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Cannot create a Virtual directory on IIS FTP site pointing to Azure FileShare

Sandeep Kandhway 0 Reputation points
2025-04-04T12:13:57.2066667+00:00

Dear Team,

As a part of project requirement, I am creating a Virtual directory pointing to Azure File Share on Azure Windows server 2012R2 and IIS8.5. However its failing at Authorization with the error :

"Path might not exist and could not be verified."

Below are the steps and blog that has been followed for configuring this:

FYI: The exact same set of steps are working without any issues in Windows 2016, IIS 10.

1. Created a local user with the same name as AzureStorage account and the storage Key as password.
2. Added the user to IIS_IUSRS group.
3. Created an application pool with the same name as the StorageAccount details.
4. Created a virtual directory pointing to the UNC path of the Fileshare (\\storageaccntname.FQDN)

Blogs Followed: 
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https://blogs.iis.net/davidso/azurefile 
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/iis-support-blog/how-to-use-azure-file-share-in-iis-shared-configuration/874878
Windows development | Internet Information Services
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  1. Lex Li 6,037 Reputation points
    2025-04-04T19:00:10.4766667+00:00

    I'd like to repeat my comment to your same question on Stack Overflow that Windows Server 2012 R2 reached end of life on Oct 2023, so any inquiry on features and configuration will not be supported by Microsoft. You can refer to the official lifecyle information page for more details,

    Note that "Extended Security Update Year" only covers security patches.

    Like you found out, the solution is to migrate to a newer Windows Server release.

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  2. Tom Tran (WICLOUD CORPORATION) 260 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff
    2025-07-18T07:53:41.03+00:00

    Hi Sandeep Kandhway,

    Sorry for the late response.

    Based on what you've shared, this looks like a version-specific limitation. The same setup works on Windows Server 2016 with IIS 10.1, but fails on 2012 R2 with IIS 8.5, likely due to how older versions handle SMB and UNC path validation.

    Windows Server 2012 R2 supports SMB 3.0, but lacks key improvements found in SMB 3.1.1, which newer versions use to better support Azure File Shares. IIS 8.5 also has stricter path verification and less flexibility with remote share authentication.

    To avoid ongoing compatibility issues, I’d strongly recommend migrating to Windows Server 2016 or later. Azure File Share integration is much more reliable on newer platforms, and 2012 R2 has reached end of support as of October 2023 as Lex Li mentioned.

    Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/files/storage-how-to-use-files-windows

    Hope this helps!

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