Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate (AZ-204)Develop for Azure storageEasy
A company is migrating an existing application to Azure. The application currently uses a file share to store configuration files and user-uploaded documents. These files need to be accessible from multiple virtual machines (VMs) running on Azure, using the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol. Data redundancy is critical, and the solution must be cost-effective. Which Azure storage solution should be recommended?
- AAzure Blob Storage
- BAzure Files
- CAzure Disk Storage
- DAzure Data Lake Storage Gen2
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. Azure Files
Azure Files offers fully managed file shares in the cloud that are accessible via the industry-standard SMB protocol, allowing VMs to mount them just like traditional network file shares. It provides built-in redundancy and is a cost-effective solution for this scenario.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Azure Blob Storage is object storage and does not natively support SMB access for file shares.
- C. Azure Disk Storage provides block-level storage for individual VMs, not shared file system access across multiple VMs.
- D. Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 is optimized for big data analytics workloads, not for general-purpose SMB file shares.
Azure Files
Azure Files offers fully managed file shares in the cloud that can be accessed via the industry-standard Server Message Block (SMB) protocol, Network File System (NFS) protocol, and Azure Files REST API. These file shares can be mounted concurrently by cloud or on-premises deployments.
- Managed file shares in the cloud.
- Supports SMB 3.0, SMB 2.1, and NFS 4.1.
- Can be mounted by VMs or on-premises servers.
- Integrates with Azure AD DS or on-premises AD for identity.
Memory trick: Files For Fast SMB Sharing.