BackBlaze B2 feature support

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rostala
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2021 1:26 am

BackBlaze B2 feature support

Post by rostala »

Does Syncovery support the following features with BackBlaze B2 (assuming B2’s API now includes them):
  1. file move detection
  2. file rename detection
  3. multithreaded transfers
  4. resumeable uploads
  5. retention of file attributes
  6. retention of symbolic links and junctions
Thank you

tobias
Posts: 1604
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2020 7:37 pm

Re: BackBlaze B2 feature support

Post by tobias »

Hello,
> 1. file move detection
> 2. file rename detection

Will be implemented via B2's b2_copy_file function very soon. Direct renaming is not possible. A file needs to be copied and then deleted. But it does not have to be re-uploaded when this is implemented. In the next 1-3 days hopefully.

> 3. multithreaded transfers
Yes, of course. Many smaller files are uploaded in parallel, and large files can also use multiple threads to increase bandwidth usage.

> 4. resumeable uploads
If there are interruptions or errors during a large file upload, only the interrupted chunk needs to be re-uploaded. Not the whole file.

But uploads cannot be resumed if the whole profile has been stopped and is later restarted.

> 5. retention of file attributes
A file's dwFileAttributes are stored in compressed Sz files. Currently they are not restored though. This includes read-only, archive etc.

Alternate Data Streams for files can be stored when files are zipped or Sz-compressed, via the button "Alternate Data Streams" on the tab sheet Special->More.

Alternate Data Streams for folders can be stored in .metadata-syncovery files, also via the button "Alternate Data Streams" on the tab sheet Special->More.

Folder permissions (Security Settings) can be uploaded in .metadata-syncovery files, too, via the settings under Special -> Process Security and Shares, on the Advanced tab sheet. Permissions on a file level can only be included when using zip or sz compression.

> 6. retention of symbolic links and junctions

Yes, via .$symlink files, which can be chosen under "Masks & Filters" -> "General Filters".

rostala
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2021 1:26 am

Re: BackBlaze B2 feature support

Post by rostala »

tobias wrote:
Fri Jan 15, 2021 9:23 am

> 1. file move detection
> 2. file rename detection
Will be implemented via B2's b2_copy_file function very soon. Direct renaming is not possible. A file needs to be copied and then deleted. But it does not have to be re-uploaded when this is implemented. In the next 1-3 days hopefully.
Glad to hear that Syncovery will have a solution for this - or should it be called a work-around (since other cloud providers don't have to use a copy step)?

Side note: I remember shopping for a cloud provider about two years ago, and was about to go with B2, until I found out they're API doesn't support object moves/renames... Seems kind of important, but I guess that's just me.
> 5. retention of file attributes
A file's dwFileAttributes are stored in compressed Sz files. Currently they are not restored though. This includes read-only, archive etc.
Are they restored if zip is used instead (or is that not the issue)?

Also, side question: Given that sz doesn't have the limitations in Syncovery that it used to, is there any reason to use zip anymore?

tobias
Posts: 1604
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2020 7:37 pm

Re: BackBlaze B2 feature support

Post by tobias »

Hello,
whether renaming/moving is supported by an API depends on how the underlying object storage works. None of Amazon S3, Rackspace Cloud Files, Azure BLOB Storage, Wasabi etc support renaming or moving of items.

Yes, zip restores the simple Windows file attributes. It was just an oversight that I didn't implement it for Sz. I will do that ASAP.

For some customers, a reason to still use zip could be that it can be unpacked by software other than Syncovery. However, I will also release an free standalone SzArchiver tool this year (hopefully).

rostala
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2021 1:26 am

Re: BackBlaze B2 feature support

Post by rostala »

tobias wrote:
Mon Jan 18, 2021 11:26 pm
whether renaming/moving is supported by an API depends on how the underlying object storage works. None of Amazon S3, Rackspace Cloud Files, Azure BLOB Storage, Wasabi etc support renaming or moving of items.
My mistake; I was under the impression that most storage providers supported deduplication.
Are there any exceptions that work with Syncovery?
Why is no one using it?

By the way, there's a 2014 Backblaze support article, What Happens If I Move or Rename a File?, which references deduplication in their "Backblaze Personal Backup" app. And I could have sworn that at some point in 2018-2019, they said that functionality was now available through their latest API.
Last edited by rostala on Tue Jan 19, 2021 6:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.

tobias
Posts: 1604
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2020 7:37 pm

Re: BackBlaze B2 feature support

Post by tobias »

Hello,
Syncovery 9.28c now supports b2_copy_file, which is used to rename and move files, and to avoid re-uploading them.

It also sets the files' MIME types correctly now.

All of the smarter clouds support renaming and moving, including Google Drive, DropBox, Box, Sharepoint, etc.

Only the more technical "backend storage" types of clouds do not, including Amazon S3, Glacier, etc. Some of them allow to issue a copy command and a delete command, so that moved files don't have to be re-uploaded (like Amazon S3 and B2).

Deduplication is a completely different topic. It has nothing to do with this discussion. It is more a feature of the backup application that you install on your machine, rather than a feature of the cloud storage. Syncovery does not support deduplication.

tobias
Posts: 1604
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2020 7:37 pm

Re: BackBlaze B2 feature support

Post by tobias »

Hello again,

Syncovery 9.28c also includes file attributes in Sz files now and restores them. Previous version did not actually save the attribute in the Sz files, contrary to what I wrote in a previous post. The field was reserved in the structure but it wasn't used yet.

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