Azure File Shares can be bound to an Active Directory (AD) for authentication and authorization purposes. This allows users and groups within AD to access the file share with their AD credentials. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to set this up:
- Create an Azure file share in the Azure portal.
- Create an Azure Active Directory Domain Services (AAD DS) instance. This service allows Azure virtual machines to authenticate against AD.
- Configure the AAD DS instance to use the same AD tenant as the file share.
- Create a new virtual machine (VM) in the same Azure virtual network as the file share and AAD DS instance.
- On the VM, install the Azure File Sync agent and the Azure File PowerShell module.
- Using PowerShell, run the command
Add-AzureRmAccountto connect to the Azure subscription. - Run the command
New-AzureRmStorageSyncGroupto create a new sync group, specifying the Azure file share as the cloud endpoint. - Run the command
New-AzureRmStorageSyncConnectionto create a new sync connection, specifying the VM as the server endpoint and the local folder to be used as the target of the file share. - To Enable Azure AD Domain Services for Azure Files, Run
Enable-AzureRmStorageSyncAzureDomain -StorageSyncGroupName <your group name> -DomainName <your AAD DS domain name> - Now the Azure file share is bound to AD, You can now create a group in AD, assign permissions to the share for that group, and then add users to that group to give them access to the file share.
Keep in mind that this process requires a subscription to Azure AD Domain Services and Azure File Share, and also the virtual machine should be joined to the AD Domain.
These steps create a secure way for users to access files stored in Azure, as access to the files is controlled through AD permissions, and the files are stored in a highly available and scalable cloud storage solution.
Additionally, you can use Azure Policy to apply more granular control over access to the files, and use Azure Monitor to track and alert on activity to the files.