Our initial cloud backup takes weeks, can we start with physical-disk seeding?

With multiple TB and a normal business line, the initial cloud backup is often unreasonable. Backblaze, AWS and Wasabi offer physical-disk seeding: you ship an encrypted HDD, they load it.

Try this first

1. 1Calculate first: data volume (TB) divided by available upload bandwidth (Mbps), with overhead buffer. Under a week, network seeding is usually fine.
2. 2Backblaze B2 calls it 'Fireball'. AWS has 'Snowball' or 'Snowcone'. Wasabi runs it via support with a custom procedure. Lead times and pricing vary.
3. 3Plan the 'delta phase': data between seeding and active use still goes over the network. Often a few hundred GB, doable in a day or weekend.
4. 4Secure the physical disk: BitLocker or LUKS at disk level, and share the key out-of-band via a secure channel (phone call to a verified number, not email).
5. 5Document chain of custody: who has the disk when, tracking number, delivery receipt, destruction proof post-seed. You'll need this for any breach.
6. 6Test-restore from the cloud target right after seed. Don't assume the seed is complete and usable.

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