Deploying Secure Azure File Shares: Premium Performance and Network Security
Introduction
Azure Files offers fully managed file shares in the cloud that are accessible via the industry-standard SMB and NFS protocols. For departments like Finance, balancing high performance with strict network security is critical. In this guide, we will walk through deploying a Premium Azure File share, protecting data with snapshots, and restricting access to a specific Virtual Network to ensure enterprise-grade security.
Create and configure a storage account for Azure Files.
Create a storage account for the finance department’s shared files. Learn more about storage accounts for Azure Files deployments.
In the portal, search for and select Storage accounts.
Select + Create.
For Resource group select Create new. Give your resource group a name and select OK to save your changes.
Provide a Storage account name. Ensure the name meets the naming requirements.
Set the Performance to Premium.
Set the Premium account type to File shares.
Set the Redundancy to Zone-redundant storage.
Select Review and then Create the storage account.
Wait for the resource to deploy.
Select Go to resource.
Create and configure a file share with directory.
Create a file share for the corporate office. Learn more about Azure File tiers.
In the storage account, in the Data storage section, select the File shares blade.
Select + File share and provide a Name.
Review the other options, but take the defaults.
Select Create
Add a directory to the file share for the finance department. For future testing, upload a file.
Select your file share and select + Add directory.
Name the new directory finance.
Select Browse and then select the finance directory.
Notice you can Add directory to further organize your file share.
Upload a file of your choosing.
Configure and test snapshots.
Similar to blob storage, you need to protect against accidental deletion of files. You decide to use snapshots. Learn more about file snapshots.
Select your file share.
In the Operations section, select the Snapshots blade.
Select + Add snapshot. The comment is optional. Select OK.
Select your snapshot and verify your file directory and uploaded file are included.
Practice using snapshots to restore a file.
Return to your file share.
Browse to your file directory.
Locate your uploaded file and in the Properties pane select Delete. Select Yes to confirm the deletion.
Select the Snapshots blade and then select your snapshot.
Navigate to the file you want to restore,
Select the file and the select Restore.
Provide a Restored file name.
Verify your file directory has the restored file.
Configure restricting storage access to selected virtual networks.
This tasks in this section require a virtual network with subnet. In a production environment these resources would already be created.
Search for and select Virtual networks.
Select Create. Select your resource group. and give the virtual network a name.
Take the defaults for other parameters, select Review + create, and then Create.
Wait for the resource to deploy.
Select Go to resource.
In the Settings section, select the Subnets blade.
Select the default subnet.
In the Service endpoints section choose Microsoft.Storage in the Services drop-down.
Do not make any other changes.
Be sure to Save your changes.
The storage account should only be accessed from the virtual network you just created. Learn more about using private storage endpoints.
Return to your files storage account.
In the Security + networking section, select the Networking blade.
Change the Public network access to Enabled from selected virtual networks and IP addresses.
In the Virtual networks section, select Add existing virtual network.
Select your virtual network and subnet, select Add.
Be sure to Save your changes.
Select the Storage browser and navigate to your file share.
Verify the message not authorized to perform this operation. You are not connecting from the virtual network.
Conclusion
By completing these steps, you have successfully deployed a high-performance, resilient file storage solution. Using Premium File Shares with Zone-redundant storage (ZRS) ensures low latency and protection against datacenter failures. Furthermore, by implementing Service Endpoints and restricting traffic to a specific Virtual Network, you have significantly reduced the attack surface of your financial data. This layered approach to security and availability represents best practices for managing sensitive departmental data in Azure.
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