How do I back up to Google Drive?
Add a Google Drive destination with the folder's ID and a service account key (JSON). The service account must be able to see the folder. Drive is rate-limited to about 2.5 requests per second, so large backups are slower.
What you need
- A Google service account and its full key as a JSON file.
- A Drive folder, shared with the service account's email address, or a folder in a Shared Drive the service account is a member of.
- The folder's ID, which is the last part of the folder's web address.
BackupWall uses a service account only. There is no personal Google sign-in.
Add the destination
- Open Destinations and choose + Add destination, then Google Drive.
- Fill in:
- Display name (required).
- Folder ID: from the Drive folder URL.
- Service account JSON: paste the full service account key JSON.
- Choose Add destination, then Test on its card.
Limits to know
- Slower. Drive is rate-limited to about 2.5 requests per second, so large backups take longer than on S3 or SFTP.
- Storage quota errors are not handled specially. Google's storage-quota errors for service accounts are not handled and show up as failed uploads. The folder must be shared with the service account or sit in a Shared Drive.
- Same-name duplicates are collapsed during cleanup.
- Backups are stored as packs of about 32 MB, not as files you can browse in Drive.
- Google Drive has been tested by PortWall.
To read a Drive destination without BackupWall, copy the BackupWall folder to a local disk with rclone, then use bw-extract --local. See Get your files out without BackupWall.
Still stuck? Open a ticket at portwall.net/billing or write to [email protected], and attach a support bundle. See Report a problem and make a support bundle.