by Mark | Feb 6, 2023 | Azure, Azure FIles
Azure File Shares: A Beginner’s Guide
Azure File Shares is a cloud-based file sharing service that provides a secure, scalable, and highly available solution for storing and sharing files in the cloud. With Azure File Shares, you can store, share, and access files from anywhere, at any time, and from any device. Whether you’re a small business owner, a freelancer, or an enterprise-level organization, Azure File Shares can help you meet your file storage and sharing needs.
What are Azure File Shares?
Azure File Shares is a part of the Microsoft Azure platform and is designed to provide a scalable and highly available file storage solution in the cloud. With Azure File Shares, you can store files of any size and type, including documents, images, videos, and audio files. You can also share files with others, either by granting them access to your file share or by sending them a link to the file.
One of the key benefits of Azure File Shares is that it provides a high degree of security. All files stored in Azure File Shares are encrypted at rest, and you can control access to your files by setting permissions. You can also monitor access to your files and audit usage with Azure Activity Logs.
How Does Azure File Shares Work?
Azure File Shares uses the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol to allow users to access files in the cloud. SMB is a standard protocol used for sharing files and printers on a local network. When a user accesses a file share, Azure File Shares uses SMB to connect the user to the file share and allow them to access the files.
Benefits of Azure File Shares
There are many benefits to using Azure File Shares, including:
- Scalability: Azure File Shares can scale to meet the needs of any organization, whether it’s a small business or a large enterprise.
- Accessibility: Azure File Shares allows users to access files from anywhere, at any time, as long as they have an internet connection.
- Collaboration: Azure File Shares makes it easy for multiple users to share files and collaborate on projects.
- Security: Azure File Shares uses industry-standard security measures to protect files and keep them safe from unauthorized access.
Getting Started with Azure File Shares
To get started with Azure File Shares, you’ll need to create an Azure account and sign in to the Azure portal. Once you’re signed in, you can create a new file share by following these steps:
- Click on the “Create a resource” button in the Azure portal.
- Select “Storage” from the list of available resources.
- Choose “Storage account” as the type of storage account you want to create.
- Fill in the required information, such as the name of your storage account, the subscription you want to use, and the resource group you want to use.
- Click the “Create” button to create your storage account.
Once your storage account is created, you can create a new file share by following these steps:
- Navigate to your storage account in the Azure portal.
- Click on the “File shares” option in the left-side menu.
- Click the “Add” button to create a new file share.
- Fill in the required information, such as the name of your file share and the quota for the file share.
- Click the “Create” button to create your file share.
Storing and Sharing Files in Azure File Shares
With Azure File Shares, you can store and share files in a number of different ways. Here are a few of the most common ways to store and share files in Azure File Shares:
Storing Files
To store files in Azure File Shares, you can simply drag and drop files into your file share in the Azure portal, or you can use the Azure File Share REST API to programmatically upload files. You can also use the Azure File Sync service to synchronize your on-premises file servers with your Azure File Shares, allowing you to store and access your files from anywhere.
Alternatively, you can map a drive from your server or workstation so you can access all the file directly.
Analyzing Azure File Shares
To really optimize the cost of your cloud storage and make sure you’re not wasting money on unnecessary files, you need to have a good understanding of what files or blobs have or have not been used.
This is where Cloud Storage Manager comes in. Cloud Storage Manager is a software that provides analytics of both Azure Blob and File storage, allowing the user to see which files or blobs have or have not been used, so that they can reduce the cost of their cloud storage. With this software, you can easily identify and delete unnecessary files to save on storage costs.
To learn more about Cloud Storage Manager and start optimizing your Azure File Shares, visit https://www.smikar.com/cloud-storage-manager/
What are the limitations of Azure File Shares?
- Maximum file size: The maximum size for a single file in an Azure File Share is 1 TB.
- Maximum file share size: The maximum size for an Azure File Share is 5 TiB (5,120 GB).
- Maximum IOPS per share: A single Azure File Share can support up to 1000 IOPS (input/output operations per second).
