Azure File Sync Agent v17 Release - December 2023

Improvements and issues that are fixed

Sync upload performance improvements

Sync upload performance has improved (performance numbers to be posted in the near future). This improvement will mainly benefit file share migrations (initial upload) and high churn events on the server in which a large number of files need to be uploaded.

Expanded character support for file and directory names

Azure File Sync now supports an expanded list of characters. This expansion allows for users to create and sync SMB File shares with file and directory names on par with NTFS file system, for valid Unicode characters.  For more information on unsupported characters, refer to the documentation here.

New cloud tiering low disk space mode metric

You can now configure an alert if a server is in low disk space mode. To learn more, see Monitor Azure File Sync.

Fixed an issue that caused the agent update to hang

Miscellaneous reliability and telemetry improvements for cloud tiering and sync

More information about the Azure File Sync Agent v17 release

• This release is available for Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2019, and Windows Server 2022 installations. 

• Windows Server 2012 R2 requires .NET Framework version 4.6.2 or higher.

• Agent support for Windows Server 2012 R2 will end on March 4, 2025. See Windows Server 2012 R2 agent support section below for more information.

• The agent version for this release is 17.0.0.0.

How to obtain and install the Azure File Sync Agent

The Azure File Sync agent v17 release is no longer available due to the following security issue.

Unauthorized users might be able to create new files in locations they are not allowed.

This issue is fixed in the Azure File Sync agent v17.1 release.

Windows Server 2012 R2 agent support will end on March 4, 2025

Windows Server 2012 R2 reached end of support on October 10, 2023. Azure File Sync will continue to support Windows Server 2012 R2 until the v17.x agent is expired on March 4, 2025. Once the v17 agent is expired, Windows Server 2012 R2 servers will stop syncing to your Azure file shares.

Action Required

Perform one of the following options for your Windows Server 2012 R2 servers prior to v17 agent expiration on March 4, 2025:

• Option #1: Perform an in-place upgrade to a supported operation system version. Once the in-place upgrade completes, uninstall the Azure File Sync agent for Windows Server 2012 R2, restart the server and install the agent for the new server operating system (Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2019, or Windows Server 2022).

• Option #2: Deploy a new Azure File Sync server that is running a supported operation system version to replace your Windows 2012 R2 servers. For more guidance, see Replace an Azure File Sync server.

Note: Azure File Sync agent v17.3 is the last agent release currently planned for Windows Server 2012 R2. To continue to receive product improvements and bug fixes, upgrade your servers to Windows Server 2016 or later.