Backup Exec 22 is unable to list the buckets of us-east1 region for Wasabi Cloud Storage

Problem

Backup Exec 22 is unable to list the buckets of us-east1 region for Wasabi Cloud Storage. Wasabi Cloud instance is configured using ‘compatible-with-s3-v4’ service provider.

Error Message

New-BECloudRegion : Cannot bind argument to parameter 'Identifier' because it is an empty string.

Cause
 

Wasabi backend is similar to Amazon Web Services S3. For Wasabi, the location constraint is set as blank for all buckets in region us-east-1. While all other regions have Location constraint mapped as the regions, they are created in.

• Scenario 1 - When no region is set:  In this case, cloud connector checks for “Location is <empty> “. This matches with blank location for the buckets in region “us-east-1” and it lists all the buckets from us-east1 region. Whereas other provider returns storage location error in this case.
   
• Scenario 2 - When region “us-east-1” is added then cloud connector checks for the “Location is us-east-1 “. This doesn’t match with location constraint (empty) returned for buckets in region “us-east-1. Due to this, it gives Storage location error instead of listing all buckets in us-east1 region.

Backup Exec does not allow user to add empty region string through BEMCLI command for add new region (New-BECloudRegion) or through generic s3 tool. Even though, empty region is a valid input but BE fails the BEMCLI command with invalid input error. This leads to error and a user will not be able to configure the us-east1 region of Wasabi with BE 22.

Solution

Workaround for Backup Exec (BE) 22:

Use the attached (modified) cloudprovider.txt (rename to cloudprovider.xml for use)  and CloudConnectorCfg.txt (rename to CloudConnectorCfg.xml for use) file. The CloudProvider.xml contains Wasabi as a service provider and has all its regions added. With the xml in place, user does not need to create any cloud instance/region for Wasabi.

Perform the following steps to configure Wasabi Storage with BE 22. 

1. Download the 2 attached txt files (rename to .xml as shown CloudProvider.xml and CloudConnectorCfg.xml)
2. Stop Backup Exec services on the BE server where Wasabi cloud storage need to be configured.
   
   
    
3. Rename existing CloudProvider.xml and CloudConnectorCfg.xml (present in BE Install Path) and then replace it with the one downloaded from the Technote. 
   Delete Cloudinstance.xml from the server (Note: This Cloudinstance.xml deletion should be done if no private cloud instance configured on the BE server. If another private (not public) cloud instance is already configured please contact Technical support as these attached xmls may need modifications to accomodate the already configured private cloud instance details).
4. Start Backup Exec services on the Backup Exec server.
5. In the Backup Exec UI, Go to storage tab and click Configure Cloud Storage.
6. Enter the name and description that you want to use for this cloud storage device, and then click Next.
7. Select S3 as the cloud storage provider, and then click Next.
8. From the Cloud storage drop down select Wasabi.

9. Click Add/Edit next to the Logon account field
10. On the Logon Account Selection dialog box, click Add.
    • In the Add Logon Credentials dialog box, do the following:
      • In the Username field, type the Wasabi account access key.
      • In the Password field, type the Wasabi account secret key.
      • In the Confirm password field, type the Wasabi account secret key again.
      • In the Account name field, type a name for this logon account.
      • Click OK twice.
11. Select the Wasabi logon account that was configured in step 9 & 10, and then click Next.
12. Select the Wasabi S3 bucket as the logical storage unit that you want to use, and then click Next.
13. Review the summary, and then click Finish.
14. Restart BE services. Wasabi cloud storage device should be online now.

Note - The above steps are only required for BE 22. 

This issue is currently under investigation by Veritas Technologies LLC. Pending the outcome of the investigation, this issue may be resolved by way of a patch or hotfix in current or future revisions of the software. However, this particular issue is not currently scheduled for any release.  If you feel this issue has a direct business impact for you and your continued use of the product, please contact your Veritas Sales representative or the Veritas Sales group to discuss these concerns.
 
Note: Customers experiencing this issue are encouraged to contact Veritas Technical Support as data is still being collected to assist in resolving this issue.