- Maximum throughput per share: A single Azure File Share can support up to 60 MB/s (megabytes per second) of throughput.
- Maximum number of files: The maximum number of files that can be stored in an Azure File Share is not limited by Azure. However, the performance of the file share may be impacted by a large number of small files.
- Limitations on filenames and path length: Azure File Shares have restrictions on the length of filenames and paths. Filenames must be between 1 and 255 characters in length, and the total length of the path to the file (including the share name, directories, and filename) must be less than 4096 characters.
- Limitations on naming conventions: Azure File Shares have restrictions on naming conventions for files and directories. Names cannot contain certain special characters and names must be unique within a directory.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Azure File Shares is a highly beneficial and cost-effective solution for businesses and individuals who require cloud storage. With its scalability, reliability, and security features, it offers a comprehensive solution for storing, accessing and sharing files. Whether you’re a small business, a large corporation, or an individual, Azure File Shares can help you store and manage your data in the cloud.
Read our further blog posts on Azure Files, from saving money, or what are Azure files.
If you’re looking to optimize your Azure storage costs, it’s essential to have a tool that can help you monitor your usage and identify unused files or blobs. This is where Cloud Storage Manager comes in, providing analytics of both Azure Blob and File storage, allowing you to see what files or blobs have or have not been used, to reduce the cost of your cloud storage.
So, if you’re looking for an easy-to-use and cost-effective solution for storing and managing your data in the cloud, Azure File Shares is the perfect choice. And if you want to take it a step further and optimize your Azure storage costs, be sure to check out Cloud Storage Manager at https://www.smikar.com/cloud-storage-manager/.
by Mark | Feb 5, 2023 | Azure, Azure Tables
Azure Tables overview
Azure Tables is a NoSQL cloud-based data storage service provided by Microsoft. It allows users to store and retrieve structured data in the cloud, and it is designed to be highly scalable and cost-effective.
Azure Tables are used for a variety of purposes, including:
- Storing large amounts of structured data: Azure Tables are designed to store large amounts of structured data, making it a good option for big data workloads.
- Building highly scalable applications: Azure Tables are highly scalable, making it a good option for building applications that need to handle a large number of users or requests.
- Storing semi-structured data: Azure Tables can store semi-structured data, making it a good option for storing data that doesn’t fit well in a traditional relational database.
- Storing metadata: Azure Tables are commonly used to store metadata, such as the properties of a file or image.
- Storing log data: Azure Tables can be used to store log data, that can be later used for analysis and troubleshooting.
- Storing session data for Web application: Azure Tables can be used as a session state provider for web applications
- Storing non-relational data: Azure Tables is good for storing non-relational data, such as data from IoT devices, mobile apps, and social media platforms.
- Storing hierarchical data: Azure tables can be used to store hierarchical data, such as data from a tree-like structure.
In summary, Azure Tables are a cost-effective, highly scalable, and flexible data storage service that is well suited for storing large amounts of structured and semi-structured data. It can be used for different purposes and can be integrated easily with other Azure services.
What are the best practices when using Azure Tables?
When using Azure Tables, it’s important to follow best practices to ensure that your data is stored efficiently, securely, and cost-effectively. Some best practices to keep in mind include:
- Use partition keys and row keys effectively: When designing your Azure Tables, it’s important to choose appropriate partition keys and row keys to ensure that your data is stored efficiently. This will ensure that your data is spread across multiple storage nodes, which can help to improve performance and reduce costs.
- Use indexing: Azure Tables supports indexing, which can help to improve the performance of queries and reduce the number of requests made to the service. Be mindful of the cost of indexing and the size of the index.
- Use batch operations: Azure Tables allows you to perform batch operations, which can help to reduce the number of requests made to the service and improve performance.
- Use the appropriate storage tier: Azure Tables offers several storage tiers, including the standard storage tier, and the premium storage tier. Choosing the appropriate storage tier for your workload can help to reduce costs.
- Use Azure’s built-in security features: Azure Tables includes built-in security features such as Azure Active Directory (AAD) authentication, and access controls that can be used to secure your data.
