Adding IBM Cloud Object Storage as a backup storage provider

Add IBM Cloud Object Storage to enable IBM Spectrum Protect Plus to offload data to IBM Cloud.

Before you begin

Configure the key and certificate that are required for the cloud object. For instructions, see Adding an access key and Adding a certificate.

Ensure that there are cloud storage buckets created for the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus data before you add the cloud storage in the following steps. For information how to create buckets, see About IBM Cloud Object Storage.

When creating a bucket on IBM Cloud™ Object Storage (COS), ensure that both Add Archive rule and Add Experation rules are not selected when creating buckets that are to be used for copy or archive. This can result in a failure with the “bucket has an unsupported lifecycle configuration” error when the job attempts to run in IBM Spectrum Protect Plus. The Add Retention policy option may be set for a bucket to be used for copy, but should not be set for a bucket that will be used for archiving.

The Cold Vault bucket of type should only be used when archiving, as it is the lowest-cost option and is described as ideal for long-term retention of data that will be minimally accessed.

When adding IBM Cloud Object Storage (COS), the method for obtaining the access and secret key will depend on the deployment model. If on-premise, keys can be obtained from the IBM COS Manager Console. For IBM COS IaaS, keys are created when a service account is created and can be obtained from the softlayer portal. If using IBM COS (COS as a Service), the access and secret key are not created by default; when a service account is created, check the Include HMAC Credential box, and add {“HMAC”:true} to the Add Inline Configuration Parameters text area.

Procedure

To add IBM Cloud Object Storage as a backup storage provider, complete the following steps:

  1. In the navigation menu, click System Configuration > Backup Storage > Cloud.
  2. Click Add Cloud.
  3. From the Provider list, select IBM Cloud Object Storage.
  4. Complete the fields in the Cloud Registration pane:
    Name
    Enter a meaningful name to help identify the cloud storage.
    Endpoint
    Select the endpoint of the cloud storage.
    Use existing key
    Enable to select a previously entered key for the storage, and then select the key from the Select a key list.
    If you do not select this option, complete the following fields to add a key:
    Key name
    Enter a meaningful name to help to identify the key.
    Access key
    Enter the access key.
    Secret key
    Enter the secret key.
    Certificate
    Select a method of associating a certificate with the resource:
    Upload
    Select and click Browse to locate the certificate, then click Upload.
    Copy and paste
    Select to enter the name of the certificate, copy and paste the contents of the certificate, then click Create.
    Use existing
    Select to use a previously uploaded certificate.

    A certificate is not required if you are adding public IBM Cloud Object Storage.

  5. Click Get Buckets, and then select a bucket to serve as the offload target.
    After the buckets are generated, the Offload bucket and Archive bucket fields are displayed.
  6. In the Offload bucket field, select a bucket to serve as the offload target.
  7. Optional: In the Archive bucket field, select a cloud storage resource to serve as the archive target.
    Archiving data creates a full data copy and can provide longer-term protection, cost, and security benefits. For more information about archiving data, see the information about copying data to cloud archive storage in Offload to secondary backup storage.
  8. Click Register.
    The cloud storage is added to the cloud servers table.

What to do next

After you add the IBM Cloud Object Storage, complete the following action:
Action How to
Associate the cloud storage with the SLA policy that is used for the backup job. To create an SLA policy, see Creating an SLA policy.

To modify an existing SLA policy, see Editing an SLA policy.