GlusterFS to Azure Files Migration Guide

Summary — Migrate GlusterFS volumes to Azure Files

Purpose This guide explains how to migrate data from GlusterFS volumes to Azure Files (SMB or NFS), including client requirements, recommended migration tools, a step-by-step migration procedure, performance guidance, troubleshooting tips, and support resources.

GlusterFS end-of-life

• Red Hat Gluster Storage (GlusterFS-based) has reached end of life on the schedule listed in the source (full support ended Nov 2020; formal end of life Dec 2024). Organizations should migrate to supported alternatives such as Azure Files.

Client requirements

• Ensure clients meet protocol requirements for Azure Files:

  • Windows clients: Windows 7 / Server 2008 R2 or newer; SMB 2.1 minimum; SMB 3.1.1 recommended (see Use an Azure file share with Windows).

  • Linux clients (SMB): distribution with SMB support, cifs-utils, SMB 3.0+ (SMB 3.1.1 recommended).

  • Linux clients (NFS): NFSv4.1 client support and proper network config.

  • Windows NFS access requires using WSL to mount NFSv4.1 shares (WSL installation guides linked).

Migration tools

• Windows: Robocopy (built-in).

• Linux: rsync or fpsync (parallelizes rsync). Links to comparisons provided.

Key commands (examples from the article)

• Robocopy example:

  robocopy <GlusterFS_Source> <AzureFiles_Destination> /MIR /Z /MT:8 /W:1 /R:3 /LOG:migration_log.txt

• rsync example:

  rsync -avz --progress --stats --delete <GlusterFS_Source>/ <AzureFiles_Destination>/

Step-by-step migration (condensed)

1

Assessment and planning

• Inventory GlusterFS volumes: total size, files/directories, access patterns, client OS.

• Choose protocol: SMB for Windows workloads; NFS for Linux workloads.

• Select performance tier (Standard HDD or Premium SSD) and size file shares.

2

Prepare Azure environment

• Create a storage account in the appropriate region; choose performance tier (Premium required for NFS).

• Configure networking (firewalls, private endpoints) per protocol.

• Create Azure file shares with required protocols.

3

Mount Azure file share

• Mount the share on clients before migrating.

• Windows SMB: follow Mount SMB Azure file share on Windows.

• Linux: follow Mount NFS Azure file shares on Linux or Mount SMB Azure file shares on Linux.

4

Perform data migration

• Windows: use Robocopy (example provided).

• Linux: use rsync (example provided); use --exclude to phase large migrations.

5

Verify migration

• Compare file counts and sizes (Windows: Get-ChildItem; Linux: find + wc and du).

• Validate permissions and perform application tests.

6

Cutover

• Redirect applications to Azure Files endpoints, update mount points (fstab or mapped drives), update docs/monitoring, then decommission GlusterFS after validation.

Performance optimization

• Ensure VM network bandwidth is sufficient for throughput/IOPS (choose appropriate VM size).

• SMB tips: enable SMB Multichannel, use SSD shares for critical workloads, configure client caching, follow SMB performance guidance (link provided).

• NFS tips: use Premium SSD file shares, provision capacity for throughput, tune client read/write buffers, use nconnect (recommended nconnect=4), consider network latency, follow NFS performance guidance (links provided).

Troubleshooting (common issues)

• Robocopy: Error 5 (Access denied) — check permissions; Error 67 — check network/share name; Error 1314 — increase quota or free space.

• rsync: Permission denied — check permissions/mount options; Connection timeout — check network/firewall; Partial transfer — use --partial; No such file — verify paths.

Support and further reading

• For Azure Files issues, contact Azure Support via the Azure portal.

• Consider Microsoft Consulting Services for migration assistance.

• Relevant links (kept from the article): RoboCopy migration guide, NFS migration guide, Robocopy docs, rsync manual, fpsync info, Azure Files scale/performance docs, and troubleshooting resources (all links in original content).

Last updated

• Article last updated: 11/14/2025

(Links and command examples preserved from the source.)