Backblaze B2
B2 is Backblaze's cloud storage system.
S3 Compatible API. The Backblaze S3 Compatible API easily integrates with your existing data management tools and S3 gateways. Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage is ¼ the price of AWS S3 so you can quickly integrate B2 and see dramatic savings on your cloud storage bill. If you aren’t currently a Backblaze B2 user you can start an account today and get your first 10GBs of storage free.
- Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage is ¼ of the price of Amazon S3. With Backblaze B2, you pay only for what you use - no minimums, tiers, or fine print. Backblaze pricing applies to all regions, competitor pricing varies by region. No complicated pricing tiers.
- Are there any plans to integrate Backblaze B2 to WHM as an additional remote backup destination, like Amazon S3? Costs are much lower and reliability is pretty good, so it's becoming a really interesting option to consider.
- Failure – Contains a “0” if the drive is OK. Contains a “1” if this is the last day the drive was operational before failing. 2013-2014 SMART Stats – 80 columns of data, that are the Raw and Normalized values for 40 different SMART stats as reported by the given drive. Each value is the number reported by the drive.
- Backblaze B2 as cloud storage. It's faster, cheaper and easier to manage. Rclone in a cron job to sync files nightly. The basic steps to get this set up are: 1) Create a jail. 2) Mount a dataset on /mnt/Backup or similar that contains the data you want to back up. 3) Install postfix via ports and configure it as an MTA.
Paths are specified as remote:bucket (or remote: for the lsdcommand.) You may put subdirectories in too, e.g. remote:bucket/path/to/dir.
Here is an example of making a b2 configuration. First run
This will guide you through an interactive setup process. To authenticateyou will either need your Account ID (a short hex number) and MasterApplication Key (a long hex number) OR an Application Key, which is therecommended method. See below for further details on generating and usingan Application Key.
This remote is called remote and can now be used like this
See all buckets
Create a new bucket
List the contents of a bucket
Sync /home/local/directory to the remote bucket, deleting anyexcess files in the bucket.
Application Keys
B2 supports multiple Application Keys for different access permissionto B2 Buckets.
You can use these with rclone too; you will need to use rclone version 1.43or later.
Follow Backblaze's docs to create an Application Key with the requiredpermission and add the applicationKeyId as the account and theApplication Key itself as the key.
Note that you must put the applicationKeyId as the account – youcan't use the master Account ID. If you try then B2 will return 401errors.
--fast-list
This remote supports --fast-list which allows you to use fewertransactions in exchange for more memory. See the rclonedocs for more details.
Modified time
The modified time is stored as metadata on the object asX-Bz-Info-src_last_modified_millis as milliseconds since 1970-01-01in the Backblaze standard. Other tools should be able to use this asa modified time.
Modified times are used in syncing and are fully supported. Note thatif a modification time needs to be updated on an object then it willcreate a new version of the object.
Restricted filename characters
In addition to the default restricted characters setthe following characters are also replaced:
| Character | Value | Replacement |
|---|---|---|
| 0x5C | ＼ |
Invalid UTF-8 bytes will also be replaced,as they can't be used in JSON strings.
Note that in 2020-05 Backblaze started allowing characters in filenames. Rclone hasn't changed its encoding as this could cause syncs tore-transfer files. If you want rclone not to replace then see the--b2-encoding flag below and remove the BackSlash from thestring. This can be set in the config.
SHA1 checksums
The SHA1 checksums of the files are checked on upload and download andwill be used in the syncing process.
Large files (bigger than the limit in --b2-upload-cutoff) which areuploaded in chunks will store their SHA1 on the object asX-Bz-Info-large_file_sha1 as recommended by Backblaze.
For a large file to be uploaded with an SHA1 checksum, the sourceneeds to support SHA1 checksums. The local disk supports SHA1checksums so large file transfers from local disk will have an SHA1.See the overview for exactly which remotessupport SHA1.
Sources which don't support SHA1, in particular crypt will uploadlarge files without SHA1 checksums. This may be fixed in the future(see #1767).
Files sizes below --b2-upload-cutoff will always have an SHA1regardless of the source.
Transfers
Backblaze recommends that you do lots of transfers simultaneously formaximum speed. In tests from my SSD equipped laptop the optimumsetting is about --transfers 32 though higher numbers may be usedfor a slight speed improvement. The optimum number for you may varydepending on your hardware, how big the files are, how much you wantto load your computer, etc. The default of --transfers 4 isdefinitely too low for Backblaze B2 though.
