Map Drive and Backup to Windows Azure Storage in 3 Steps

By -
Windows Azure was in Public Preview for quite some time now. In our previous posts about Windows Azure, we went directly into how to map a network drive to Azure Blob Storage and start setting up backup tasks to Azure Storage. We didn’t mention exactly how to acquire a Windows Azure account since it was invitation only.

Yesterday, Windows Azure was transitioned from Public Preview mode to Full Production mode. It took me a while to understand how to setup the Azure account and start using the Azure Storage. I will share the steps here in this article.

Hopefully, in 3 big steps, you will be using your Azure Blob Storage from Windows Explorer and smooth sailing thereafter.



Step 1: Activate windows Azure Subscription

Instead of the invitation only mode in Public Preview, you can now activate your Windows Azure subscription from the Microsoft Online Services Consumer Portal. At the end, Azure is software as a service, you subscribe to it monthly just as you subscribe to telephone services.

image

This step looks a lot like an online purchase/checkout process with the price set to 0.0. You still need to put in Credit card information for consumption later on.
image


Step 2: Setup Your Azure Blob Storage.
If you had completed Step1, you would have received an email from Microsoft Windows Azure Team that will tell you to go to the Azure developer portals (windows.azure.com) and set it up

image

After you log into the Azure Developer Portal, you will need to click on the project row and create a new service.
image
image
After you create your new service, you will get the account name, endpoints and the Primary Access Key.
image


Note for Amazon S3 users: You will notice that Azure Blob Storage allows you to create multiple accounts (endpoints) with different Primary Access Key. This is different from the Amazon S3’s one account and one Secret Access Key. In this aspect, Azure Blob Storage is more flexible.


Step 3: Download and Install Gladinet Cloud Desktop
Use the Gladinet Cloud Desktop program, you can map a network drive to Windows Azure Blob Storage and setting up Backup Tasks to Azure Blob Storage.

After the install, you can select Azure Blob Storage. If you have more, you can select more.

step2

You can use Quick Launch Pad to quickly get to the tasks or browse your Azure Blob Storage files in the Gladinet Drive.

gladinet

Here is a look at the Virtual Network Drive, click on the Azure Blob Storage will prompt you for the account name and the primary access Key and it will be all setup.

step3

After this, the Azure Blob Storage will sit permanently in your network drive. Any information you save to the Azure Blob Storage folder will go to the Azure Blob Storage.

If you go to a second PC and install Gladinet Cloud Desktop and mount Azure Storage again, you will see the content you save from one PC show up in the same network drive.

At this time, Microsoft is offering 500M free per month for the introductory offer. Making it easier to use.
Enjoy! Grab a copy of the Gladinet Cloud Desktop and try yourself!

Related Topics:
Manage Azure Blob Storage With Ease!
Backup to Azure Blob Storage via Windows Explorer Virtual Network Drive
Windows Azure Blob Storage vs. Amazon S3

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Access and Backup to HP Cloud Storage

By -
Image
Today HP moved its cloud services to public beta. Gladinet has been working closely with HP Cloud Service since private beta to provide product integration support. Gladinet is also announcing today the support of HP Cloud Storage service with the full Gladinet Suite of products. In the latest Gladinet Desktop Client, you will see the HP Cloud drop down, which allows you to attach your HP Cloud Storage account into Windows Explorer as a mapped network drive. At the next screen, you can enter the related HP Cloud account information.
Read more

7 Biggest Limitations of SharePoint Online And How to Fix Them

By Anonymous -
Image
SharePoint benefits encourage businesses to migrate their file server data online. However, there are at least 7 limitations of SharePoint Online and OneDrive that need to be effectively addressed to reduce migration costs and eliminate OneDrive sync failures. In this article, we'll identify some of the common issues that complicate SharePoint migrations and ways to simplify the migration and solve the issues. Here's a list of common issues: 5,000 item limit in a document library 100,000 item sync limit for the OneDrive client NTFS permission reorganization requirements Maximum name length limitations Prohibitive costs of data reorganization 93 day recycle bin threshold Lack of support for legacy application data (databases, etc…) Obviously, you may not hit every issue in each migration but migrator beware if there's a lack of awareness of how these limitations could impact user experience, productivity, and cost. A Real-World Example Before we discuss each of these items...
Read more

Optimizing 3D Rendering and AutoCAD Performance in Remote Work Environments

By -
Image
Introduction: The Challenge of Remote Work Whether you are a design company or an architecture firm , you'll find that managing large 3D and AutoCAD files across remote team members creates performance and collaboration issues. This article introduces CentreStack as the one-stop solution for transforming your remote work experience. Identifying the Obstacles in Remote 3D Rendering and AutoCAD Usage The Challenge of Distance Data must traverse long distances when working in separate locations, introducing latency issues that hamper real-time collaboration. The Burden of Growing Files Technological advancements in 3D rendering tools and AutoCAD have led to larger file sizes, making performance even more of a challenge. The Downside of VPNs and Cloud Storage Solutions Traditional VPN technology has become more sluggish over time despite hardware upgrades or additional bandwidth. Common cloud services like Dropbox, Google Drive, and SharePoint aren't optimized for AutoCAD file typ...
Read more