With the 20,000+ people that have signed up for Backblaze B2, we have received a lot of feedback, and have been working diligently to incorporate it. If you like big files—really big files—you’ll really like this release: the Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage Big File Beta. But there’s a lot more to like. Let’s take a look.
Backblaze B2 Large File Features
- Large Files:
While B2 Cloud Storage supports storing an unlimited amount of data, previously, the largest individual file that could be uploaded was 5GB. Now Backblaze B2 supports individual files up to 10TB—an increase of 20,000%. This is also two times the size of Amazon S3 or Google Cloud Platform’s largest supported file size, and 10 times that of Azure’s. You can get more details on how the leading cloud storage providers compare, here. - Snapshots:
Users can select any number of files stored in B2 Cloud Storage to combine into a snapshot. Snapshots can be up to 10TB in size. Snapshots are ideal for capturing a moment in time for files, keeping multiple archives of data, and more.
- Working With Large Files and Snapshots:
Large files and snapshots can be downloaded via the Backblaze B2 Web UI, the Backblaze B2 CLI tool, or the B2 Native APIs. Additionally, Cyberduck supports drag and drop downloading of large files and snapshots.
Additional Enhancements
- Large File API:
B2 Cloud Storage has added a set of Large File APIs for developers to break large files into multiple pieces and upload the parts in parallel. This allows developers to monitor and manage the entire process of uploading large files. Once uploaded, large files can be downloaded/deleted/listed/hidden just like any other file. - Metadata in List Files API:
Previously, determining certain metadata about a file such as uploadTimestamp or SHA1 required requesting it for each file. This metadata has been added to the List Files API, enabling developers to quickly get info for all files. - Backblaze B2 CLI:
The Backblaze B2 Command-Line Tool has numerous enhancements including the ability to upload and download large files, download Snapshots, install via pip, and more. - Caps and Alerts:
In addition to be able to set caps on spending, users can now be alerted via text message and/or email about cap status. - Integration Checklist:
Backblaze has published an Integration Checklist for offerings to self-certify based on recommended guidelines. This provides the developer community best practices for integration development and helps promote the resulting integrations to the B2 Cloud Storage user community.
Integrations
While Backblaze was working on improving B2 Cloud Storage, developers were creating and publishing integrations, making it even easier to use. Check out the Backblaze B2 Integrations page for solutions from CyberDuck, odrive, Cubix, and more. All of these have successfully passed our self-certification process noted earlier, and more integrations are on the way.
Try Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage Today
If you are a developer, start from the Backblaze B2 Docs page, and simply click on any Backblaze B2 API call. Then scroll to the bottom of the page to see the coding examples in Java, Python, Ruby, C#, and more. IT folks will find the Command-Line Tool handy for scripting tasks requiring data to be stored off-site. And, if you’re not technical, you can still use the Backblaze B2 Web GUI or install Cyberduck, an app for your Mac or PC, to drag and drop files into B2 Cloud Storage. In short, no matter who you are, if you have data to store in the cloud, Backblaze B2 can help.
