Mount Blob storage by using the Network File System (NFS) 3.0 protocol (preview)

08/04/2020
4 minutes to read

You can mount a container in Blob storage from a Windows or Linux-based Azure Virtual Machine (VM) or a Windows or Linux system that runs on-premises by using the NFS 3.0 protocol. This article provides step-by-step guidance. To learn more about NFS 3.0 protocol support in Blob storage, see Network File System (NFS) 3.0 protocol support in Azure Blob storage (preview).

Step 1: Register the NFS 3.0 protocol feature with your subscription

Open a PowerShell command window.
Sign in to your Azure subscription with the Connect-AzAccount command and follow the on-screen directions.
```
Connect-AzAccount
```
If your identity is associated with more than one subscription, then set your active subscription.
```
$context = Get-AzSubscription -SubscriptionId <subscription-id>
Set-AzContext $context
```
Replace the <subscription-id> placeholder value with the ID of your subscription.

Register-AzProviderFeature -FeatureName AllowNFSV3 -ProviderNamespace Microsoft.Storage

Register-AzResourceProvider -ProviderNamespace Microsoft.Storage

Step 2: Verify that the feature is registered

Registration approval can take up to an hour. To verify that the registration is complete, use the following commands.

Get-AzProviderFeature -ProviderNamespace Microsoft.Storage -FeatureName AllowNFSV3

Step 3: Create an Azure Virtual Network (VNet)

Your storage account must be contained within a VNet. A VNet enables clients to securely connect to your storage account. To learn more about VNet, and how to create one, see the Virtual Network documentation.

Note

Clients in the same VNet can mount containers in your account. You can also mount a container from a client that runs in an on-premises network, but you'll have to first connect your on-premises network to your VNet. See Supported network connections.

Step 4: Configure network security

The only way to secure the data in your account is by using a VNet and other network security settings. Any other tool used to secure data including account key authorization, Azure Active Directory (AD) security, and access control lists (ACLs) are not yet supported in accounts that have the NFS 3.0 protocol support enabled on them.

To secure the data in your account, see these recommendations: Network security recommendations for Blob storage.

Step 5: Create and configure a storage account

To mount a container by using NFS 3.0, You must create a storage account after you register the feature with your subscription. You can't enable accounts that existed before you registered the feature.

In the preview release of this feature, NFS 3.0 protocol is supported in BlockBlobStorage and general-purpose V2 accounts.

As you configure the account, choose these values:

Setting	Premium performance	Standard performance
Location	All available regions	One of the following regions: Australia East, Korea Central, and South Central US
Performance	Premium	Standard
Account kind	BlockBlobStorage	General-purpose V2
Replication	Locally-redundant storage (LRS)	Locally-redundant storage (LRS)
Connectivity method	Public endpoint (selected networks) or Private endpoint	Public endpoint (selected networks) or Private endpoint
Secure transfer required	Disabled	Disabled
Hierarchical namespace	Enabled	Enabled
NFS V3	Enabled	Enabled

You can accept the default values for all other settings.

Step 6: Create a container

Create a container in your storage account by using any of these tools or SDKs:

Tools	SDKs
Azure portal	.NET
AzCopy	Java
PowerShell	Python
Azure CLI	JavaScript
	REST

Step 7: Mount the container

Create a directory on your Windows or Linux system, and then mount a container in the storage account.

Linux
Windows

On a Linux system, create a directory.
```
mkdir -p /mnt/test
```
Mount a container by using the following command.
```
mount -o sec=sys,vers=3,nolock,proto=tcp <storage-account-name>.blob.core.windows.net:/<storage-account-name>/<container-name>  /mnt/test
```
- Replace the <storage-account-name> placeholder that appears in this command with the name of your storage account.
- Replace the <container-name> placeholder with the name of your container.

Open the Windows Features dialog box, and then turn on the Client for NFS feature.
Open a Command Prompt window (cmd.exe). Then, mount a container by using the mount command.
```
mount -o nolock <storage-account-name>.blob.core.windows.net:/<storage-account-name>/<container-name> *
```
- Replace the <storage-account-name> placeholder that appears in this command with the name of your storage account.
- Replace the <container-name> placeholder with the name of your container.
If you need write permissions, you may need to change the default UID and GID that Windows uses to connect to the share. To do this, run the following PowerShell commands as an administrator:
```
New-ItemProperty -Path HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\ClientForNFS\CurrentVersion\Default -Name AnonymousUid -PropertyType DWord -Value 0
New-ItemProperty -Path HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\ClientForNFS\CurrentVersion\Default -Name AnonymousGid -PropertyType DWord -Value 0
```
- Restart the NFS client service or reboot the server after making this change.

Resolve common issues

Issue / error Resolution

Access denied by server while mounting Ensure that your client is running within a supported subnet. See the Supported network locations.

No such file or directory Ensure sure that the container that you're mounting was created after you verified that the feature was registered. See Step 2: Verify that the feature is registered.Also, make sure to type the mount command and it's parameters directly into the terminal. If you copy and paste any part of this command into the terminal from another application, hidden characters in the pasted information might cause this error to appear.

Issue / error	Resolution
`Access denied by server while mounting`	Ensure that your client is running within a supported subnet. See the Supported network locations.
`No such file or directory`	Ensure sure that the container that you're mounting was created after you verified that the feature was registered. See Step 2: Verify that the feature is registered.Also, make sure to type the mount command and it's parameters directly into the terminal. If you copy and paste any part of this command into the terminal from another application, hidden characters in the pasted information might cause this error to appear.