Comparison between Azure Storage and Fabric OneLake features

[pmscorca]

Hi,

in order to evaluate the migration from Azure Storage to Fabric OneLake, I need to know the feature comparison between these two technologies.

What does OneLake support respect to Azure Storage?

F.e. in Azure Storage it is possible to create container, folders and sub-folders.

In order to use OneLake as a storage, is it possible to move or copy many files and organize them in a logical manner?

Many thanks

[pmscorca]

Ok, other differences between Azure Storage and OneLake, please?

[burakkaragoz]

Sure, here are a few more differences worth noting:

• Integration: OneLake is natively integrated with Microsoft Fabric, so you get tighter coupling with Lakehouses, Notebooks, Pipelines, etc. Azure Storage is more general-purpose
• Governance: OneLake supports centralized governance and security policies across Fabric workspaces
• Data Virtualization: OneLake supports shortcuts, which let you reference data across workspaces without duplicating it. This doesn’t exist in Azure Storage
• Discovery: OneLake enables automatic data discovery and cataloging within Fabric

If you’re looking for differences in performance, pricing, or specific APIs, feel free to clarify. Happy to dive deeper if needed.

[burakkaragoz · Accepted solution]

Hi @pmscorca ,

OneLake is built on top of ADLS Gen2, so it inherits many of the same capabilities. You can organize data using folders and subfolders, and yes, you can move or copy multiple files just like in Azure Storage. However, OneLake adds some extra features like native integration with Fabric items (like Lakehouses), automatic data discovery, and unified governance.

You won’t be creating containers in the same way as in Azure Storage, but each workspace in Fabric acts like a logical container, and within that, you can structure your data using Lakehouses and their internal folder hierarchies.

If you're planning a migration, tools like Azure Data Factory or even simple AzCopy scripts can help move data efficiently.

If my response resolved your query, kindly mark it as the Accepted Solution to assist others. Additionally, I would be grateful for a 'Kudos' if you found my response helpful.

[pmscorca]

Hi @burakkaragoz thanks for your reply.

You're saying that in order to create a hierachical directory to organize many files it occurs using a Lakehouse, ok?

So, OneLake doesn't seem to support folders and subfolders. What a pity!

[burakkaragoz]

@pmscorca ,

Just to clarify . OneLake does support folders and subfolders. You can structure your data hierarchically inside Lakehouses. What’s different is that it doesn’t use the same "container" concept as Azure Storage. In Fabric, each workspace acts like a logical container, and inside that you can have Lakehouses with their own internal folder structures.

So if your goal is to organize files in a logical way, that’s totally possible. You can also move/copy files in bulk using tools like AzCopy, notebooks, or Dataflows Gen2.