- Use Azure’s built-in cost optimization tools: Azure provides a number of built-in tools that can help you optimize your storage costs, such as the Azure Cost Management tool.
- Monitor and analyze usage metrics: To ensure that your Azure Tables are being used efficiently and effectively, it’s important to monitor and analyze usage metrics such as storage usage, request rate, and error rate.
- backup your data: it’s important to backup your data to avoid data loss and to have a disaster recovery plan.
By following these best practices, you can ensure that your Azure Tables are used efficiently, securely, and cost-effectively.
How to further save money with Azure Tables:
- Use Azure Reserved Instances: Reserved Instances allow you to pre-pay for a certain amount of storage for a period of time, which can result in significant savings.
- Use Azure’s pay-as-you-go pricing model: Azure’s pay-as-you-go pricing model allows you to only pay for the storage that you actually use. This can be a cost-effective option for users who don’t need a large amount of storage.
- Take advantage of Azure’s free trial: Azure offers a free trial that allows users to test out the service before committing to a paid subscription.
- Use Azure cool storage for infrequently accessed data: By using Azure cool storage for infrequently accessed data, you can reduce the cost of storing that data.
Azure Tables conclusion
Azure Tables is a NoSQL data storage service that allows users to store and retrieve structured data in the cloud. It is designed to be highly scalable and cost-effective. By understanding the different storage options available, using Azure Data Box, and taking advantage of Azure’s built-in cost optimization tools, users can efficiently reduce
by Mark | Feb 4, 2023 | Azure, Azure FIles, Storage Accounts
How to Save Money with Azure Files
Azure Files is a fully managed file share in the cloud, offering users the ability to store and access files, similar to traditional file servers. By leveraging Azure’s cloud infrastructure, you can significantly reduce storage costs while gaining flexibility and scalability.
In this guide, we will explore several effective strategies for reducing your Azure Files costs and ensuring you are using the most cost-efficient methods for your file storage needs.
How Azure Files Works
Azure Files is built on the same technology as Azure Blob Storage, but with added support for SMB and NFS protocols. This allows you to easily migrate existing file-based applications to the cloud without making any code changes. It supports built-in data protection, encryption, and access control features.
One key benefit of Azure Files is its flexibility. Users can create multiple file shares and access them from anywhere. Additionally, Azure offers several tools and features that can help you optimize your storage usage and reduce costs. Let’s explore some of the most effective strategies to save money with Azure Files.
1. Choose the Right Storage Tier
Azure Files offers two primary storage tiers: Standard and Premium. By selecting the right storage tier for your workload, you can optimize your costs:
- Standard Tier: Best for general-purpose file shares with infrequent access. It’s a cost-effective solution for most workloads.
- Premium Tier: Ideal for high-performance workloads requiring low latency and high throughput. This tier is more expensive, so it should be used when performance is a priority.
2. Use Azure FileSync
Azure FileSync allows you to tier files to Azure Files, Azure Blob Storage, or both. By storing only the active files on the local file server, you can reduce costs by offloading rarely accessed files to the cloud.
This feature helps reduce the costs associated with storing data that is infrequently accessed, ensuring you’re only paying for what you actually need. Azure FileSync works seamlessly with your existing file servers and provides automatic syncing between your on-premises and cloud environments.
3. Use Azure Data Box for Large Data Transfers
If you have large amounts of data to transfer to Azure, consider using Azure Data Box. This physical device enables you to securely transfer large datasets to the cloud without the need for extensive bandwidth. It’s a cost-effective solution for users with significant data migration needs.
by Mark | Feb 3, 2023 | Azure, Azure Blobs, Blob Storage, Comparison
Introduction
Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 and Blob storage are two cloud storage solutions offered by Microsoft Azure. While both solutions are designed to store and manage large amounts of data, there are several key differences between them. This article will explain the differences and help you choose the right solution for your cloud data management needs.
