Following requests to extend version history,
Backblaze has today announced an enhancement to the
Backblaze Cloud Backup
service for consumers and businesses. The enhancements to the extended version
history include the ability to keep updated, changed, and even deleted files in
a user's backups forever. Additionally, Backblaze has improved their Windows
and Mac apps by supporting MacOS 10.15 Catalina, increasing the functionality
of iOS and Android mobile apps, updating their Single Sign-o
n (SSO)
support, and adding more account security options.
Version History
Backblaze previously kept a 30-day version history
of backed up files, but the update is now giving consumers and businesses the
option to extend their version history to one year or forever. This new
functionality is available on the Overview page for Computer Backup, and the
Groups Management page for customers using Backblaze Groups. Backblaze v7.0 is
required to use Version History. More information about Version History,
pricing and examples of how to restore can be found on the Backblaze Version History FAQ page.
30-Day Version History
All Backblaze computer backup accounts have 30-Day
Version History included with their backup license, giving customers the
ability to go back in time for 30 days and retrieve old versions of their files.
This also applies to files that have been deleted.
1-Year Version History
Extending Version History from 30 days to one year
means that all versions of the account's files that are backed up will remain
in their Backblaze backup for one year after being modified or deleted from the
business or consumer's device. This applies whether the files have been
updated, changed, or fully deleted from the computer. Extending Version History
to one year is an additional $2 per month and is charged based on the license
type (monthly, yearly, or 2-year). Any charges will be prorated to match the license
renewal date.
Forever Version History
Extending Version History from 30 days or one year
to forever means Backblaze will never remove files from the business or consumer's
Backblaze backup whether or not they have been updated, changed, or fully
deleted from the computer. The costs associated with extending Version History
to forever is similar to one year, at an additional $2 per month (prorated to the
license plan type), plus $0.005/GB/month for versions modified on the
computer more than one year ago.
MacOS and Windows Application
Updates, Single Sign-On Updates for Backblaze Groups, Higher Resolution and
Restores
Backblaze has changed the way it transmits large
files on a machine by reworking how Backblaze groups and breaks apart files for
upload. The maximum packet size has increased from 30 MB to 100 MB, allowing
the app to transmit data more efficiently by better leveraging threading, which
also smooths out upload performance, reduces sensitivity to latency, and leads
to smaller data structures. Support has been added for Microsoft Office 365 in
Backblaze Groups, and SSO updates have been made to the Inherit Backup State
feature to support SSO-enabled accounts. Customers can now sign into Backblaze
using their Office 365 credentials, similar to using Google's SSO.
Additionally, Backblaze has updated the way installers and applications appear
on higher-resolution displays.
Windows
For Windows users, Backblaze developed a workaround
to the OpenSSL issue that was causing problems on Intel's Apollo Lake chipset. Since
Backblaze claims Apollo Lake is a lower-end chipset and few customers saw
issues, now computers using Apollo Lake will work as intended.
MacOS
The support for MacOS Catalina includes
improvements to some MacOS system messages. Apple is now requiring apps to ask
for permission more frequently in Catalina and since Backblaze is a backup
application, Backblaze will require several permissions, which may lead to more
system messages when installing Backblaze on the new operating system.
Backblaze Restores
In order to implement the Version History features,
Backblaze had to change the way their restore page handled dates. Backblaze has
now implemented the ability to pick a date for customers with 1-Year or Forever
Version History to help users more easily choose the dates and times they are
looking to restore their files from.
While the Backblaze 7.0 update is now available,
the company will slowly auto update all users in the coming weeks. For users
looking to update now, Backblaze suggests the following:
This version is now the default download on www.backblaze.com.
Yev Pusin, director of strategy
at Backblaze will host a webinar on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 11:00 a.m. PST to go
over version 7.0 features and answer questions. The webinar will be available on BrightTalk
(registration is required) and the link to sign up can be found by visiting the Backblaze
BrightTALK channel.