Import Export

The Azure Import/Export service uses disk drives (customer supplied or Microsoft provided) to securely transfer large volumes of data in and out of Azure Blob Storage or into File storage (but not out). The service can significantly reduce the time to upload and download data and offers other advantages over Internet transfer.

The service is not available in all Azure regions, and it has limitations, including type and size of drives, number of drives per transfer job, and disk formats supported. Customers are responsible for encryption and compliance with any jurisdictional data-handling regulations. The turnaround speed of copying data and shipping hard drives may also limit the service to specific uses.

Potential uses of the service include the following:

• Long-term archival for persistent, redundant, online storage that can help avoid purchasing large on-premises storage solutions for rarely accessed data
• Transferring data to customers or partners, such as providing a project