migrating NAS Based FIle Server on Azure File Share || DATA BOX

Question

Hi Team.

Hope all.

For a scenario of moving file server from On-Premises to azure file share using DATA Box for around 8TB and around 100 Users will be accessing the Azure File share once moved on to cloud.

There will be around 15 - 20 number or shares created maybe in diff Storage Accounts for better through put in HOT Tier.

Wanted to understand the following -

• Possibility of migrating the User Policies along with the Data from On-Premises NAS to Azure File Share.
• Will that also help in Authenticating the users from OnPrem AD or Azure AD.
• Once the Data is moved on to the Azure Cloud, Central mounting option on all the user devices, Laptops, Desktops.

Answer 1

@Ankit Rathod Welcome to Microsoft Q&A, Thank you for posting your here!!

1. Migrating User Policies along with the Data from On-Premises NAS to Azure File Share: When moving the file server data to Azure File Share, the user policies and configurations stored on your On-Premises NAS won't be automatically migrated to Azure. The file server on Azure is just the storage repository, and it does not handle user policies directly like a traditional file server. For user policies, you'll need to look into Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) and Group Policy in the case of Windows-based devices.
2. Authenticating Users from On-Prem AD or Azure AD: With Azure File Share, you have options for authenticating users. If you want to continue using your On-Premises Active Directory (AD), you can set up Azure AD Domain Services. Azure AD Domain Services allows you to join your Azure File Share to an Azure AD Domain Services-managed domain, enabling authentication with On-Premises AD credentials. This way, users can continue using their existing credentials to access the Azure File Share.

Alternatively, if you are ready to migrate your identity infrastructure to Azure AD, you can use Azure AD for authentication directly. This can be a more cloud-native approach, allowing users to use their Azure AD credentials to access resources.

1. Central mounting option on all user devices (Laptops, Desktops): Azure File Share can be mounted as a network drive on user devices, including laptops and desktops. Once the data is moved to Azure, you can set up Azure File Share and configure it for your users.

For Windows-based devices, you can use the "Map network drive" feature to mount the Azure File Share. Users can connect to the file share using the UNC path (e.g., \\yourstorageaccountname.file.core.windows.net\yoursharename). You can provide instructions to users to mount the drive manually or use Group Policy to automatically map the drive during user logon.

For non-Windows devices, such as macOS or Linux, you can use SMB/CIFS or NFS protocols to mount the Azure File Share on those devices.

Reference Article:

on-premises Active Directory Domain Services authentication over SMB for Azure file shares

Azure Active Directory Domain Services authentication on Azure Files

Hope this helps! Kindly let us know if the above helps or you need further assistance on this issue.

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