Note that uploading big files (bigger than 200 MB by default) will usea 96 MB RAM buffer by default. There can be at most --transfers ofthese in use at any moment, so this sets the upper limit on the memoryused.
Versions
When rclone uploads a new version of a file it creates a new versionof it.Likewise when you delete a file, the old version will be marked hiddenand still be available. Conversely, you may opt in to a 'hard delete'of files with the --b2-hard-delete flag which would permanently removethe file instead of hiding it.
Old versions of files, where available, are visible using the--b2-versions flag.
NB Note that --b2-versions does not work with crypt at themoment #1627. Using--backup-dir with rclone is the recommendedway of working around this.
If you wish to remove all the old versions then you can use therclone cleanup remote:bucket command which will delete all the oldversions of files, leaving the current ones intact. You can alsosupply a path and only old versions under that path will be deleted,e.g. rclone cleanup remote:bucket/path/to/stuff.
Note that cleanup will remove partially uploaded files from the bucketif they are more than a day old.
When you purge a bucket, the current and the old versions will bedeleted then the bucket will be deleted.
However delete will cause the current versions of the files tobecome hidden old versions.
Here is a session showing the listing and retrieval of an oldversion followed by a cleanup of the old versions.
Show current version and all the versions with --b2-versions flag.
Retrieve an old version
Clean up all the old versions and show that they've gone.
Data usage
It is useful to know how many requests are sent to the server in different scenarios.
All copy commands send the following 4 requests:
The b2_list_file_names request will be sent once for every 1k filesin the remote path, providing the checksum and modification time ofthe listed files. As of version 1.33 issue#818 causes extra requeststo be sent when using B2 with Crypt. When a copy operation does notrequire any files to be uploaded, no more requests will be sent.
Uploading files that do not require chunking, will send 2 requests perfile upload:
Uploading files requiring chunking, will send 2 requests (one each tostart and finish the upload) and another 2 requests for each chunk:
Versions
Versions can be viewed with the --b2-versions flag. When it is setrclone will show and act on older versions of files. For example
Listing without --b2-versions
And with
Showing that the current version is unchanged but older versions canbe seen. These have the UTC date that they were uploaded to theserver to the nearest millisecond appended to them.
Note that when using --b2-versions no file write operations arepermitted, so you can't upload files or delete them.
B2 and rclone link
Rclone supports generating file share links for private B2 buckets.They can either be for a file for example:
or if run on a directory you will get:
you can then use the authorization token (the part of the url from the?Authorization= on) on any file path under that directory. For example:
Standard Options
Here are the standard options specific to b2 (Backblaze B2).
--b2-account
Account ID or Application Key ID
- Config: account
- Env Var: RCLONE_B2_ACCOUNT
- Type: string
- Default: '
--b2-key
Application Key
- Config: key
- Env Var: RCLONE_B2_KEY
- Type: string
- Default: '
--b2-hard-delete
Permanently delete files on remote removal, otherwise hide files.
- Config: hard_delete
- Env Var: RCLONE_B2_HARD_DELETE
- Type: bool
- Default: false
Advanced Options
Here are the advanced options specific to b2 (Backblaze B2).
Backblaze B2 Reddit News
--b2-endpoint
Endpoint for the service.Leave blank normally.
- Config: endpoint
- Env Var: RCLONE_B2_ENDPOINT
- Type: string
- Default: '
--b2-test-mode
A flag string for X-Bz-Test-Mode header for debugging.
This is for debugging purposes only. Setting it to one of the stringsbelow will cause b2 to return specific errors:
- 'fail_some_uploads'
- 'expire_some_account_authorization_tokens'
- 'force_cap_exceeded'
These will be set in the 'X-Bz-Test-Mode' header which is documentedin the b2 integrations checklist.
- Config: test_mode
- Env Var: RCLONE_B2_TEST_MODE
- Type: string
- Default: '
--b2-versions
Include old versions in directory listings.Note that when using this no file write operations are permitted,so you can't upload files or delete them.
- Config: versions
- Env Var: RCLONE_B2_VERSIONS
- Type: bool
- Default: false
--b2-upload-cutoff
B2 Storage
Cutoff for switching to chunked upload.
Files above this size will be uploaded in chunks of '--b2-chunk-size'.
This value should be set no larger than 4.657GiB ( 5GB).
