Backblaze Blog

Behind Backblaze – Scaling Big Storage

Andy - May 15, 2012

Many of you enjoyed the Part 1, Behind Backblaze video. Here’s Part 2, Behind Backblaze: Scaling Big Storage, which takes a look at our datacenter and the people behind it that make sure your data is safe and secure with Backblaze.

For those of you who think this kind of stuff is really cool, Backblaze has job openings in our Operations Group for a Director of Web Services, a Systems Administrator and a Datacenter Technician. All positions are in our San Mateo office.

Cloud computing superheroes wanted

Tim Nufire - May 9, 2012

Do you like Big Data? Big red boxes? Are you passionate about technology?

Backblaze has over 30 petabytes of spinning disks and is adding about 3 petabytes every month! We like people who have the creativity to come up with new ways of building bigger and cheaper cloud storage – yet are meticulous about datacenter operations. Sound like you? Our Operations team is staffing up and we are hiring folks at all levels so… Backblaze Team: Assemble!

All three positions require:

Good attitude and willingness to do whatever it takes to get the job done
Strong desire to work for a small fast paced company
Desire to learn and adapt to rapidly changing technologies
Understanding of the importance of following best practices
Relentless attention to detail
Excellent interpersonal skills and good oral/written communication
Excellent troubleshooting and problem solving skills

Director of Web Services

Responsibilities

Lead efforts to maintain and scale Backblaze’s web services, including the static/dynamic web servers and monitoring systems
Be hands on in deploying systems, configuring new services and setting up our network infrastructure
Implement security measures required by corporate security policies
Maintain monitoring systems to measure system availability and detect issues
Help create, maintain and improve operational bash shell scripts and manual procedures
Help hire and train IT staff as needed, including those in remote (global) locations
Participate in the pager rotation and respond to alerts
Handle daily operational tasks including racking new servers, replacing drives, reviewing logs, etc.

Requirements

Professional experience in large scale, high-availability and high-load environments
Expert knowledge of Linux system administration, Debian experience preferred
Experience supporting Apache, Tomcat, and Java services
Bash scripting skills desired
Ability to lift/move 50-75 lbs and work down near the floor as needed

Systems Administrator

Responsibilities

Deploy and configure new systems, networks and services including firewalls, DNS servers and monitoring systems
Research new services and recommend specific packages and configurations
Install new software patches, releases and system upgrades
Troubleshoot and resolve operational problems with minimal supervision
Help maintain monitoring systems to measure system availability and detect issues
Participate in the pager rotation and respond to alerts as needed
Handle daily operational tasks including racking new servers, replacing drives, reviewing logs, etc.

Requirements

Good understanding of Linux system administration, Debian experience preferred
Experience supporting Apache, Tomcat, and Java services a plus
Bash scripting skills desired
Ability to lift/move 50-75 lbs and work down near the floor on a weekly basis

Datacenter Technican

Responsibilities

Rack, cable and label servers and network hardware
Perform basic system setups and configurations
Manage equipment delivery schedules and work with vendors to ensure timely receipt of critical equipment
Manage spare parts inventory
Help maintain infrastructure including replacing hard drive and other system components as needed
Help troubleshoot and resolve operational issues with minimal supervision
Help manage facilities including scouting new locations
Follow and improve datacenter best practices documentation
Have on-call responsibilities that will include occasional trips to datacenter to resolve issues that can’t be handled remotely

Requirements

Working knowledge of Linux and/or ability to learn quickly
Excellent time management skills
Ability to lift/move 50-75 lbs and work down near the floor on a daily basis

Interested? Check out this video on our Datacenter Operations team.

Want to join our team? Follow these three steps:

Send an Email to with one of the positions listed above in the subject line
Include your resume
Include your answers to 2 of the following 3 questions

Note: All positions are based in the San Francisco Bay Area, California.

Backblaze release 2.0.5

Gleb Budman - May 3, 2012

Backblaze has made a new release available.
Below are the enhancements in this release:

Release Date: 5/03/12
Version: 2.0.5
Auto-Update: None

• Improved translations in the restore Downloader.
• Excluded additional Adobe Lightroom temporary folders.
• Localized “Buy” button across all languages. (Mac)
• Changed installer background image to use imagery for “double click to run”. (Mac)
• Added preparation code for new “Safety Freeze” feature.

You can download the latest client here!

Sr. Accounting Manager: Cecilia

Gleb Budman - May 2, 2012

Someone has to keep track of all those $5 payments… Well, that and manage all of our accounting, finance, taxes, leases, and more. I am sooo happy to have the last of these items off my plate! Welcome Cecilia…

What attracted you to Backblaze?
Every time I met up with SBrian for lunch, he always seemed so happy at his job. I wanted to be that happy at my job. Now I am

Did you always meticulously backup data?
I have always planned to backup data, does that count? Now that I am at Backblaze, I really should.

