Azure Archive / File Transfer Solution Problem

Question

Hi,

I have the following problem/scenario:

I have a program that writes its data to a Network path on a local server.
This amounts to approximately 30TB of data per month. The requirement is that this local data should be moved to an Azure archive after a certain period, e.g., after 6 months.
This data should then only be accessed occasionally.

Problem 1: My program can only see/query the single local network path.
This means the local data must be moved automatically to the Azure archive via a mechanism. A kind of "dump file" must remain locally on the server so that when it is accessed by the program, the file is retrieved from the Azure archive.

A solution using, for example, Tiger Bridge doesn't work. Perhaps Azure File Sync would be an option?

Does anyone has other ideas/options?

Problem 2: The Azure archive will grow quite large over time, eventually requiring well over 500TB. Can Azure File Sync handle such large amounts of data? Are there other storage options in Azure that could be used here?

Answer 1

Hi @ Konstantinos Ilousis

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A Platform.

Based on your requirements, Azure File Sync with cloud tiering is the most suitable and supported solution. It allows you to keep a single local network path for your application while automatically tiering infrequently accessed data to Azure after a defined period, such as six months. From the application’s perspective, the files remain visible on the local server, and when a file is accessed, it is transparently recalled from Azure without requiring any application changes.

Azure File Sync works by synchronizing data to Azure Files and leaving lightweight placeholders on the local server for tiered files. This approach satisfies your requirement to retain a local “stub” while storing the actual data in Azure. Solutions like Azure Blob Storage alone are not suitable in this case because they do not support transparent SMB access or automatic recall from an archive tier.

Regarding long-term growth, Azure File Sync can support very large datasets, including environments exceeding 500 TB, provided the data is distributed across multiple Azure file shares as designed. Azure Files itself scales to petabytes, and this architecture is commonly used for large archival and data-lifecycle scenarios.

In summary, Azure File Sync meets both requirements: maintaining a single local access path for your application and efficiently tiering large volumes of cold data to Azure while allowing transparent access when needed

References:

1. Azure Files Overview
2. File Sync to Azure
3. Azure Files Backup Restore Performance

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