Azure File Sync and Robopy Prevent Recall

Question

Azure File Sync and Robopy Prevent Recall

rr-4098 1,991

We are currently using Azure File Sync on our File server to tier off older file that have not be updated in a year to Entra and it is working perfectly and have free up almost 1TB of space!!! Since the server is a VM we would like to try and shrink the drive. I ran a robcopy script on a small directory keeping permissions, time stamps etc and it recalled the files. My question is, is there anyway around this i.e maybe stopping the File Sync Agent, disconnecting it from the network etc...

rr-4098 1,991 Reputation points

2025-04-18T13:04:22.37+00:00

Can tiering be disabled temporary, run the robocopy then enable it again?
Keshavulu Dasari 4,665 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-04-18T19:18:44.0533333+00:00
Hi rr-4098

Yes, you can temporarily disable cloud tiering in Azure File Sync, run your robocopy script, and then re-enable tiering. Here are the steps to do this:

Disable Cloud Tiering:

Open the Azure portal and navigate to your Azure File Sync resource.

Select the server endpoint where you want to disable tiering.

Under the " Cloud Tiering" section, set the policies to disable tiering.

Run Robocopy:

Execute your robocopy script to copy files while keeping permissions, timestamps, etc.

Re-enable Cloud Tiering:

After completing the robocopy operation, go back to the Azure portal.

Re-enable cloud tiering by setting the desired policies under the "Cloud Tiering" section.

If you have any other questions or are still running into more issues, let me know in the "comments" and I would be glad to assist you.
Keshavulu Dasari 4,665 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-04-21T18:04:58.2766667+00:00

Hi rr-4098,

Please do not forget to "Accept the answer” and “up-vote” wherever the information provided helps you, this can be beneficial to other community members.

If you have any other questions or are still running into more issues, let me know in the "comments" and I would be glad to assist you.
Keshavulu Dasari 4,665 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-04-22T17:41:51.45+00:00

Hi rr-4098,

Just checking in to see if the response helped. If you have any questions, let me know in the "comments" and I would be glad to assist you.
rr-4098 1,991 Reputation points

2025-04-22T19:57:06.06+00:00

You were 100% right that robocopy needs access to the metadate and content.. so that failed. I am going to try a restore to a different drive then change drive letters... I will keep you posted.

2 answers

Your answer

rr-4098 1,991 Reputation points

2025-04-18T13:04:22.37+00:00

Can tiering be disabled temporary, run the robocopy then enable it again?
Keshavulu Dasari 4,665 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-04-18T19:18:44.0533333+00:00

Hi rr-4098

Yes, you can temporarily disable cloud tiering in Azure File Sync, run your robocopy script, and then re-enable tiering. Here are the steps to do this:

Disable Cloud Tiering:

Open the Azure portal and navigate to your Azure File Sync resource.

Select the server endpoint where you want to disable tiering.

Under the " Cloud Tiering" section, set the policies to disable tiering.

Run Robocopy:

Execute your robocopy script to copy files while keeping permissions, timestamps, etc.

Re-enable Cloud Tiering:

After completing the robocopy operation, go back to the Azure portal.

Re-enable cloud tiering by setting the desired policies under the "Cloud Tiering" section.

If you have any other questions or are still running into more issues, let me know in the "comments" and I would be glad to assist you.
Keshavulu Dasari 4,665 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-04-21T18:04:58.2766667+00:00

Hi rr-4098,

Please do not forget to "Accept the answer” and “up-vote” wherever the information provided helps you, this can be beneficial to other community members.

If you have any other questions or are still running into more issues, let me know in the "comments" and I would be glad to assist you.
Keshavulu Dasari 4,665 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-04-22T17:41:51.45+00:00

Hi rr-4098,

Just checking in to see if the response helped. If you have any questions, let me know in the "comments" and I would be glad to assist you.
rr-4098 1,991 Reputation points

2025-04-22T19:57:06.06+00:00

You were 100% right that robocopy needs access to the metadate and content.. so that failed. I am going to try a restore to a different drive then change drive letters... I will keep you posted.

Answer 1

Hi there rr-4098

thanks for using QandA Platform

yes, using Robocopy on tiered files will trigger recalls because it tries to access the full file content, not just metadata. Unfortunately, this is by default. Temporarily stopping the File Sync agent or disconnecting the network might prevent recalls, but Robocopy may still fail if the files aren't locally cached. If you're trying to shrink the drive, it's better to work only with locally pinned files or consider using backup/image tools that respect cloud tiering without triggering recalls.

If this helps kindly accept the answer thanks much.

Answer 2

Keshavulu Dasari 4,665 Microsoft External Staff

Hi rr-4098,

That seems like a well-thought-out plan. Restoring to a different drive and then changing the drive letters should help you avoid the recall issue. If you run into any challenges or are still running into more issues, let me know in the "comments" and I would be glad to assist you. Good luck with the restore

Please do not forget to "Accept the answer” and “up-vote” wherever the information provided helps you, this can be beneficial to other community members.

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Azure File Sync and Robopy Prevent Recall

2 answers

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