If the NAS is mounted as a file share or mapped as a drive on the Windows Server, will the MARS agent can back up the files from that drive?

Question

If the NAS is mounted as a file share or mapped as a drive on the Windows Server, will the MARS agent can back up the files from that drive.

We have two NAS Storage, we will map the NAS into windows server using shared drives. Can we be able to store our backup in Cold/Archival Tier.

If, yes. Then how can we do that.

Answer 1

Yes, if the NAS is mounted as a file share or mapped as a drive on the Windows Server, the MARS agent can back up the files from that drive. You can configure the MARS agent to back up files and folders on the guest Windows operating system on the Windows Server. As for storing the backup in Cold/Archival Tier, you can configure the backup policy to specify how long the backups should be retained in Azure.

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References:

• Back up Windows Server files and folders to Azure
• Frequently asked questions - Microsoft Azure Recovery Services (MARS) agent
• Back up Windows Server to Azure

Answer 2

Hello Bhumika Goswami,

Greetings! Welcome to Microsoft Q&A Platform.

I understand that you would like to Backup the NAS storage data using MARS. Azure Backup uses the Microsoft Azure Recovery Services (MARS) agent to back up and recover files, folders, and the volume or system state from an on-premises computer to Azure.

Can we be able to store our backup in Cold/Archival Tier from NAS Storage account?

Yes, the default tiering on the storage account level can be set to Either Hot or Cool. Cold and Archive tier aren't supported as the default tier. Below is the reference link for the same: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/blobs/access-tiers-overview#default-account-access-tier-setting

Below are the 2 workarounds to explore:

While performing upload, you will be making Put Blob Operation. So, if the access tier of the blobs can be set to Archive at the time Put Operation itself, the access tier can be set as Archive.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/rest/api/storageservices/put-blob?tabs=microsoft-entra-id

The other option is to let the upload in Hot or cool Tier and then move it to archive tier based on the LCM rule

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/blobs/lifecycle-management-overview

Kindly let me know if you have any further queries, I’ll be happy to assist you further.

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