CLF-C02 Practice Question 87: Windows File Shares
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02) · Test 9 · question 7 of 10
A company is migrating Windows-based business applications that store their files on Windows file shares. The applications access the shares over the SMB protocol, users are authenticated with Microsoft Active Directory, and access is controlled with Windows access control lists (ACLs). The company wants fully managed file storage with native Windows compatibility. Which service should it choose?
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Answer:
Amazon FSx for Windows File Server provides fully managed Microsoft Windows file servers backed by a native Windows file system. It supports the SMB protocol, integrates with Microsoft Active Directory for authentication, and controls access at the file and folder level with Windows ACLs. That lets Windows applications be lifted and shifted without changes. AWS also handles the Windows software updates, hardware failures and daily backups.
Option A, Amazon EFS, is a managed file system accessed over the NFS protocol and designed for Linux-based workloads, so it does not provide native SMB shares with Windows ACLs. Option B, Amazon S3, is object storage accessed through an API, not a Windows file share that applications can map as a drive. Option D gives block storage to one instance. The company would have to run and patch its own Windows file server on it, which is not fully managed and not highly available.
Reference: What is FSx for Windows File Server?