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ArchiverFS - Can You Use It With Wasabi Cloud Storage?

Potentially, yes – depending on the third party software used and provided Wasabi is presented as a standard SMB file system rather than accessed directly via S3

ArchiverFS archives old files from an NTFS source file system to a destination presented as a standard file system, typically via an SMB/UNC path. If Wasabi storage is presented as a normal Windows file share using a compatible gateway product, ArchiverFS can often archive to it exactly as it would any other network share.

How It Works

A gateway presents Wasabi object storage as a standard SMB share:

Production File Server
        │
   ArchiverFS
        │
\\ArchiveServer\Archive (SMB)
        │
   Storage Gateway
        │
   Wasabi Cloud Storage

From ArchiverFS's perspective, the gateway simply appears as another network file share. ArchiverFS does not need to know that the underlying storage is Wasabi object storage.

Existing Cloud Storage Deployments

This deployment model is already well established. A number of ArchiverFS customers successfully archive to Amazon Glacier using AWS Storage Gateway, which exposes cloud storage as a normal SMB share. Wasabi can be deployed in a similar manner using suitable third-party gateway software.

Example Gateway Products

MoSMB - Linux-based SMB gateway for Wasabi buckets.
XenData Cloud File Gateway - Windows gateway providing SMB/NFS access to object storage.
CTERA - Enterprise hybrid cloud file platform with SMB access.
Panzura CloudFS - Global SMB file system backed by object storage.
Nasuni - Cloud-native file platform exposing SMB shares.

Compatibility

MLtek has not yet formally certified the products listed above and therefore cannot guarantee compatibility. Different gateway products vary in how they preserve timestamps, NTFS metadata, permissions and file system behaviour.

We recommend thoroughly testing any proposed gateway before deploying it into production, but ArchiverFS is incredibly flexible and we have customers already using Amazon Glacier through an Amazon Storage Gateway in their production environments without issue.

Version Control and Change Management

ArchiverFS relies heavily on the integrity and consistency of file system metadata, particularly file timestamps. For this reason, MLtek strongly recommends implementing strict version control and change management procedures for any third-party software or storage gateway used in conjunction with ArchiverFS.

Any software that modifies, normalises or otherwise alters file timestamps or other file system metadata could adversely affect archive operations. Updates to gateway software should therefore be thoroughly tested in a non-production environment before being deployed into production, ensuring that file timestamps and other metadata remain consistent throughout the archive lifecycle.

As with any critical storage infrastructure, maintaining controlled software versions and documented upgrade procedures will help ensure long-term reliability and predictable operation.

Need Advice?

If you are considering ArchiverFS with Wasabi Cloud Storage, please get in touch. We'd be happy to discuss your proposed architecture and help determine whether it is likely to be suitable.