You're reading the open-source Community docs. Plakar also offers Control Plane, the enterprise version. It's a virtual appliance with a web-based interface for centralized backup management across your infrastructure. View Control Plane docs →

Azure Blob Storage

The Azure Blob Storage integration enables backup and restoration of Azure Blob Storage containers. All container contents including blobs, metadata, and prefix hierarchies are captured and stored in a Kloset store with encryption and deduplication.

The Azure Blob Storage integration provides three connectors:

Connector type Description
Source connector Back up Azure Blob containers into a Kloset store.
Storage connector Use Azure Blob Storage as a Kloset store backend.
Destination connector Restore container contents from a Kloset store back to Azure Blob Storage.

Installation

The Azure Blob Storage package can be installed using pre-built binaries or compiled from source.

Pre-compiled packages are available for common platforms and provide the simplest installation method.

Logging In

Pre-built packages require Plakar authentication. See Logging in to Plakar for details.

Install the Azure Blob Storage package:

$ plakar pkg add azblob

Verify installation:

$ plakar pkg list

Source builds are useful when pre-built packages are unavailable or when customization is required.

Prerequisites:

  • Go toolchain compatible with your Plakar version

Build the package:

$ plakar pkg build azblob

A package archive will be created in the current directory (e.g., azblob_v1.0.0_darwin_arm64.ptar).

Install the package:

$ plakar pkg add ./azblob_v1.0.0_darwin_arm64.ptar

Verify installation:

$ plakar pkg list

To list, upgrade, or remove the package, see managing packages guide.

Configuration

Authentication

Authentication can be provided in multiple ways depending on your environment. At least one of the following must be provided:

  • connection_string (recommended)
  • account_name + account_key
  • no_auth=true with a valid endpoint

Configuration options

These options apply to all three connectors (source, storage, destination).

Option Description
account_name Azure Storage account name.
account_key Azure Storage account key.
connection_string Azure Storage connection string. Takes precedence over account name and key.
endpoint Custom endpoint, for example Azurite or a non-standard Azure environment.
no_auth Disable authentication. Only for public containers or testing.
Warning

No Auth Setting no_auth=true disables authentication entirely. Only use this for public containers or local emulator setups such as Azurite. Never use it in production.

Source connector

The source connector retrieves blobs from Azure Blob Storage containers and stores them in a Kloset store with encryption and deduplication.

flowchart LR

subgraph Source["Azure Blob Container"]
  FS["Blobs"]
end

subgraph Plakar["Plakar"]
  Connector["Retrieve blobs via
Azure Blob API"]
  Transform["Encrypt & deduplicate"]
  Connector --> Transform
end

Source --> Connector

Store["Kloset Store"]
Transform --> Store

Register the source and run a backup:

$ plakar source add my-az-container \
  azblob://container_name \
  connection_string=<YOUR_CONN_STRING>

$ plakar at /var/backups backup "@my-az-container"

To back up a specific prefix within a container:

$ plakar at /var/backups backup "@my-az-container:path"

Storage connector

The storage connector uses Azure Blob Storage as the backend for a Kloset store. All Plakar data — snapshots, chunks, metadata — is stored as blobs.

flowchart LR

subgraph Sources["Any Source"]
  FS["Data"]
end

subgraph Plakar["Plakar"]
  Transform["Encrypt & deduplicate"]
  Connector["Store via
Azure Blob API"]
  Transform --> Connector
end

Sources --> Transform

subgraph Storage["Azure Blob Container"]
  Store["Kloset Store"]
end

Connector --> Store

Register the store, initialize it, and run a backup:

$ plakar store add my-az-store \
  azblob://container_name \
  connection_string=<YOUR_CONN_STRING>

$ plakar at "@my-az-store" create
$ plakar at "@my-az-store" backup /var/www

Destination connector

Restores blobs from a Kloset store back to an Azure Blob Storage container.

flowchart LR

Store["Kloset Store"]

subgraph Plakar["Plakar"]
  Transform["Decrypt & reconstruct"]
  Connector["Restore via
Azure Blob API"]
  Transform --> Connector
end

Store --> Transform

subgraph Destination["Azure Blob Container"]
  FS["Blobs"]
end

Connector --> Destination

Register the destination and restore a snapshot:

$ plakar destination add my-az-restore \
  azblob://container_name \
  connection_string=<YOUR_CONN_STRING>

$ plakar at /var/backups restore -to "@my-az-restore"

Notes

  • Azure Blob Storage uses containers instead of buckets.
  • Blob storage is flat; directory structures are simulated using prefixes.
  • Empty directories are not preserved unless they contain blobs.
  • When using Azurite, provide either a connection string or account_name=devstoreaccount1 with a local endpoint.

Pages

Solutions

Resources

Newsletter