Can I treat a connected azure virtual machine and azure file storage just as I would any other server on my LAN

Question

I have been reading about build a VPN connection from my business network, using VPN hardware, and a site to site connection, to one or more virtual machines on Azure. I have read:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/enterprise/connect-an-on-premises-network-to-a-microsoft-azure-virtual-network?view=o365-worldwide

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/vpn-gateway/vpn-gateway-create-site-to-site-rm-powershell

https://blogs.solidq.com/en/sqlserver/connect-azure-to-your-local-network/

What I am not sure of is whether or not I can treat the connected virtual machine just as I would any other server on my network. Can I connect to my Virtual server on windows using UNC?

Can I assign a drive letter to it and access directories and files for which I have authorization?

Can I run apps that previously stored data on a local server, after converting the data and setting up the server location in the application, just as I have been doing locally?

I know I can RDP to it. I want to know if it is truly an extension of my LAN, just using a connection that is quite a bit slower (400 Mbps download) than my 1 Gbps LAN.

Thank you for replying.

Answer 1

Reposted more simply.