- Config: upload_cutoff
- Env Var: RCLONE_B2_UPLOAD_CUTOFF
- Type: SizeSuffix
- Default: 200M
--b2-copy-cutoff
Cutoff for switching to multipart copy
Any files larger than this that need to be server-side copied will becopied in chunks of this size.
The minimum is 0 and the maximum is 4.6GB.
- Config: copy_cutoff
- Env Var: RCLONE_B2_COPY_CUTOFF
- Type: SizeSuffix
- Default: 4G
--b2-chunk-size
Upload chunk size. Must fit in memory.
When uploading large files, chunk the file into this size. Note thatthese chunks are buffered in memory and there might a maximum of'--transfers' chunks in progress at once. 5,000,000 Bytes is theminimum size.
- Config: chunk_size
- Env Var: RCLONE_B2_CHUNK_SIZE
- Type: SizeSuffix
- Default: 96M
--b2-disable-checksum
Disable checksums for large (> upload cutoff) files
Normally rclone will calculate the SHA1 checksum of the input beforeuploading it so it can add it to metadata on the object. This is greatfor data integrity checking but can cause long delays for large filesto start uploading.
- Config: disable_checksum
- Env Var: RCLONE_B2_DISABLE_CHECKSUM
- Type: bool
- Default: false
--b2-download-url
Custom endpoint for downloads.
This is usually set to a Cloudflare CDN URL as Backblaze offersfree egress for data downloaded through the Cloudflare network.Rclone works with private buckets by sending an 'Authorization' header.If the custom endpoint rewrites the requests for authentication,e.g., in Cloudflare Workers, this header needs to be handled properly.Leave blank if you want to use the endpoint provided by Backblaze.
- Config: download_url
- Env Var: RCLONE_B2_DOWNLOAD_URL
- Type: string
- Default: '
--b2-download-auth-duration
Time before the authorization token will expire in s or suffix ms|s|m|h|d.
The duration before the download authorization token will expire.The minimum value is 1 second. The maximum value is one week.
- Config: download_auth_duration
- Env Var: RCLONE_B2_DOWNLOAD_AUTH_DURATION
- Type: Duration
- Default: 1w
--b2-memory-pool-flush-time
How often internal memory buffer pools will be flushed.Uploads which requires additional buffers (f.e multipart) will use memory pool for allocations.This option controls how often unused buffers will be removed from the pool.
- Config: memory_pool_flush_time
- Env Var: RCLONE_B2_MEMORY_POOL_FLUSH_TIME
- Type: Duration
- Default: 1m0s
--b2-memory-pool-use-mmap
Whether to use mmap buffers in internal memory pool.
- Config: memory_pool_use_mmap
- Env Var: RCLONE_B2_MEMORY_POOL_USE_MMAP
- Type: bool
- Default: false
--b2-encoding
This sets the encoding for the backend.
See: the encoding section in the overview for more info.
- Config: encoding
- Env Var: RCLONE_B2_ENCODING
- Type: MultiEncoder
- Default: Slash,BackSlash,Del,Ctl,InvalidUtf8,Dot
Limitations
rclone about is not supported by the B2 backend. Backends withoutthis capability cannot determine free space for an rclone mount oruse policy mfs (most free space) as a member of an rclone unionremote.
See List of backends that do not support rclone aboutSee rclone about
Backblaze, the popular macOS backup service, has just released a nice update to its iOS and Android apps. While the mobile apps have been great for personal users for years, business customers have been left out. With version 5.0, Backblaze B2 customers can now access your B2 buckets, browse files inside the buckets, and download them to your mobile device.
For business customers, Backblaze B2 is a popular backup choice. It’s integrated with popular vendors like Synology, Cloudflare, FreeNAS, and others.
Along with this update for Backblaze B2 customers, version 5.0 brings another nice update for consumers. Whether it’s a large video on your desktop that you need to retrieve or a large presentation – you can now download it to your device without worrying about file sizes. The file size limits have been bumped up to 5GB for personal backup data and uncapped if you are downloading B2 Cloud Storage files. The only limits you’d see otherwise are the storage on your device. Obviously, you’ll need to watch your LTE data usage if away from Wi-Fi.
Overall, this is a nice update to the app. Backblaze promises better performance on older devices as well as new ones. I am a big fan of Backblaze having been a customer for many years. If you are a Backblaze B2 customer, this is a welcome update at no additional cost. The updated apps are available on The App Store and Google Play Store today. This update comes on the heels of Backblaze for Mac upgrading to version 7.0 with Catalina support and an option for unlimited version history.
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