Azure Files Documentation

This section provides comprehensive documentation for Azure Files, a fully managed cloud file share service that is accessible via the industry-standard Server Message Block (SMB) protocol. Azure Files offers cloud-native, fully managed file shares that can be mounted concurrently by cloud or on-premises Windows, macOS, and Linux deployments.

Key Concepts

Azure Files provides several key features and benefits:

• Fully Managed: No need to manage hardware or operating systems.
• SMB Protocol Support: Access shares using standard SMB clients.
• Shared Access: Mountable by multiple clients simultaneously, making it ideal for shared configuration files or development tools.
• Durability and Availability: Designed for high durability and availability with redundant storage.
• Scalability: Scales to petabytes of data.
• Hybrid Cloud Scenarios: Easily integrate with on-premises environments using Azure File Sync.

Common Use Cases

Azure Files is well-suited for various scenarios:

• Lift-and-shift applications: Migrate existing applications that rely on shared file systems to the cloud.
• Development and testing: Provide shared environments for developers.
• Configuration files: Store and access application settings centrally.
• Web server content: Host static web content that needs to be shared across web servers.
• Backup and archiving: Store backups and archive data securely.

Getting Started

To start using Azure Files, you typically need to:

1. Create an Azure Storage Account.
2. Create a File Share within your storage account.
3. Mount the file share to your client (Windows, Linux, macOS).

azcopy copy 'https://[account].file.core.windows.net/[share]/\*' '[local-path]' --recursive=true

Learn More

• Mount an Azure file share on Windows
• Mount an Azure file share on Linux
• Mount an Azure file share on macOS
• Using Azure File Sync

For detailed information on pricing, limitations, and advanced configurations, please refer to the official Azure Files documentation.