# Using SFTP with Azure Blob

## Overview

Couchdrop supports Azure Blob and SFTP - facilitating the easy transfer of data to and from Azure Blob containers. Setup and configuration is simple and only takes a couple of minutes. 

### What is Azure Blob

Azure Blob is an offering in Azure from Microsoft. It is a horizontally scalable block storage platform for storing large volumes of data in and is a common tool in the toolbox for companies adopting Azure for infrastructure. 

<div align="left"><figure><img src="/files/BftbNHxIirmTQIdRqUTC" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

### What is SFTP

SFTP is the most widely adopted protocol for securely sending and retrieving files in a system to system environment.&#x20;

## Requirements

To use SFTP with Azure Blob - there are a couple of things you will need

1. An Couchdrop account - you can register at [https://my.couchdrop.io](https://my.couchdrop.io/)
2. An Azure Blob container and access to the Azure portal as an administrator
3. 5 minutes spare and a coffee

## Configuration Steps&#x20;

1. Connect Couchdrop and Azure Blob. This is outlined [here](/connections/connect-storage/azure-blob.md).
2. Create an SFTP user in Couchdrop and attach them to the Azure folder. Configuring SFTP users in Couchdrop is detailed in [this article](/features/inbound-sftp/create-sftp-users.md).&#x20;
3. Connect and test

## How it Works

When you connect Couchdrop and Azure - you create a virtual pipe that transports data on demand. Couchdrop provides you with an account and set of credentials to use in your SFTP client or application using SFTP. Files uploaded or downloaded via that SFTP account through Couchdrop will be uploaded or downloaded to/from Azure Blob.

The transfer process is performed in Couchdrop's secure platform and is transparent to the end user or system.&#x20;


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