Since we announced Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage, many of our existing online backup customers have joined the Backblaze B2 beta program and started working with B2 Cloud Storage. That’s great, but we also know that many more of our customers are still on the sidelines trying to decide if Backblaze B2 is right for them. Their dilemma:
Whether ’tis wiser in the mind to back up
Your Mac or PC with continuous online backup
Or to change to back up on your own accord
And in migrating use Backblaze B2: to set, and forget
No more; but to use a GUI, CLI or API;
The power, the control now in your grasp
Is it all too much? The serendipity
Rages in your mind. Backing up,
Online or with Backblaze B2, choose; aye, there’s the rub.
With apologies to Shakespeare, you do not have to choose. Whether you use our traditional cloud backup service, or our new B2 Cloud Storage service, or both, depends on where you are on the backup continuum…
The Status Quo
If you think “cloud storage” is techie-poetic metaphor to describe a stormy sky, then the status quo may be for you. For you, Backblaze Personal Backup has quietly and efficiently been backing up the data on your PC or Mac; you don’t even notice that Backblaze is there. It is set-and-forget and that’s just the way you want it. If this is you, then you’re probably getting all the Backblaze B2 you need in your multi-vitamin.
Backblaze B2 Curious
You use Backblaze Personal Backup and you’ve read the Backblaze B2 blog posts, but you’re still not sure what you can do with Backblaze B2. After all, you’re a dentist, not a developer. Here’s how you can have some fun with B2 Cloud Storage. Sign in to Backblaze and make sure B2 Cloud Storage is enabled. There’s a nice web GUI that will get you Backblaze B2-ing in minutes. Start by creating a bucket and make it public. Then use the drag-and-drop feature to upload your favorite photo or video. Click on the “info” icon and copy the URL of your file and share it with your family and friends for them to view and save on their computer or mobile device. Easy, and it won’t affect Backblaze Personal Backup, which will continue doing its backup thing.
Stash What Matters
You dutifully saved every video you’ve shot in the last 13 years. There are 51 external hard drives piled high in your closet threatening to topple over at any moment. Out of all those video files, there are a couple of dozen that you just can’t lose. How about using the web GUI to store those must-keep videos on B2 Cloud Storage. To start, create a bucket, then find the critical videos you want to save forever and upload them to your new B2 Cloud Storage bucket. Once you’re done, you’ll have a copy in the cloud of just the keepsakes you want, and best of all, it will only cost you $0.005/GB a month store them—actually less as the first 10GB of B2 Cloud Storage is free.
IT Guru
If the following makes any sense to you, then you might find the B2 Cloud Storage CLI interesting:
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- $ b2 authorize_account ab01cd02ef03 a01b02c03d04e05f06a07b08b09c10d11e12f13a
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- $ b2 list_buckets
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- photo-files
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- $ b2 upload_file photo-files ~/documents/hamlet.mov hamlet.mov
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- $ b2 list_file_names photo-files
- hamlet.mov
Backblaze B2 has a command line interface that you can integrate into your current scripts to save files to the cloud as needed—for example, an off-site copy of your nightly logs or the latest incremental server backup. In many cases, B2 Cloud Storage can save you money over your current off-site storage. It’s well worth your time to learn more.
Killer App Ninja
You’ve had the idea for the next great killer app, but the cost of storing the data from your app in cloud storage is crushing your dreams. What good is an app if you have to give half your revenue to Amazon? Cheer up and try the B2 Cloud Storage API. At a quarter of the cost of similar services that store data, Backblaze B2 can help you on your way to being the next big thing.
Linux Rules
You love Backblaze, but alas you cannot use Backblaze Personal Backup because you use Linux. For years you have wanted Backblaze to create a Linux client—you begged and pleaded. You tweeted daily, you commented on our blog, and on our Facebook page, on Hacker News, on reddit, anywhere Backblaze was mentioned: “When will you have a Linux client?”
Well my Linux friend, Backblaze B2 is for you and anyone like you. Now you can create a tarball of your stuff, executables and all, and stash them on Backblaze B2. You’re in control. You can script the perfect backup process, set up a cron job, then send us your files, keep versions, hide files, and more. You can even share your work on Github with your Linux friends. Go ahead, it’s OK, no really, you can back up your Linux system using B2 Cloud Storage. There’s really only one big downside: We’ll miss your comments…
