Sibonay Koo, a PM in the Azure Files team, talks to us about a new service that just went GA - Azure File Sync. She gives us use-cases for using the new service as well as tips and tricks for getting the most out of it.   Media file: https://azpodcast.blob.core.windows.net/episodes/Episode243.mp3 Resources: Azure File Sync GA announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/blog/score-one-for-the-it-pro-azure-file-sync-is-now-generally-available/ AFS planning guide: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/files/storage-sync-files-planning Answer to the question on encryption: All traffic between the server and cloud is encrypted in transport via SSL. There is also encryption at rest in the cloud that’s comparable to BitLocker. As for encryption on the server, you can essentially use whatever service you want as long as AFS can access the location. It’s fine to use BitLocker or to use RMS to encrypt individual files – because AFS does not interpret file content, we just need to see that the file exists. https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/storage/common/storage-service-encryption Also she corrected her statement - Azure File Sync’s underlying sync technology is actually completely different from One Drive’s.   Other Updates: https://www.sdxcentral.com/articles/news/suse-builds-a-custom-linux-kernel-to-boost-microsoft-azure-performance/2018/08/ Announcing VNet service endpoints general availability for MySQL and PostgreSQL Azure API Management – VSTS extension v2.0 release Reduce your exposure to brute force attacks from the virtual machine blade https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/reduce-your-exposure-to-brute-force-attacks-from-the-virtual-machine-blade/ Expanded Azure Blueprint for FFIEC compliant workloads https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/expanded-azure-blueprint-for-ffiec-compliant-workloads/ DPDK (Data Plane Development Kit) for Linux VMs now generally available https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/dpdk-data-plane-development-kit-for-linux-vms-now-generally-available/ Multi-member consortium support with Azure Blockchain Workbench 1.3.0 https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/multi-member-consortium-support-with-azure-blockchain-workbench-1-3-0/ Blockchain Airlift in the UK for Partners - September 10-11, 2018 at the Sheraton Skyline Hotel in London. (Contact Russell) Update Management: Reboot control https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/updates/update-management-reboot/