Does Polybase support direct access to files in Azure File Share?

Josh Ashwood 71 Reputation points
2023-01-30T01:10:45.59+00:00

Hey,

Polybase can load from blob storage, but can it access Azure File Shares directly??

Can we use CREATE EXTERNAL DATA SOURCE somehow to do that?

Azure SQL Database
Azure Files
Azure Files
An Azure service that offers file shares in the cloud.
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Azure Blob Storage
Azure Blob Storage
An Azure service that stores unstructured data in the cloud as blobs.
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  1. Luke Murray 10,526 Reputation points MVP
    2023-01-30T04:38:45.58+00:00

    Hi, Josh

    Unfortunately not, currently, only Azure Blob storage is supported. Based on some research, you can't use UNC paths on-premises either.

    1 person found this answer helpful.

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  1. Umang Middha 550 Reputation points
    2023-01-30T04:42:55.0833333+00:00

    Hello Josh,

    Hope you are doing well today. Yes, Polybase supports direct access to files stored in Azure File Share. Access is achieved through the creation of an external data source in SQL Server that points to the Azure File Share, and then creating an external table over the data in the external data source. The external table allows you to query the data in the Azure File Share as if it were a regular table in SQL Server.

    Regards,

    Umang Middha

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