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Azure Files provides fully managed file shares in the cloud that you can access through the industry-standard SMB and NFS protocols. You can mount Azure file shares concurrently from cloud and on-premises clients on Windows, Linux, and macOS — no additional software required.
| Protocol | Supported clients | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| SMB | Windows, Linux, macOS | General-purpose file shares, lift-and-shift apps, hybrid with Azure File Sync |
| NFS | Linux | Linux workloads, containers, HPC |
| REST API | All platforms | Programmatic access from applications |
Why use Azure Files?
- Replace or supplement on-premises file servers — Mount Azure file shares directly or cache them on Windows servers with Azure File Sync. Use identity-based authentication with on-premises Active Directory for seamless access control.
- Lift and shift applications — Migrate applications that expect shared file storage to Azure without code changes. Move both the application and its data, or keep the app on-premises and move only the data.
- Simplify cloud development — Store shared application settings, write diagnostic logs, and share dev/test tools across VMs — all from a centralized file share accessible via the REST API or standard file system I/O.
- Containerized workloads — Use Azure file shares as persistent volumes for stateful containers, providing shared storage regardless of which instance runs the container.
Key benefits
- Fully managed — No hardware to manage, no OS to patch, no disks to replace. Azure handles infrastructure, updates, and backups.
- Shared access — Industry-standard SMB and NFS protocols ensure compatibility with existing applications, tools, and workflows.
- Resilient — Zone-redundant (ZRS) and geo-redundant (GRS) storage options protect against hardware failures and datacenter outages.
- Familiar programmability — Access data through file system I/O APIs, Azure Storage client libraries, or the REST API.
- Scriptable — Create, mount, and manage file shares using PowerShell, Azure CLI, the Azure portal, or Azure Storage Explorer.