Microsoft recently announced the public preview for Azure File Sync. This new Microsoft Azure service is meant to help users expand their on-premises file servers to Azure Files.
The general idea is that this service allows you to have a stronger connection between your cloud files and on-premises storage, making the task of managing all of those files a little more seamless. Here are some of the features and benefits that you can take advantage of with this new offering.
Mix cloud benefits with on-premises storage with Azure File Sync
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In essence, Azure File Sync gives you the ability to tier files between your on-premises file server and cloud-based Azure Files. With this capability, you can keep only the newest and most recently accessed files locally while still maintaining the ability to see and access the entire namespace through seamless cloud recall. So effectively, you can transform your Windows File Server into an on-premises tier of Azure Files.
Solve global access problems
Azure File Sync also makes it easy to solve global access problems introduced by having a single point of access on-premises, or by replicating data in Azure between Azure File shares and servers in any location. A new concept that comes with Azure File Sync, called the Sync Group, lets you manage the locations that should be kept in sync with each other.
React in emergency situations
Azure File Sync also helps you keep control over your data and recover in the case of an emergency. By setting up a new Windows Server and installing Azure File Sync, the namespace is nearly instantly synced down as your cache is rebuilt. Additionally, cloud tiering moves old and infrequently accessed files to Azure, helping you make storage growth more predictable.
Azure File Sync is already available as a preview offering. Microsoft has some documentation available on its website to help users setup and configure the program.
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If it’s based on Onedrive I would stay clear of it. OneDrive has had continual sync problems since inception. Wouldn’t trust it at all.
No OneDrive involved here. This is server to server based file sync from on-premise to azure file shares and other sites or azure backup, very cool stuff.