Azure Files Premium SMB Multichannel with private endpoint

Question

I have a premium storage account with SMB Multichannel and a private endpoint. My question is: Are SMB Multichannel and private endpoint compatible in Azure Files Premium?

Answer 1

Hey folks,

I'm not sure where the idea that Azure Files doesn't support SMB Multichannel if the storage account has private endpoints, but it's not true. You can absolutely use private endpoints and SMB Multichannel together. If there's ever been any point in the documentation where we said otherwise, please let me know and I will promptly fix it.

I feel that the documentation for the Get-SmbMultichannelConnection cmdlet is confusing. I'm not sure why the screenshotted output from the documentation shows multiple entries for each server - I notice that screenshot seems to imply that there are multiple NICs, so perhaps that has something to do with it? I'm not an expert on what the cmdlet does, so I don't want to speculate much more than that.

With respect to a stock Azure VM, we only expect to see a single row per "server" if there's a SMB Multichannel connection. The returned objects from Get-SmbMultichannelConnection show the current and max channels of the mount. SMB will increase/decrease the current channel count as needed based on data transfer. You can see this with the following command:

Get-SmbMultichannelConnection | Select *

If SMB Multichannel is not enabled on this storage account, or is not negotiated on the client side (client negotiates by default), then you would see no results for the Get-SmbMultichannelConnection command.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks,

Will Gries

Principal Product Manager, Azure Files

Answer 2

Hello jose76672,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A, thanks for posting your query.

I understand that you would like to know if the SMB Multichannel and private endpoint compatible in Azure Files Premium?

SMB Multichannel is supported in Azure Files Premium, but private endpoints for storage accounts are not compatible with SMB Multichannel. Therefore, you cannot use both features together in Azure Files Premium.

When utilizing a Private Endpoint to access your Azure Files Premium storage account, all communication between your client and the storage account is directed through a private IP address within your virtual network. This configuration allows for the use of SMB Multichannel, enabling the establishment of multiple network connections between your client and the storage account via the private connection.

To implement SMB Multichannel with a Private Endpoint in Azure Files Premium, it is necessary to configure your virtual network to accommodate SMB Multichannel and subsequently create a Private Endpoint for your storage account. After completing these steps, you can connect to your storage account using the private IP address designated for the Private Endpoint, which will facilitate the automatic establishment of multiple network connections through SMB Multichannel.

References:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/files/files-smb-protocol?tabs=azure-portal#smb-protocol-settings

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any further questions.

Hope the above answer helps! Please let us know do you have any further queries.

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