There are various tools to transfer data within Azure. One of the simplest ones is the AzCopy Command line utility. AzCopy can be used to copy blobs or files to or from a storage account. It can also be used to move files between different containers within the same storage account.
AzCopy is a free download. Before using it with Azure, users need to authenticate their access. There are many ways to do this. Two of the easiest options are:
- AzCopy login command: This is a simple command that authenticates the users against Azure Active Directory (AD).
- Using Shared Access Signature (SAS) token: SAS tokens can be generated using Azure PowerShell. To use a SAS token with AzCopy, simply append the SAS token to the end of the resource URL.
Depending on the storage type, the supported authentication method differs:
| Storage Type | Supported Authorization Method |
|---|---|
| Blob storage | Azure AD and SAS |
| Blob storage (hierarchical namespace) | Azure AD and SAS |
| File storage | SAS only |
Besides blobs and files, AzCopy can also be used to transfer data from Amazon Web Services (AWS) S3 buckets storage into Azure. AzCopy can also be used within PowerShell scripts.
For users who prefer to use the graphical interface, Azure Storage Explorer provides an easy to use GUI that uses AzCopy under the hood.
Azure Data Engineering 