Azure FIle Share Backup

Question

Could you please guide me on how to take a backup of the below file share? According to the Microsoft article, we need to add the storage account to the Recovery Services Vault. However, I am unable to locate the storage account associated with this file share.

Answer 1

Hi Riju Kumar,

the screenshot shows the file shares themselves, but it does not display the Storage Account. In Azure, a File Share always belongs to a specific Storage Account, even if it is not shown in that view.

Open the file share and check the Overview section. There you will see the name of the associated Storage Account. Alternatively, go to the Resource Group and filter resources by type Storage account, because a file share cannot exist independently of it.

Once you have identified the Storage Account, you can register it in the Recovery Services Vault and then enable Azure File Share backup from there. If the Storage Account is not visible at all, check that you are in the correct subscription and that you have sufficient permissions on the Storage Account itself, not just on the file share.

rgds,

Alex

Answer 2

Hello Riju Kumar

Thanks for sharing the details and the screenshot

Azure File Shares are NOT independent resources for backup. They are always backed up via their parent Storage Account.

So even though the File share appears directly in the Azure Portal (as in your screenshot), Azure Backup does not register file shares individually. Instead, the Recovery Services Vault discovers and registers the storage account that hosts those file shares.

The File shares blade you’re viewing is an Azure Resource Graph (ARG)–based aggregated view. It lists file shares across subscriptions without showing or selecting the underlying storage account directly.

However, Azure Backup only works at the storage account level which is why you must first identify the storage account hosting the file share.

Follow these exact steps to identify the Storage Account for the File Share:

1. In the Azure portal, click on the File Share name (for example: cmrpsaas)
2. On the File Share Overview page, look for:
   • Storage account name (shown at the top as a breadcrumb or property)
3. Click the Storage account link → This is the resource that must be discovered by the Recovery Services Vault

Take backup once the Storage Account is identified:

1. Go to Recovery Services Vault
2. Select Backup
3. Choose:
   • Datasource type: Azure Files (Azure Storage)
4. Select Configure backup
5. Click Select Storage Account
6. Choose the storage account that hosts the file share
7. Select the file share(s) and apply the backup policy

All file shares in a single storage account must be protected by the same Recovery Services Vault. A storage account cannot be registered with multiple vaults.

If the Storage Account does NOT appear in the vault might be due to the below following supported reasons:

• The storage account is already registered with another Recovery Services Vault
• The vault and storage account are not in the same region
• The storage account type is unsupported
• Storage account firewall blocks trusted Azure services
• Another file share in the same account is already protected elsewhere

References:

Back up Azure Files in the Azure portal: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/backup/backup-azure-files and https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/backup/backup-azure-files-faq [learn.microsoft.com

Azure File Shares are backed up via their parent Storage Account, not as standalone resources. The File shares blade shows an aggregated ARG view, which is why the storage account isn’t visible there. To enable backup, first identify the storage account hosting the file share and then configure Azure Files backup from the Recovery Services Vault by selecting that storage account.

Kindly let us know if the solution provided worked for you.

If you need any further assistance, please feel free to reach out.

Thanks,

Suchitra.