Azure Blob Storage connector

Deployment options: Netezza Performance Server for Cloud Pak for Data System Netezza Performance Server for Cloud Pak for Data

Starting from version 11.2.0.0, you can use Azure Blob Storage to back up and restore database backups on a cloud storage.

You can complete backup and restore operations by using cloud storage. The Azure connector currently provides support for a standard performance tier. The Azure connector doesn't need any client software installation.

Arguments

The nzbackup and nzrestore commands provide Azure Blob Storage support through the following command-line arguments:

-connector: For Azure Blob Storage, use the value azure or az with this command-line argument. For example, -connector az.
-connectorArgs: For connecting to a cloud storage, provide the following parameters in <key>=<value> pairs, which are separated with :.

Table 1. connectorArgs for Azure Blob Storage
Argument	Required	Description
STORAGE_ACCOUNT	Mandatory	This is the name of the storage account. Note: Currently, the Azure connector supports only standard performance tier. For successful operations, a storage account with standard performance is mandatory.
CONTAINER	Mandatory	This is the name of the container in storage account. Note: You must create this container before starting backups.
KEY	Mandatory	This is the Azure provided key for accessing your account. Azure provides two keys. Any key can be used here.
UNIQUE_ID	Mandatory	This is the namespace name of your cloud instance or a logical name under which all data would be stored.
REGION	Mandatory	The name of the Azure region. For a list of your regions, run the following command: `az account list-locations --query [].[name] -o table`
BLOCK_SIZE_MB	Optional	Default 50. Maximum 100. This value is in MB. It indicates the size of a block. Data is written to cloud in blocks. Blocks are appended to form a blob. Note: For larger database backups, set BLOCK_SIZE_MB to 100 before initiating the backup operation.
MAX_BLOCKS	Optional	Default 50000. The number of blocks, which are allowed in a blob.