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Merge pull request #111597 from fauhse/video
A video for this article
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articles/storage/files/storage-sync-files-planning.md

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# Planning for an Azure File Sync deployment
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[Azure Files](storage-files-introduction.md) can be deployed in two main ways: by directly mounting the serverless Azure file shares or by caching Azure file shares on-premises using Azure File Sync. Which deployment option you choose changes the things you need to consider as you plan for your deployment.
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[![Interview and demo introducing Azure File Sync - click to play!](./media/storage-sync-files-planning/azure-file-sync-interview-video-snapshot.png)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfWLO7F52-s)
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Azure File Sync is a service that allows you to cache a number of Azure file shares on an on-premises Windows Server or cloud VM.
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This article introduces you to Azure File Sync concepts and features. Once you are familiar with Azure File Sync, consider following the [Azure File Sync deployment guide](storage-sync-files-deployment-guide.md) to try out this service.
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The files will be stored in the cloud in [Azure file shares](storage-files-introduction.md). Azure file shares can be used in two ways: by directly mounting these serverless Azure file shares (SMB) or by caching Azure file shares on-premises using Azure File Sync. Which deployment option you choose changes the aspects you need to consider as you plan for your deployment.
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- **Direct mount of an Azure file share**: Since Azure Files provides SMB access, you can mount Azure file shares on-premises or in the cloud using the standard SMB client available in Windows, macOS, and Linux. Because Azure file shares are serverless, deploying for production scenarios does not require managing a file server or NAS device. This means you don't have to apply software patches or swap out physical disks.
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- **Cache Azure file share on-premises with Azure File Sync**: Azure File Sync enables you to centralize your organization's file shares in Azure Files, while keeping the flexibility, performance, and compatibility of an on-premises file server. Azure File Sync transforms an on-premises (or cloud) Windows Server into a quick cache of your Azure file share.
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This article primarily addresses deployment considerations for deploying Azure File Sync. To plan for a deployment of Azure file shares to be directly mounted by an on-premises or cloud client, see [Planning for an Azure Files deployment](storage-files-planning.md).
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## Management concepts
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An Azure File Sync deployment has three fundamental management objects:
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To provide encryption beneath the file system, Windows Server provides BitLocker inbox. BitLocker is fully transparent to Azure File Sync. The primary reason to use an encryption mechanism like BitLocker is to prevent physical exfiltration of data from your on-premises datacenter by someone stealing the disks and to prevent sideloading an unauthorized OS to perform unauthorized reads/writes to your data. To learn more about BitLocker, see [BitLocker overview](https://docs.microsoft.com/windows/security/information-protection/bitlocker/bitlocker-overview).
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Third party products which work similarly to BitLocker, in that they sit beneath the NTFS volume, should similarly work fully transparently with Azure File Sync.
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Third-party products which work similarly to BitLocker, in that they sit beneath the NTFS volume, should similarly work fully transparently with Azure File Sync.
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The other main method for encrypting data is to encrypt the file's data stream when the application saves the file. Some applications may do this natively, however this is usually not the case. An example of a method for encrypting the file's data stream is Azure Information Protection (AIP)/Azure Rights Management Services (Azure RMS)/Active Directory RMS. The primary reason to use an encryption mechanism like AIP/RMS is to prevent data exfiltration of data from your file share by people copying it to alternate locations, like to a flash drive, or emailing it to an unauthorized person. When a file's data stream is encrypted as part of the file format, this file will continue to be encrypted on the Azure file share.
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Azure File Sync does not interoperate with NTFS Encrypted File System (NTFS EFS) or third party encryption solutions that sit above the file system but below the file's data stream.
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Azure File Sync does not interoperate with NTFS Encrypted File System (NTFS EFS) or third-party encryption solutions that sit above the file system but below the file's data stream.
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### Encryption in transit
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Azure File Sync agent communicates with your Storage Sync Service and Azure file share using the Azure File Sync REST protocol and the FileREST protocol, both of which always use HTTPS over port 443. Azure File Sync does not send unencrypted requests over HTTP.

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