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Integrate SnapShooter with Backblaze B2
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    Integrate SnapShooter with Backblaze B2

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      Article summary

      SnapShooter is a SaaS-based application that you can use with Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage to store the backups of servers, websites, and MySQL databases.

      Enable Backblaze B2

      Before you begin: You must have a Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage account. If you already have a Backblaze account and the left navigation menu contains a B2 Cloud Storage section, your account is already enabled for Backblaze B2.

      1. Sign in to the Backblaze web console.
      2. In the user menu in the upper-right corner of the page, select My Settings.
      3. Under Enabled Products, select the checkbox to enable B2 Cloud Storage.
      4. Review the Terms and Conditions, and click OK to accept them. 

      Create a Bucket

      1. Sign in to the Backblaze web console.
      2. In the left navigation menu under B2 Cloud Storage, click Buckets.
      3. Click Create a Bucket.
      4. Enter a name for your bucket. Bucket names must be at least six characters and globally unique.
        A message is displayed if your bucket name is already in use.
      5. Select a privacy setting: Private or Public. Files that are in a private bucket require authentication to perform an action, for example, downloading. Public buckets do not require authentication so you can easily share files. You can change a bucket's privacy settings at any time.
      6. If applicable, enable a Backblaze B2 server-side encryption key.
      7. Enable Object Lock to restrict a file from being modified or deleted for a specified period of time.
      8. Click Create a Bucket, and copy the value that is in the Endpoint field; you will need this value later.
      9. Click Lifecycle Settings to control how long to keep the files in your new bucket.
      Note
      If this is your first time creating a public bucket, complete the following tasks to ensure that you have the correct permissions to create a public bucket:

      1. Verify your email address.
      2. Have a payment history on file, or use the credit card form to pay a small fee that is credited to your account balance.
      Note
      Copy the S3 endpoint that is displayed for use in another step.

      Create an Application Key

      Application keys control access to your Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage account and the buckets that are contained in your account.

      1. Sign in to the Backblaze web console.
      2. In the left navigation menu under B2 Cloud Storage, click Application Keys.
      3. Click Add a New Application Key, and enter an app key name.
        You cannot search an app key by this name; therefore, app key names are not required to be globally unique.
      4. Select All or a specific bucket in the Allow Access to Bucket(s) dropdown menu.
      5. Optionally, select your access type (Read and Write, Read Only, or Write Only).
      6. Optionally, select the Allow List All Bucket Names checkbox (required for the B2 Native API b2_list_buckets and the S3-Compatible API S3 List Buckets operations).
      7. Optionally, enter a file name prefix to restrict application key access only to files with that prefix. Depending on what you selected in step #4, this limits application key access to files with the specified prefix for all buckets or just the selected bucket.
      8. Optionally, enter a positive integer to limit the time, in seconds, before the application key expires. The value must be less than 1000 days (in seconds).
      9. Click Create New Key, and note the resulting keyID and applicationKey values.
      Note
      When you create a new app key, the response contains the actual key string, for example N2Zug0evLcHDlh_L0Z0AJhiGGdY. You can always find the keyID on this page, but for security, the applicationKey appears only once. Make sure you copy and securely save this value elsewhere.

      Configure SnapShooter with Backblaze B2

      1. Sign in to your SnapShooter account.
      2. In the left navigation menu under Dashboard, select Settings & Credentials and select External Storage.
      3. Click Connect New External Storage.
      4. Complete the Storage form.
        1. Enter a friendly name for your storage.
        2. Select Backblaze B2 as the Storage Provider.
        3. Select the region that matches the endpoint URL that you copied in the "Create a Bucket" task (for example, US West (002) - s3.us-west-002.backblazeb2.com).
        4. Enter your Bucket Name.
        5. Enter your keyID into the Access Key field.
        6. Enter your applicationKey into the Secret Access Key field.
      5. Click Attach External Storage.

      Your Backblaze B2 account is now ready to store your SnapShooter backups.

      Back Up a Database

      You must enable backups of MySQL databases to Backblaze B2.

      1. In the left navigation menu under Object Storage Backups, select Databases and select MySQL.
      2. Click Create New MySQL Backup.
      3. Enter secure shell (SSH) details to set up SSH access.
        1. Enter a name for this backup.
        2. Select an SSH Server (for example, Use a new SSH User/Host).
        3. Enter the following details:
          • SSH Host
          • SSH User
          • SSH Port
        4. Select an SSH Key (for example, Generate a new SSH Key Pair).
        5. Click Test and Connect.
          SnapShooter generates an SSH key/pair and provides the instructions to install it on your MySQL host.
        6. Click Test SSH Key to test your setup.
          If everything works as expected you are asked for the MySQL details. Otherwise, the output from the SSH connection is displayed to help you diagnose any SSH issues.
      4. Enter MySQL authentication details.
        1. Enter the MySQL host. If the database is on the same server as the SSH connection, then use 127.0.0.1 as the host.
        2. Enter the following details:
          • MySQL Port
          • MySQL User
          • MySQL Password
        3. Click Test Mysql Details.
          SnapShooter checks the connection and displays an error if issues are returned.
      5. Select the MySQL databases that you want to back up (for example, All Databases), and click Setup Storage.
      6. Select the Backblaze B2 storage you configured in a previous step, and click Setup Storage.
      7. Configure your backup schedule, timezone, and retention policy, and click Set Schedule and Finish.
      8. Review the settings on the summary screen, and optionally click Backup Now to immediately begin a backup.

      Back Up Files and Folders from Droplets to Backblaze B2

      1. In the left navigation menu under Object Storage Backups, select Files and Folders and click Create New File Backup.
      2. Add SSH details.
        1. Enter a name for this backup.
        2. Select the SSH Server.
          If you back up files from a server that already has an established SSH connection,  select the SSH key from the SSH Server dropdown menu.
        3. Select the SSH Key.
        4. Click Next Step.
        5. Click Test SSH Key to verify that you selected the correct keys.
      3. Configure the file backup.
        1. Select the files that you want to back up, and select the files that you want to exclude.
          By default, the entire disk is backed up, with exclusions for program files and temp files, so that just your data is backed up.
        2. Optionally, select the compression level, which has a range of 1-9, with a default value of 6.
        3. Review and adjust the settings, and click Test Details.
      4. Select the Backblaze B2 storage that you configured in a previous step, and click Set Storage.
      5. Configure your backup schedule, timezone, and retention policy, and click Set Schedule and Finish.
      6. Review the settings on the summary screen, and optionally click Backup Now to immediately begin a backup.
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