Understanding Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2
Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 is an enterprise-level, hyper-scale data lake solution. It is designed to handle massive amounts of data for big data analytics and machine learning scenarios. It combines the scalability of Azure Blob Storage with the file system capabilities of Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS). It’s a fully managed service that supports HDFS, Apache Spark, Hive, and other big data frameworks. Data Lake Storage Gen2 offers the following features:
- Hierarchical namespace: Allows for a more organized and efficient data structure.
- High scalability: Can handle petabytes of data and millions of transactions per second.
- Advanced analytics: Provides integrations with big data frameworks, making it easier to perform advanced analytics.
- Tiered storage: Enables the use of hot, cool, and archive storage tiers, providing flexibility in storage options and cost savings.
Understanding Blob storage
Azure Blob Storage is a cloud-based object storage solution. It’s designed for storing and retrieving unstructured data, such as images, videos, audio files, and documents. Blob Storage is a scalable and cost-effective solution for businesses of all sizes. Blob Storage offers the following features:
- Multiple access tiers: Offers hot, cool, and archive storage tiers, allowing businesses to choose the right storage tier for their needs.
- High scalability: Can handle petabytes of data and millions of transactions per second.
- Data redundancy: Provides data redundancy across multiple data centers, ensuring data availability and durability.
- Integration with Azure services: Integrates with other Azure services, such as Azure Functions and Azure Stream Analytics.
Differences between Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 and Blob storage
Now that we have explored the features and benefits of both Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 and Azure Blob Storage, let’s compare the two.
Data Structure
Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 has a hierarchical namespace, which allows for a more organized and efficient data structure. It means that data can be stored in a more structured manner, and files can be easily accessed and managed. On the other hand, Azure Blob Storage does not have a hierarchical namespace, and data is stored in a flat structure. It can make data management more challenging, but it’s a simpler approach for businesses that don’t require complex data structures.
Data Analytics
Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 is designed specifically for big data analytics and machine learning scenarios. It supports integrations with big data frameworks, such as Apache Spark, Hadoop, and Hive. On the other hand, Azure Blob Storage is designed for storing unstructured data, and it doesn’t have built-in analytics capabilities. However, businesses can use other Azure services, such as Azure Databricks, to perform advanced analytics.
Cost
Both Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 and Azure Blob Storage offer tiered storage, providing flexibility in storage options and cost savings. However, the storage costs for Data Lake Storage Gen2 are slightly higher than Blob Storage.
To minimise costs of both Azure Datalake and Azure Blob Storage, you can use Cloud Storage Manager to understand exactly what data is being accessed, or more importantly not being accessed, and where you can possibly save money.
Performance
Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 offers faster data access and improved query performance compared to Azure Blob Storage. This is because Data Lake Storage Gen2 is optimized for big data analytics and can handle complex queries more efficiently. However, if your business doesn’t require advanced analytics, Blob Storage may be a more cost-effective option.
Use Cases
Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 is an ideal choice for businesses that require big data analytics and machine learning capabilities. It’s a suitable option for data scientists, analysts, and developers who work with large datasets. On the other hand, Azure Blob Storage is best suited for storing and retrieving unstructured data, such as media files and documents. It’s an ideal option for businesses that need to store and share data with their clients or partners.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 and Blob storage are both cloud storage solutions offered by Microsoft Azure. While both solutions are designed to store and manage data, there are several key differences between them, including scalability, cost, performance, security, and use cases. When choosing between Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 and Blob storage, consider your data storage needs and choose the solution that best meets those needs.
In summary, Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 is ideal for big data analytics workloads, while Blob storage is ideal for storing and accessing unstructured data. Both solutions offer strong security features and are cost-effective compared to traditional data storage solutions.
FAQs
Can I use Azure Blob Storage for big data analytics?
Yes, you can use other Azure services, such as Azure Databricks, to perform advanced analytics on data stored in Azure Blob Storage.
Can I use Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 for storing unstructured data?
Yes, you can use Data Lake Storage Gen2 to store unstructured data, but it’s optimized for structured and semi-structured data.
How does the cost of Data Lake Storage Gen2 compare to Blob Storage?
The storage costs for Data Lake Storage Gen2 are slightly higher than Blob Storage due to its advanced analytics capabilities.
