Do you need to copy files from your local workstation to Azure Virtual Machines? No need to use FTP, or send files on cloud drives or blobs. The only thing you need to do is to access your local drives from your cloud VM and pull the files over. You can also use the same approach to pull files from your cloud VM locally. Here is how it’s done.
First, logon to Microsoft Azure and browse to your Virtual Machine from the portal. From there, select your Virtual Machine and click on the Connect button at the bottom (make sure you select your VM first by clicking on the status field for example so that the VM clearly shows with a darker blue background).
After clicking on Connect, you will be prompted to Open or Save the RDP file for the remote session to your VM. Click on Save, and click on Open folder once the save operation is complete. This will open the directory where the RDP file was saved and automatically select the file for you.
Right-click on your RDP file, and choose Edit from the dropdown menu. You will see the Remote Desktop Connection configuration window. Click on the Local Resources tab, and in the Local devices and resources section, click on the More… button.
Expand the Drives and click on the local drives you want to share from within your Virtual Machine (I selected my C drive), then click OK.
Finally, click on the Connect button to logon to your Virtual Machine. Once logged on, you will see your local drive available from within Explorer as a mapped drives as shown below. You can now copy and move files from your Virtual Machines in and out of your Workstation easily. Because you can change any RDP file in the same way, you can do the same with virtual machines hosted on other cloud platforms or from your own network.
About Herve Roggero
Herve Roggero, Microsoft Azure MVP, @hroggero, is the founder of Blue Syntax Consulting (http://www.bluesyntaxconsulting.com). Herve’s experience includes software development, architecture, database administration and senior management with both global corporations and startup companies. Herve holds multiple certifications, including an MCDBA, MCSE, MCSD. He also holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Indiana University. Herve is the co-author of “PRO SQL Azure” and “PRO SQL Server 2012 Practices” from Apress, a PluralSight author, and runs the Azure Florida Association.
