How to deploy Azure File Sync
You still have your old network drives? Still need to setup a VPN to access your file shares? Or have you migrated all your files to Azure file share but you need a higher performance for your Autocad files?
Wait no longer, Azure File Sync to the rescue! Where you would have your Azure File Share for sharing files, you can use Azure File Sync to make a local cache of your Azure files, or sync your local file server to Azure Files. In this manual we will help you setup Azure File Sync with a existing Azure File Share. I already have a Azure File Share, mapped as a network drive Z:
First make sure that you have a valid subscription in Azure with an Azure File share.
Step 1: In the Azure Portal deploy Azure Sync. Fill in a name, resource group and subscription and create the File Sync.
Step 2: On your current file server or on your new Azure File Share Cache server verify if you have .net framework 4.7.2 installed, if not install this first. (download link)
We will run some Powershell commands on the target server, so lets run Powershell!
Step 3: Verify the Powershell version on the server: version 5.1 is required. Run the following Powershell command to verify your version. if it is lower than 5.1, download and install the Windows Management Framework 5.1 from the following link
$PSVersionTable.PSVersion
Step 4: We are going to install the latest version of Nuget. First we will run a lookup of available packages, and after that we will deploy the latest version. At this time of writing the latest version is 2.8.5.208.
Find-PackageProvider -Name "Nuget" -AllVersions Install-PackageProvider -Name "Nuget" -RequiredVersion "2.8.5.208" -Force
Step 5: Lets install the Azure Command lets by running the following command:
Install-Module -Name Az -AllowClobber
Step 6: Now it’s time to install Azure File sync. Download the installer from the following link and install the application. Download URL:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=57159
Once installed you will get the registration prompt. if you don’t get it, or cancelled the registration, you can (re)run the registration by running the following executable: “C:\Program Files\Azure\StorageSyncAgent\ServerRegistration.exe”
Select your Azure Environment, normally this should be Azure Public Cloud, and Sign In to your Azure environment with your Azure File Share.
Now select the Resource Group and Storage Sync service as created in step 1 and register this server.
It might be required to login again to your Azure subscription, but after that you are done on this server.
Step 7: Go back in to the Azure Portal to your Storage Sync Service. Go to Sync groups and create a new sync group:
In your newly created sync group Add an Server endpoint
Select the server that you just added, and type in the path of the folder that you want to sync:
Your server will now be provisioned. Import here is, that File compression on the specific drive must be disabled completely! If there is only 1 file compressed, provisioning will fail.
After this last step the server will synchronize all files in the folder on the server to your Azure File Share. When files are added locally they will be synchronized immediately to your Azure File Share. If you make any changes on your Azure File Share it may take up to 24 hours before files get synced back as there is a 24 hour scheduler that checks for changes files online.
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