Can I integrate Azure Blob Storage with other Azure services?
Yes, Azure Blob Storage integrates with other Azure services, such as Azure Functions and Azure Stream Analytics.
Is Azure Storage suitable for businesses of all sizes?
Yes, Azure Storage is a scalable and cost-effective solution suitable for businesses of all sizes.
Can you reduce the costs of Azure Blob Storage and Azure Datalake?
Yes, simply using Cloud Storage Manager to understand growth trends, data that is redundant, and what can be moved to a lower storage tier.
by Mark | Feb 2, 2023 | Snapshot / Checkpoint, VMWare
Key Takeaways for VMware Snapshot Usage
| Topic |
Key Insight |
| Primary Purpose |
Snapshots are for short-term recovery or testing—not backups. |
| Retention Time |
Avoid keeping snapshots longer than 72 hours to prevent performance issues. |
| Storage Impact |
Snapshots grow over time and can consume significant disk space. |
| Performance Considerations |
Running VMs with active snapshots may degrade performance, especially under load. |
| Consolidation |
Always consolidate snapshots after deletion to reclaim space and maintain health. |
| Quiescing |
Use quiesce for consistent snapshots of running applications (e.g., SQL, Exchange). |
| Automation |
Use tools like SnapShot Master for scheduled snapshots and cleanup automation. |
| Monitoring |
Regularly audit snapshots to avoid forgotten or orphaned deltas. |
| Risk of Reversion |
Reverting discards all changes made after the snapshot—use with caution. |
| Backups |
Always use proper backup solutions for long-term recovery. |
VMWare Snapshots Overview
VMware snapshots are a feature of the VMware vSphere platform that allows administrators to create a point-in-time copy of a virtual machine’s disk for backup, testing, or other purposes. When a snapshot is taken, the current state of the virtual machine’s disk is saved and all future writes are directed to a new delta file. This allows the virtual machine to continue running while the snapshot is taken and it can be used to revert the virtual machine’s disk to the state it was in when the snapshot was taken.
What are VMWare Snapshots and when should you use them?
A snapshot in VMware ESX is a point-in-time copy of the virtual machine’s disk that can be used for backup, testing, or other purposes. When a snapshot is taken, the current state of the virtual machine’s disk is saved and all future writes are directed to a new delta file.
This allows the virtual machine to continue running while the snapshot is taken, and it can be used to revert the virtual machine’s disk to the state it was in when the snapshot was taken.
Snapshots can be used in several ways:
- To revert a virtual machine to a previous state, for example, after a software update, installation or configuration change goes wrong.
- To create a point-in-time backup of a virtual machine, which can be used for disaster recovery.
- To create a test or development environment that is identical to the production environment.
It’s important to note that, taking too many snapshots or keeping them for a long period of time can cause disk space issues and also can impact the performance of the virtual machine. It’s recommended to use snapshots for short-term usage and regularly consolidate and delete them.
What does Quiesce a Virtual Machine mean?
“Quiesce” is a term that refers to the process of temporarily halting activity on a virtual machine so that a consistent point-in-time copy of its disk can be made. When a virtual machine is quiesced, all file system operations are frozen and all writes to the virtual machine’s disk are flushed to ensure that the data on the disk is in a consistent state. This allows for a consistent backup to be taken and for the virtual machine to be restored to that state.
When you take a snapshot of a virtual machine, the option to quiesce the file system is available. This option ensures that the file system is in a consistent state, by flushing all file system buffers and locking the file system, so that all data is captured correctly. This is especially useful for applications that maintain their own file systems, such as databases, where quiescing the file system guarantees that the data that is captured in the snapshot is in a consistent state.
It’s worth noting that, Quiescing a VM may cause a temporary disruption of the services running on the virtual machine, so it should be done during a maintenance window or during a period of low usage.
Why should you consolidate snapshots?
Consolidating snapshots is important because it helps to prevent disk space issues and maintain good performance of the virtual machine.
