How to create an Azure file share for FSLogix

Parallels DaaS stores FSLogix profile containers on an Azure file share in your own Azure subscription. Follow the steps below to create the file share and give both your session hosts and the Parallels DaaS service network access to it.

Before you begin

Make sure you have the following:

• An account with the Contributor role on the Azure subscription that you connected to Parallels DaaS.

• The name of the virtual network and subnet that your Parallels DaaS session hosts use.

Important: Parallels DaaS connects to the file share from a Parallels-managed network. If you skip Step 3, Parallels DaaS can't reach the file share.

Step 1. Create a storage account

To create a storage account:

1. Sign in to the Azure portal.

2. Switch to the directory and subscription that you connected to Parallels DaaS.

3. Navigate to Storage accounts and click + Create.

4. On the Basics tab, specify the following:

   • Subscription and Resource group: Select the subscription and the resource group that Parallels DaaS uses for infrastructure resources.

   • Storage account name: Specify a unique name of 3 to 24 characters. Use only lowercase letters and numbers.

   • Region: Select the region where your Parallels DaaS session hosts run.

   • Primary service: Select Azure Files.

   • Performance: Select Premium.

   • File share billing: Select Provisioned v2. If it isn't available in your region, select Provisioned v1.

   • Redundancy: Select Locally-redundant storage (LRS). For high availability, select Zone-redundant storage (ZRS).

5. On the Advanced tab, keep the default settings.

6. On the Networking tab, keep the default settings. You restrict network access in Step 2.

7. On the Security tab, make sure Enable storage account key access is selected.

8. Keep the default settings on the other tabs and click Review + create.

9. Review the settings and click Create.

Note: You need the storage account access key when you configure FSLogix in Parallels DaaS. If an Azure Policy in your organization disables key access, ask your Azure administrator for an exception for this storage account.

Step 2. Restrict access to your virtual network

Limit access to the storage account to the subnet that your Parallels DaaS session hosts use.

To restrict access:

1. Navigate to the storage account created in Step 1.

2. In the left menu, under Security + networking, click Networking.

3. Under Public network access, click Manage.

4. Set Public network access to Enable.

5. Set Public network access scope to Enable from selected networks.

6. Under Virtual networks, click Add a virtual network > Add existing virtual network.

7. Specify the following settings:

   • Subscription: Select the subscription that contains your Parallels DaaS virtual network.

   • Virtual networks: Select the virtual network that your session hosts use.

   • Subnets: Select the subnet that your session hosts use.

8. Click Enable. The portal turns on the Microsoft.Storage service endpoint on the subnet, if needed, and adds the subnet to the list.

9. Click Save.

Note: It can take up to a minute for the new network settings to take effect.

Step 3. Allow access from Parallels DaaS

Add the Parallels DaaS subnet to the storage account's network rules. This subnet is in a Parallels-managed subscription, so it doesn't appear in the Azure portal. You add it with the Azure CLI in Azure Cloud Shell instead.

To allow access from Parallels DaaS:

1. In the Azure portal, click the Cloud Shell icon in the top bar.

2. If prompted, select Bash. If Cloud Shell opens in PowerShell, click Switch to Bash.

3. If Cloud Shell asks you to set up storage, select No storage account required, select your subscription, and click Apply.

4. Set Cloud Shell to the subscription that contains the storage account:

   az account set --subscription "<subscription-name-or-id>"

1. Run the following command. Replace <storage-account-resource-group> and <storage-account-name> with the values of the storage account created in Step 1. Don't change the --subnet value.

   az storage account network-rule add \
     --resource-group <storage-account-resource-group> \
     --account-name <storage-account-name> \
     --subnet /subscriptions/4c154dd1-04f9-4546-9847-9b8e3e31a6f2/resourceGroups/pvad-rg-prd-we/providers/Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/pvad-vnet-prd-we/subnets/pvad-snet-aks-prd-we

1. Verify that the rule was added:

   az storage account network-rule list \
     --resource-group <storage-account-resource-group> \
     --account-name <storage-account-name> \
     --query virtualNetworkRules

The output lists the pvad-snet-aks-prd-we subnet with the state Succeeded.

Step 4. Plan the file share capacity

To plan the capacity:

1. Decide the maximum profile size per user in GiB. Save this number for later steps.

2. Estimate how many users will use Parallels DaaS.

3. Multiply the maximum profile size by the number of users. For example, 30 GiB × 100 users = 3,000 GiB.

Note: Azure bills the provisioned capacity, not the space in use. You can increase the capacity later if you need more.

Step 5. Create a file share

To create a file share:

1. Navigate to the storage account created in Step 1.

2. In the left menu, under Data storage, click Classic file shares.

3. Click + File share.

4. On the Basics tab, specify the following:

   • Name: The name of the file share. Use only lowercase letters, numbers, and single hyphens.

   • Provisioned storage (GiB): Enter the capacity calculated in Step 4.

   • (Provisioned v2 only) Provisioned IOPS and throughput: Select Recommended provisioning.

   • Protocol: Select SMB.

5. (Optional) On the Backup tab, keep Enable backup selected to back up user profiles, or clear it.

6. Click Review + create, and then click Create.

Step 6. Save settings for future use

You need these values when you configure FSLogix in Parallels DaaS.

To save the settings:

1. Navigate to the storage account created in Step 1.

2. In the left menu, under Security + networking, click Access keys.

3. Save the Storage account name.

4. Under key1, click Show and save the Key.

5. In the left menu, under Data storage, click Classic file shares.

6. Select the file share created in Step 5.

7. Under Settings, click Properties and save the URL. It has the format https://<storage-account-name>.file.core.windows.net/<file-share-name>.

Important: The access key gives full access to the storage account. Store it in a secure location, such as a password manager.

More information

• Create a classic file share (Microsoft Learn)

• Create a virtual network rule for Azure Storage (Microsoft Learn)

• Configure network endpoints for accessing Azure file shares (Microsoft Learn)