Contents x
Configure ShardSecure with Backblaze B2
    • Print
    • Dark
      Light
    Contents

    Configure ShardSecure with Backblaze B2

      • Print
      • Dark
        Light
      Article Summary

      ShardSecure is a simple, reliable, and affordable object store and provides a unique focus on securing data on back-end cloud infrastructure. You can configure ShardSecure with Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage.

      Enable Backblaze B2

      Before you begin: You must have a Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage account. You can sign up here. 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 your Backblaze account.
      2. In the left navigation menu under Account, click 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

      ShardSecure uses Backblaze B2 buckets to distribute and store data. Backblaze recommends that you create at least three buckets to ensure data distribution.

      You can enable Object Lock in the bucket within ShardSecure. You do not have to enable it in the Backblaze web UI because ShardSecure is managing the bucket.

      Version History is currently not supported.

      1. Sign in to your Backblaze account.
      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 may need this value for other processes.
      9. Click Lifecycle Settings to control how long to keep the files in your new bucket.

      Create an Application Key

      You must enable Read and Write as the type of access for the app key that you create for ShareSecure buckets.

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

      1. Sign in to your Backblaze account.
      2. In the left navigation menu under Account, 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. In the Allow Access to Bucket(s) dropdown menu, select All or a specific bucket.
      5. Select your access type (for example, Read and Write).
      6. Select the optional Allow List All Bucket Names checkbox (required for the Backblaze B2 S3-compatible API List Buckets operation).
      7. 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 ShardSecure

      1. Open the ShardSecure configuration portal.
      2. Select ShardFileSystems, and click + (add). 
      3. Select Backblaze from the Add Storage System drop-down menu.
      4. Enter a name for the ShardFileSystem, and click ADD.
      5. Enter your Backblaze B2 credentials.
        1. Enter a name (for example, Backblaze B2).
        2. Enter your application key ID.
        3. Enter your application key. 
        4. Enter a key name as the user agent. 
        5. Click ADD SCF.
      6. Enter the name of your Backblaze B2 bucket, enter a name for the bucket in ShardSecure, and enter a value in the Shard Size field.
        The Shard Size should be 4 unless your ShardSecure Consultant recommends another value.
      7. Click ADD SCF.
      8. Repeat these steps to add all of the buckets that you configured in Backblaze.
        All of the Backblaze B2 buckets are displayed under the ShardFileSystem for Backblaze.

      Create a Policy

      1. Select Policies, and click + (add).
      2. Enter the policy name, and click ADD.
      3. Select Rule to set a new rule for the policy.
      4. Select a Rule Type (for example Name), select a Rule Operator (for example, Equals), and enter a value (for example, *).
      5. Click SAVE.
      6. Click ShardContainerFiles to select your storage buckets.
      7. Click + (add) to add your Backblaze B2 buckets to the policy.
        All buckets are displayed under Configured Shard Container File.
      8. Click CLOSE to exit the setup dialogue.

      Configuration is now complete, and you are able to upload data to Backblaze using ShardSecure. After you upload the configuration to your ShardSecure cluster, you can create a bucket within ShardSecure and upload data using the S3-Compatible API. ShardSecure introduces data confidentiality, integrity, and availability before the data is stored in Backblaze B2.

      Was this article helpful?
      Related articles
      What's Next