Attach an Amazon FSx for Windows File Server file system

You must have an FSx for Windows File Server file system before you can attach it to an FSx File Gateway. If you don't have a file system, you must create one. For instructions, see Step 1: Create Your File System in the Amazon FSx for Windows File Server User Guide.

The next step is to attach an Amazon FSx file system to the gateway. When you attach an Amazon FSx file system, all the file shares on the file system are made available to Amazon FSx File Gateway (FSx File Gateway) for you to mount.

Note

The following limitations apply when writing to an Amazon FSx file system from Amazon FSx File Gateway:

• Your Amazon FSx file system and your FSx File Gateway must be owned by the same AWS account and located in the same AWS Region.

• Each gateway can support up to five attached file systems. When you're attaching a file system, the Storage Gateway console notifies you if the selected gateway is at capacity. In that case, you must choose a different gateway or detach a file system before you can attach another one.

• FSx File Gateway supports soft storage quotas (which warn you when users surpass their data limits), but does not support hard quotas (which enforce data limits by denying write access). Soft quotas are supported for all users except the Amazon FSx admin user. For more information about setting up storage quotas, see Storage quotas in the Amazon FSx User Guide.

• We don't recommend using Microsoft Distributed File System (DFS) to redirect users to your Amazon FSx file system through FSx File Gateway. Instead, configure DFS to redirect directly to the Amazon FSx file system in the AWS Cloud as described in Grouping multiple file systems with DFS Namespaces in the Amazon FSx for Windows File Server User Guide.

To attach an Amazon FSx file system

1. In the Storage Gateway console, on the FSx file systems > Attach FSx file system page, complete the following fields in the FSx file system settings section:

   • For FSx file system name, choose the file system that you want to attach from the dropdown list.

   • For Local Endpoint IP address, enter the gateway IP address that clients will use to browse file shares on the FSx file system.

     Note

     • You must specify an IP address for each file system attached to the gateway.

     • For Amazon EC2 gateways, you can specify the private IP address of the EC2 instance, unless it is already in use by a different file system, in which case you must add a new private address to the gateway, then restart it. For more information, see Multiple IP addresses in the Amazon EC2 User Guide.

     • For on-premises gateways, you can specify the IP address of the primary network interface (static or DHCP), unless it is already in use by a different file system, in which case you must provide a different IP address from the same subnet as the primary interface, which will be made available as a virtual IP. Do not use an IP address assigned to any network interface other than the primary.

2. In the Service account settings section, provide the service account sign-in credentials that is associated with the Amazon FSx file system.

   Note

   This service account must have Backup Operators privileges from the Active Directory service that is associated with your Amazon FSx file systems or have equivalent permissions.

   Important

   To ensure sufficient permissions to files, folders, and file metadata, we recommend that you make the service account a member of the file system administrators group.

   If you are using AWS Directory Service for Microsoft Active Directory with Amazon FSx for Windows File Server, the service account must be a member of the AWS Delegated FSx Administrators group.

   If you are using a self-managed Active Directory with Amazon FSx for Windows File Server, we recommend that the service account be a member of the custom delegated file system administrators group you specified for file system administration when you created your Amazon FSx file system.

   If you chose not to create a custom delegated file system administrators group when you created the Amazon FSx filesystem, the default group is Domain Admins. While you can make the service account a member of this group instead, it is not recommended as a best practice.

   For more information, see Delegating privileges to your Amazon FSx service account in the Amazon FSx for Windows File Server User Guide.

3. In the Audit logs section, choose Existing log groups, and choose the log that you want to use to monitor access to your Amazon FSx file system. You can create a new one. If you don't want to monitor your system, choose Disable logging.

4. For Automated cache refresh setting, if you want your cache to refresh automatically, choose Set refresh interval and specify an interval between 5 minutes and 30 days.

5. (Optional) In the Tags section, choose Add new tag to add one or more keys and a value for tagging your settings.

6. Choose Next and review the settings. To change your settings, you can choose Edit in each section.

7. When you are done, choose Finish.

Next step

Mount and use your Amazon FSx file share