Learn how to create File Share Snapshots in Azure

Creating file share snapshots in Azure is straightforward.

Snapshots are point-in-time backups of your Azure File Shares, which can be useful for data protection and recovery.

Here's a step-by-step guide.

Method 1: Using Azure Portal

1. Navigate to Azure Storage Account

• Go to the Azure Portal.

• Navigate to the Storage Accounts service and select your storage account.

2. Access the File Share

• Under the selected storage account, go to Data storage and click File shares.

• Select the file share you want to create a snapshot for.

3. Create the Snapshot

• In the file share overview, click on Add snapshot in the toolbar.

• A snapshot will be created and listed under the Snapshots section.

Method 2: Using Azure PowerShell

1. Install/Update Azure PowerShell

Ensure Azure PowerShell is installed and updated. Use the command:

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Install-Module -Name Az -AllowClobber -Scope CurrentUser

2. Log in to Azure

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Connect-AzAccount

3. Create a Snapshot

Run the following commands, replacing placeholders:

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$resourceGroupName = "YourResourceGroupName"
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$storageAccountName = "YourStorageAccountName"
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$fileShareName = "YourFileShareName"
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New-AzStorageFileShareSnapshot `
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-ResourceGroupName $resourceGroupName `
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-StorageAccountName $storageAccountName `
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-ShareName $fileShareName

Method 3: Using Azure CLI

1. Install/Update Azure CLI

Ensure Azure CLI is installed and updated.

Use the command:

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az upgrade

2. Log in to Azure

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az login

3. Create a Snapshot

Run the following commands:

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resourceGroupName="YourResourceGroupName"
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storageAccountName="YourStorageAccountName"
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fileShareName="YourFileShareName"
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az storage share snapshot \
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--account-name $storageAccountName \
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--name $fileShareName \
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--resource-group $resourceGroupName

Method 4: Using Azure REST API or SDKs

If you want to automate the process programmatically, you can use the Azure REST API or SDKs for your preferred programming language.

Use the "Create Share Snapshot" API call.

Viewing and Restoring Snapshots

Viewing

In the portal, snapshots appear as read-only versions of the file share.

You can navigate and restore files as needed.

Restoring

Copy the desired data from the snapshot back to the main file share or download it locally.

Summary

Snapshots are retained until explicitly deleted and incur storage costs proportional to the changes made since the last snapshot.