CategoriesUnraid

Backup Unraid server to Backblaze personal using Ubuntu & Wine

Posted on June 23, 2025by Steven

Backing up your Unraid server to the cloud is a smart way to protect your data against hardware failure, accidental deletion, or ransomware. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to use a Backblaze Personal subscription—with unlimited storage and preferably 1-year file retention—to back up your Unraid server securely and reliably. We’ll do this by running the Backblaze client inside a lightweight Ubuntu virtual machine using Wine. This approach works around the limitation that the Backblaze Personal plan only supports desktop operating systems, allowing you to back up your server without needing a costly B2 or business plan. Let’s get started.

 

Create a Minimal Ubuntu Desktop VM

  1. Download the ISO:
    Use the official Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Desktop ISO (minimal installation is sufficient).
    Download Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

  2. Create the VM:
    Configure the VM with the following:

    • Disk size: Minimum 40 GB

    • RAM: At least 3 GB

    • CPU: 2 or more cores

    • Enable VirtIOFS (required for share mounting)

  3. Install Ubuntu with GUI (minimal):

    • Choose “Minimal installation” during setup.

    • Create a user called backblaze (or another name of your choice).

    • Complete setup and reboot into the desktop environment.

 

Mount VirtIOFS Share in Ubuntu

Once your VM is running, mount the shared folder using virtiofs:

cd /
sudo mkdir /shares
sudo mount -t virtiofs Shares /shares

📝 The share name (Shares) must match what you configured in your VM manager for VirtIOFS.

You can now access host-shared files at /shares.

 

Install Wine on Ubuntu 24.04

Backblaze requires Wine, and specifically the 64-bit version with .NET 4.8 support, which means a multi-architecture setup. Follow the steps below to install the latest stable Wine release:

1. Add the WineHQ repository and key:

sudo mkdir -pm755 /etc/apt/keyrings
wget -O - https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/winehq.key
sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/winehq-archive.key
sudo wget -NP /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ https://dl.winehq.org/wine-builds/ubuntu/dists/oracular/winehq-oracular.sources

2. Update package lists and install Wine:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install --install-recommends winehq-stable
sudo apt install winetricks

 

Prepare Wine and Configure Backblaze Environment

1. Initialize the Wine prefix:

wine wineboot -i -u

2. Download the Backblaze installer:

wget https://www.backblaze.com/win32/install_backblaze.exe -P ~/.wine/drive_c/

 

Map the Shared Folder to a Wine Drive

By default, Wine maps Z: to your system root, but we want to remap to our VirtIOFS mount at /shares.

1. Remove default Z: drive:

unlink ~/.wine/dosdevices/z:

2. Map /shares as the D: drive:

sudo ln -s /shares/ ~/.wine/dosdevices/d:

Optional: Run winecfg to confirm D: is properly linked to /shares.

winecfg

 

Install .NET 4.8 via Winetricks

Backblaze requires the .NET Framework 4.8, which can be installed using Winetricks:

WINETRICKS_ACCEPT_EULA=1 winetricks -q -f dotnet48

This will take several minutes to complete and may prompt for simulated reboots.

 

Install the Backblaze Client

Now you’re ready to install the actual Backblaze Windows client:

wine64 ~/.wine/drive_c/install_backblaze.exe

Proceed through the installer as you would on Windows.

Launch Backblaze

Once installed, start the Backblaze client manually:

wine64 ~/.wine/drive_c/Program\ Files\ \(x86\)/Backblaze/bzbui.exe -noquiet & sleep infinity

The GUI should appear and let you configure your backup settings.

 

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