Alternative for Azure File Sync for On-Premise Server

Joe 96 Reputation points
2020-08-10T14:14:36.417+00:00

Hi@all
I set up an Azure File Share and Synced it to a 2019 Server. But know i see, that it only Syncs once a day. I thought that i can have a perfectly synced on-Premise-to-Azure-Cloud Solution with all Benefits. I know there are Scripts to push the sync-Service, but isn't there another better solution which allready does this? I want to get rid of VPN or SharePoint etc. I'm really Surprised there is Nothing who cover this.

Or am I missing something? What Tool should I take for Users which works with a lot of big files from Home? If i take SharePoint, it isn't synced to the on Premise-Server, VPN is to slow for generate Adobe PDFs, even with a fast Internet-Connection. I need local stored Files on the Client Side and I want them on the on-premise Server too.

I really dont understand why this Sync is so poorly made, it makes the whole Thing useless for most of the People...

Thanks for the Inputs.

Azure Files
Azure Files
An Azure service that offers file shares in the cloud.
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  1. Will Gries (MSFT) 11 Reputation points
    2020-08-10T19:20:07.787+00:00

    Hi Joe-4932,

    It's not correct that Azure File Sync syncs only once per day: files added to a server endpoint (in your case, your Windows Server 2019 server) will sync more-or-less immediately (factoring in data transfer times). Files added to an Azure file share directly will take longer to sync - as you point out: full enumeration of the Azure file share occurs every day. The reason for this discrepancy is that Windows has a feature that Azure Files not (yet) have: the USN journal. NTFS logs changes to the file system in the USN journal so that applications installed on Windows, including Azure File Sync, can see that files that they care about have changed. When Azure File Sync sees a file has changed through its monitoring of the USN journal, we initiate a sync session.

    So what's the benefit of a solution like this one, where the on-premises side has near real time sync but the cloud side has slower sync? Our view: on-premises caching. The way most customers use Azure File Sync is to cache their Azure file share on-premises and then do most/all of their file accesses through the Windows Server. Because of the cloud tiering functionality, this enables to them to offload infrequently used data to the cloud, without losing it in the namespace of the file share. Files which are frequently accessed, are fast, because they're stored locally on the file server, which is presumably near where your end users are. And Azure File Sync also enables multi-site sync, meaning you can have these caches in multiple sites, and access through the server that's closest to you.

    Based on your description of the problem, it sounds like you are trying to use Azure File Sync in a scenario it was not designed for: client-side caching. Azure File Sync is not a client-side caching solution, it's a solution that enables you to cache on a file server. (It's why we do not allow Azure File Sync to be installed on a Windows client - only server.) Azure File Sync was designed to fit nicely in a work environment where the on-premises file server is down the hall, not necessarily the world that unfortunately exists now, where the vast majority of people are required to work from home.

    The one bit I don't understand about your description, perhaps you could clarify, if you were trying to use Azure File Sync as a client-side cache (assuming your end user is using the Windows Server as their client), why would you be making changes on the cloud side at all? Am I misunderstanding your scenario?

    Assuming you are looking for client access to a file share, I suggest that you consider the following ideas:

    • Azure File Sync does support interoperating with Windows Server features designed to address this problem, such as BranchCache and Work Folders. Either are potentially solutions that you could employ to help here.
    • Have you tried accessing the Azure file share directly over a VPN? You mention this slow, but in general a VPN connection should not add significant overhead if properly configured. Large files will still take longer to open than if they were stored locally on disk, so this is not a caching solution and depending on the size of the file and the requirements you have here, a VPN might well be too slow to help here, but I want to make sure we're giving fair consideration to this idea.

    Please don't hesitate to reach out to AzureFiles@microsoft.com if you want to chat about your specific case.

    Thanks,

    Will Gries
    Program Manager, Azure Files

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  2. deherman-MSFT 35,011 Reputation points Microsoft Employee
    2020-08-10T17:14:00.867+00:00

    @Joe
    Apologies that this is not working as you expected. The Azure Files team is currently working on improving this. You can read more about this on our community feedback forum. Also suggested there are the current workarounds available either using the cmdlet to trigger a sync or for end-user changes, install Azure File Sync in an IaaS VM and send end user access through that.

    I have reached out to the product team with your feedback and also to see if there are any suitable alternatives for your use case.

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  3. Joe 96 Reputation points
    2020-08-11T07:29:45.27+00:00

    Thanks for the replies.

    @Will Gries (MSFT) : VPN is not a solution, because we have a Scenario where we merge files to a PDF, which takes 15min with a fast fast internet-Connection on the Client Side.

    To answer your Question: Azure File Share can be mounted directly like a Network share on a Windows-PC, this explains the changes at the cloud side. I assumed that this files would be cached too on the client. If not, is there another Cloud/On-Premise Solution with Client-Side-Caching?

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