Azure File Sync - Folder ACL & File name, created date, size, last accessed reporting

Question

Currently I have an on-prem File server that I run a PowerShell script on as a weekly scheduled task.
It outputs:
All Folders with their associated ACLs.
All files with their name, created date, size, last accessed information.
The information is needed by the business for reporting.

If I moved to Azure file sync and enabled Cloud tiering, will I still be able to run the script as before?
Or will I have to target the storage account itself in some way?

Is there an Azure native solution for this level of reporting?

Thanks,

Answer 1

@PJ Neill Apologies for the delay response!

If you move to Azure File Sync and enable Cloud Tiering, you will still be able to run your PowerShell script as before. The script will run on the on-premises file server and will output the same information as before, including the folders with their associated ACLs and the files with their name, created date, size, and last accessed information.

When you enable Cloud Tiering, the files that are not frequently accessed will be tiered to Azure Files in the cloud. However, the metadata for these files, including the name, created date, size, and last accessed information, will still be available on the on-premises file server and can be accessed by your PowerShell script.

There is an Azure native solution for this level of reporting called Azure Monitor. Azure Monitor provides a centralized solution for collecting, analyzing, and acting on telemetry from your cloud and on-premises environments. You can use Azure Monitor to collect and analyze data from your Azure storage accounts, including Azure Files, and create custom reports and dashboards to meet your reporting needs.

As of February 24, 2020, new and existing ACLs tiered by Azure file sync will be persisted in NTFS format, and ACL modifications made directly to the Azure file share will sync to all servers in the sync group. Any changes on ACLs made to Azure file shares will sync down via Azure File Sync. When copying data to Azure Files, make sure you use a copy tool that supports the necessary "fidelity" to copy attributes, timestamps, and ACLs into an Azure file share - either via SMB or REST. When using Azure copy tools such as AzCopy, it's important to use the latest version. Check the file copy tools table to get an overview of Azure copy tools to ensure you can copy all of the important metadata of a file.

If you've enabled Azure Backup on your Azure File Sync managed file shares, file ACLs can continue to be restored as part of the backup restore workflow. This works either for the entire share or individual files/directories.

If you're using snapshots as part of the self-managed backup solution for file shares managed by Azure File Sync, your ACLs might not be restored properly to NTFS ACLs if the snapshots were taken before February 24, 2020. If this occurs, consider contacting Azure Support.

Please let us know if you have any further queries. I’m happy to assist you further.

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