, and updates of application settings across your environment.

Example: A web application deployed on multiple Azure VMs can all read their connection strings and application settings from a single share.

// Example of accessing a file from an SMB share (conceptually)
string configFilePath = @"\\yourstorageaccount.file.core.windows.net\myshare\appsettings.json";
string settings = File.ReadAllText(configFilePath);

Use Case: Providing persistent storage for stateful containerized applications, such as databases, caches, or content management systems, running on Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) or other container orchestration platforms.

Description: Azure Files can be mounted directly into containers, providing durable and shared storage. This is crucial for microservices that need to share data or maintain state across container restarts or scaling events.

Integration: AKS can use the Azure Files CSI driver to dynamically provision and mount file shares for PersistentVolumes.

# Example Kubernetes PersistentVolume definition using Azure Files
apiVersion: v1
kind: PersistentVolume
metadata:
  name: azurefile
spec:
  capacity:
    storage: 5Gi
  accessModes:
    - ReadWriteMany
  mountPath: /mnt/data
  shareName: yourshare
  secretName: azurestoragekey
  storageAccountName: yourstorageaccount

Use Case: Providing users with a centralized location for their personal files, documents, and settings that can be accessed from any device or VM in Azure.

Description: Similar to on-premises file servers, Azure Files can host user home directories. This allows for easy data backup, sharing, and a consistent user experience across different virtual machines. Azure File Sync can also be used to cache shares on-premises while keeping the data in Azure.

Advantages: Centralized management, simplified backup and recovery, improved collaboration.

Use Case: Storing and serving static website content, media files, or application assets for web applications.

Description: Web servers can mount Azure File Shares to access and serve static content. This is particularly useful when you need to share content across multiple web server instances or when your web application generates dynamic content that needs to be stored centrally.

Performance: For high-traffic static content, consider Azure Blob Storage or Azure CDN for better performance and scalability.

Use Case: Distributing software installers, patches, or updates to a fleet of virtual machines.

Description: A central Azure File Share can act as a repository for deployment packages. Administrators can then use scripting or deployment tools to copy or install software from this central location onto target VMs.

Use Case: Providing shared development tools, libraries, or datasets for development teams working on Azure.

Description: Developers can mount a shared drive to access common resources, reducing redundant storage and ensuring consistency across development environments. This is also useful for sharing test data or build artifacts.