Migration of DFS servers to Azure Files

Question

Hi,

I am currently looking into the feasibility of migrating some of our DFS servers to Azure, we would prefer PaaS over IaaS where possible, so I have been looking at Azure files.

Our current setup is that we have local DFS servers, which are then replicated back to a central location for DR purposes. We want to move this central location to Azure.

This would mean we still have local file servers, but then have a copy of the data elsewhere that can be made available in the case of DR.

Would Azure Files be suitable for this? Is it possible to lay a DFS Namespace over the top and allow the Azure files location to be accessed as if it was another location? Or would this need to be attached to another VM first?

Thanks

Answer 1

Hi,

Azure File Sync is fully supported on DFS Namespace servers, you can install the Azure File Sync agent on one or more DFS Namespace member servers to sync data between the server endpoints and the cloud endpoint.

For more information, see:

Planning for an Azure File Sync deployment
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/files/storage-sync-files-planning#distributed-file-system-dfs

Interoperability with Azure virtual machines
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-server/storage/dfs-namespaces/dfs-overview#interoperability-with-azure-virtual-machines

Best regards,
Leon