To provide managed cloud storage for a mix of NFS and SMB workloads, which solution should a company choose?

• A. StorageGRID
• B. AFF
• C. NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP
• D. Azure NetApp Files

Answer: (D)

When you need a cloud-native, fully managed file service that can host both NFS and SMB workloads, the best fit is a service designed to run as a managed file system in the cloud. Azure NetApp Files provides exactly that: a fully managed file service on Azure that natively supports both NFS and SMB, allowing mixed workloads to run with enterprise-grade features (provisioning, performance tiers, snapshots, data protection) without the overhead of managing hardware or NAS software.

StorageGRID is geared toward object storage, not file shares, so it doesn’t meet the NFS/SMB needs. NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP is a cloud NAS you deploy and manage yourself in the cloud, which adds administration and maintenance work. AFF is on-prem hardware, not cloud. For a managed cloud storage solution that handles both protocols smoothly, Azure NetApp Files is the best choice.