Five tools, one question each: how much data, how often, and how fast is your network connection?
You need to move 200 TB from an on-prem datacenter into Azure, and your internet link is far too slow to make that practical in any reasonable time. Which tool is built for exactly this?
These three tools work at the scale of files and folders, not whole datacenters:
| Tool | What it is | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| AzCopy | Command-line utility to copy/upload/download blobs and files | One-directional — you designate source and destination explicitly |
| Azure Storage Explorer | Standalone GUI app (Windows/macOS/Linux) for the same tasks — uses AzCopy underneath | Same as AzCopy, with a visual interface |
| Azure File Sync | Centralizes file shares in Azure Files while keeping a local Windows Server cache in sync | Bi-directional — install it locally and it stays continuously synced both ways |
The direction column is the exam-relevant distinction: AzCopy and Storage Explorer are deliberate, one-shot, one-direction operations you trigger. Azure File Sync is a standing, bi-directional relationship — it can even replace a failed local file server, and supports cloud tiering so only your frequently-used files stay cached locally.
These two are for moving an entire environment, not individual files:
| Tool | What it is | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Azure Migrate | A hub for assessing and migrating on-prem infrastructure to Azure, over the network | Real-time, online migration — servers, databases, web apps, with discovery and assessment tooling built in |
| Azure Data Box | A physical, rugged storage device (up to 80 TB usable capacity) Microsoft ships to you | Bulk offline transfer when your network bandwidth can't realistically move the data — you load it locally, ship it back, Azure uploads it on arrival |
Calibration answer: Azure Data Box. At 200 TB over a constrained link, the network path isn't viable — Data Box sidesteps the bandwidth problem entirely by shipping the bytes physically. (Once your import finishes uploading, the device's disks are wiped to NIST 800-88r1 standards before reuse.)