When a snapshot is taken, the current state of the virtual machine’s disk is saved, and all future writes are directed to a new delta file. As more snapshots are taken, the number of delta files increases, which can lead to disk space issues. These delta files can also cause performance issues as the virtual machine has to process more data to access the virtual disk.
Consolidating snapshots merges all the delta files into the base virtual disk file, reducing the number of files that need to be processed by the virtual machine and freeing up disk space. It also eliminates the possibility of running out of disk space and reduces the time required to back up and restore virtual machines.
Another important aspect is that, when a virtual machine is powered off, snapshots cannot be consolidated unless they are consolidated while the virtual machine is powered on. To avoid this, it’s important to regularly consolidate snapshots when the virtual machine is powered on.
In summary, consolidating snapshots helps to ensure that the virtual machine continues to perform well, and it also helps to free up disk space.
When should I use Vmware snapshots?
VMware snapshots should be used when you need to create a point-in-time copy of a virtual machine’s disk for backup, testing, or other purposes. Some common use cases for VMware snapshots include:
- Reverting a virtual machine to a previous state: If a software installation or configuration change goes wrong, you can use a snapshot to revert the virtual machine to the state it was in before the change was made.
- Creating a point-in-time backup: Snapshots can be used to create a point-in-time backup of a virtual machine, which can be used for disaster recovery.
- Testing and development: Snapshots can be used to create a test or development environment that is identical to the production environment.
- Upgrades and Patching: Snapshots can be useful when you need to upgrade or patch a virtual machine’s operating system or application, allowing you to quickly roll back in case of any issues.
- Quiesce a VM before taking backup: Taking a snapshot of a virtual machine before taking a backup can ensure that the backup is consistent and that all data is captured correctly.
It’s important to keep in mind that snapshots are not a replacement for traditional backups, as they may not capture all of the data that is present on the virtual machine.
Additionally, taking too many snapshots or keeping them for a long period of time can cause disk space issues and can impact the performance of the virtual machine. Therefore, it’s important to use snapshots judiciously and to consolidate and delete them regularly.
Now that you understand a bit more about VMWare snapshots, if you need to save yourself the manual task of creating and deleting the Snapshots yourself, give SnapShot Master a try. Not only will SnapShot Master do all this for you, it has heaps of other features that make maintaining your VMWare Snapshots a breeze.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Are VMware snapshots the same as backups?
No. Snapshots are not full backups. They are temporary, point-in-time states of a VM used for short-term rollback or testing. For disaster recovery, always rely on full backups created by backup solutions.
2. How long should I keep a snapshot?
Ideally, no longer than 72 hours. The longer a snapshot is retained, the more it grows, which can degrade performance and consume large amounts of storage.
3. Can I take a snapshot of a powered-off VM?
Yes, but keep in mind that powered-off VMs cannot consolidate snapshots. You’ll need to power them on before consolidation can occur.
4. What happens if I forget to consolidate snapshots?
Over time, delta files grow and can severely impact VM performance and even lead to disk space exhaustion. Always monitor and consolidate regularly.
5. What is snapshot consolidation and why is it needed?
Consolidation merges snapshot delta files back into the base disk, preventing performance degradation and reclaiming storage space. It’s essential after deleting snapshots.
6. What is the performance impact of running a VM with snapshots?
The more snapshots you have—and the longer they exist—the more I/O operations the VM must process, which can slow down performance, especially under heavy workloads.
7. Can I automate snapshot management?
Yes. Tools like SnapShot Master can schedule snapshot creation, monitor usage, and automatically delete or consolidate snapshots to maintain system health.
8. Should I quiesce the VM every time I take a snapshot?
Quiescing is recommended for consistent backups, especially for applications like databases. However, it may cause a brief service disruption, so use it strategically.
9. Are there risks in reverting to a snapshot?
Yes. Reverting to a snapshot discards all changes made since the snapshot was taken. Use with caution, and always confirm the snapshot’s state before applying it.
10. How can I monitor snapshot usage across my environment?
vCenter provides basic visibility, but for advanced reporting and automation, tools like SnapShot Master give deeper insight into snapshot age, size, and health.