Where are you originally from? Why did you move here?
I was born and raised in Manila, Philippines. Came to the US after I graduated from college as part of my parents immigrancy application. I told my mom that I’m giving the US a 3-month trial period and if I didn’t like it, I am going back home. Well…20 some years later, I’m still here.

Favorite place you’ve traveled?
I always love going home to the Philippines. Aside from the Philippines, I would keep going back to Europe. We have been to France, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy. There are still so many places to visit. UK, Spain, Ireland, Belgium, Netherlands, Greece – those are the top places I would love to see next.

Favorite hobby?
I love to read, listen to music, workout, hike, and ride the bike (although I must say bikes don’t like me too much).

Of what achievement are you most proud?
My family – I have been married to my wonderful husband for almost 23 years, and we have two beautiful and amazing daughters, 21 and 17.

My favorite expression is:
Lord love a duck!

Please welcome her onboard!

Backblaze turns 5 – a startup grows up

Gleb Budman - April 20, 2012

Five years. That’s crazy. I can’t believe that it has been five years since Backblaze officially started. While some work started before then, the company was officially incorporated in Delaware on April 20, 2007.

When I think back to a few of us sitting in a one-bedroom apartment brainstorming about what we could possibly to do to help people stop losing data…it’s crazy to look around and see hundreds of servers, all of our employees, and the products, stats, and customers that make this all a reality today.

I wanted to share some of our adventures as we’ve grown from a tiny startup over the last five years:

1/15/07 – First thoughts around what to do about people losing data.
4/20/07 – Incorporated in Delaware.

6/10/07 – Original discussion about “funding” the company by 5 partners working 1 year without salary.
8/25/07 – Brian’s 1-bedroom apartment looking more like an office.

10/26/07 – Office warming party.

11/2/07 – Storyboarding the service we would build.

Continue reading…

Backblaze release 2.0.4

Gleb Budman - April 19, 2012

Backblaze has made a new release available.
Below are the enhancements in this release:

Release Date: 4/18/12
Version: 2.0.4
Auto-Update: None

• Improved Japanese translations as part of Sourcenext partnership launch.
• Tweaked “Transfer Backup State” where old hosts are named “old_inactive_” for clarity.
• Enhanced robustness of Transfer Backup State for clients reporting unknown OS.
• Localized Windows downloader for all 11 supported languages.

Win
• Downloader can now select a specific directory into which to place restores.

Backblaze release 2.0.3

Gleb Budman - April 18, 2012

Backblaze made a new release available. These release notes are a little delayed. Below are the enhancements in this release:

Release Date: 3/26/12
Version: 2.0.3
Auto-Update: None

• Auto-detect user-preferred language at time of install.
• Streamlined logging for minor speed improvement of client application.
• Excluded a temporary folder with AVG virus definitions that need not be backed up.
• Touched up Russian language in uninstaller.
• Linked “Learn More” in uninstaller and error dialogs to correct web pages for each language.
• Added date to default name of “online hostname” for new installations to help users distinguish computers. (e.g. “Dell_PC_2012_03_26″)
• Completely revamped all Japanese language content.
• Updated icon in client “Restore…” dialog for “USB Flash Drive” restore option.
• Tailored popup notifications in clients residing within Backblaze for Business accounts to enhance billing clarity.
• Localized uninstaller into all 11 supported languages.
• Updated uninstaller to remove all traces of Backblaze from computer.

Mac
• Removed ability to run installer on Mac OS X 10.4; existing 10.4 customers can continue using the service.
• Added additional functionality to support “Mountain Lion” (OSX 10.8) beta.

Win
• Localized date format for all 11 supported languages.
• Updated to support current Windows 8 beta.

Konichiwa! Backblaze partners with Japan’s largest software vendor: Sourcenext

Gleb Budman - April 16, 2012

Backblaze launches in a big way in Japan today. We have partnered with Sourcenext to offer our unlimited online backup service to the Japanese market.

The service provided in Japan still provides automatic backup, unlimited storage, unthrottled bandwidth, robust encryption, restore via download or USB drive, Locate My Computer, and more for one flat rate. Additionally, the entire service is localized into Japanese.

Backblaze online backup in Japanese

Noriyuki Matsuda, founder and CEO of Sourcenext, came to the US a couple months ago and said that his technical people scour the world for the best products to bring to the Japanese market. In 2010, they picked Evernote (one of my favorite services) to bring to Japan. This year they picked Backblaze online backup as a must-have for Japan.

I am thrilled to be partnering with Sourcenext to help every Japanese person keep their photos, music, movies, work files, etc. safe from drive crashes and other data loss.

Sourcenext home page