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1 | Introduction |
2 | ============ | |
3 | ||
4f3db187 | 4 | This documentation is written in :term:`reStructuredText` and formatted with :term:`Sphinx`. |
d823802e | 5 | |
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7 | What is Proxmox Backup |
8 | ---------------------- | |
7e688b71 | 9 | |
6253aa50 | 10 | Proxmox Backup is an enterprise class client-server backup software, |
4f3db187 | 11 | specially optimized for the `Proxmox Virtual Environment`_ to backup |
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12 | :term:`virtual machine`\ s and :term:`container`\ s. It is also |
13 | possible to backup physical hosts. | |
14 | ||
15 | It supports deduplication, compression and authenticated encryption | |
d58de5db | 16 | (AE_). Using :term:`Rust` as implementation language guarantees high |
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17 | performance, low resource usage, and a safe, high quality code base. |
18 | ||
19 | Encryption is done at the client side. This makes backups to not fully | |
20 | trusted targets possible. | |
21 | ||
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23 | Architecture |
24 | ------------ | |
25 | ||
26 | Proxmox Backup uses a `Client-server model`_. The server is | |
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27 | responsible to store the backup data and provides an API to create |
28 | backups and restore data. It is possible to manage disks and | |
6a1cb691 | 29 | other server side resources using this API. |
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30 | |
31 | A backup client uses this API to access the backed up data, | |
32 | i.e. ``proxmox-backup-client`` is a command line tool to create | |
4f3db187 | 33 | backups and restore data. We deliver an integrated client for |
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34 | QEMU_ with `Proxmox Virtual Environment`_. |
35 | ||
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36 | A single backup is allowed to contain several archives. For example, |
37 | when you backup a :term:`virtual machine`, each disk is stored as a | |
38 | separate archive inside that backup. The VM configuration also gets an | |
39 | extra file. This way, it is easy to access and restore important parts | |
4f3db187 | 40 | of the backup without having to scan the whole backup. |
7ee2198e | 41 | |
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4f3db187 | 43 | Main Features |
6253aa50 | 44 | ------------- |
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45 | |
46 | :Proxmox VE: The `Proxmox Virtual Environment`_ is fully | |
47 | supported. You can backup :term:`virtual machine`\ s and | |
48 | :term:`container`\ s. | |
49 | ||
50 | :GUI: We provide a graphical, web based user interface. | |
51 | ||
4f3db187 | 52 | :Deduplication: Incremental backups produce large amounts of duplicate |
3147e56a | 53 | data. The deduplication layer removes that redundancy and makes |
4f3db187 | 54 | incremental backups small and space efficient. |
3147e56a | 55 | |
efd3e76b | 56 | :Data Integrity: The built in `SHA-256`_ checksum algorithm assures the |
22b20d04 | 57 | accuracy and consistency of your backups. |
efd3e76b | 58 | |
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59 | :Remote Sync: It is possible to efficiently synchronize data to remote |
60 | sites. Only deltas containing new data are transferred. | |
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61 | |
62 | :Performance: The whole software stack is written in :term:`Rust`, | |
4f3db187 | 63 | to provide high speed and memory efficiency. |
3147e56a | 64 | |
2501c57c | 65 | :Compression: Ultra fast Zstandard_ compression is able to compress |
efd3e76b | 66 | several gigabytes of data per second. |
3147e56a | 67 | |
4f3db187 | 68 | :Encryption: Backups can be encrypted client-side using AES-256 in |
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69 | GCM_ mode. This authenticated encryption mode (AE_) provides very |
70 | high performance on modern hardware. | |
71 | ||
4f3db187 | 72 | :Open Source: No secrets. You have access to all the source code. |
59b9c7ef | 73 | |
4f3db187 | 74 | :Support: Commercial support options are available from `Proxmox`_. |
59b9c7ef | 75 | |
2501c57c | 76 | |
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77 | Why Backup? |
78 | ----------- | |
79 | ||
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80 | The primary purpose of a backup is to protect against data loss. Data |
81 | loss can be caused by faulty hardware, but also by human error. | |
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82 | |
83 | A common mistake is to delete a file or folder which is still | |
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84 | required. Virtualization can amplify this problem. It is now |
85 | easy to delete a whole virtual machine by pressing a single button. | |
6253aa50 | 86 | |
4f3db187 | 87 | Backups can serve as a toolkit for administrators to temporarily |
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88 | store data. For example, it is common practice to perform full backups |
89 | before installing major software updates. If something goes wrong, you | |
4f3db187 | 90 | can restore the previous state. |
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91 | |
92 | Another reason for backups are legal requirements. Some data must be | |
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93 | kept in a safe place for several years by law, so that it can be accessed if |
94 | required. | |
6253aa50 | 95 | |
b10bf871 | 96 | Data loss can be very costly as it can severely restrict your |
4f3db187 | 97 | business. Therefore, make sure that you perform a backup regularly |
b10bf871 | 98 | and run restore tests. |
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99 | |
100 | ||
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101 | Software Stack |
102 | -------------- | |
103 | ||
d58de5db | 104 | .. todo:: Eplain why we use Rust (and Flutter) |
bd61cafc | 105 | |
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106 | |
107 | License | |
108 | ------- | |
109 | ||
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110 | Copyright (C) 2019 Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH |
111 | ||
112 | This software is written by Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH <support@proxmox.com> | |
113 | ||
114 | Proxmox Backup is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify | |
115 | it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as | |
116 | published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the | |
117 | License, or (at your option) any later version. | |
118 | ||
119 | This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but | |
120 | ``WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY``; without even the implied warranty of | |
121 | ``MERCHANTABILITY`` or ``FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE``. See the GNU | |
122 | Affero General Public License for more details. | |
123 | ||
124 | You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License | |
125 | along with this program. If not, see AGPL3_. | |
126 | ||
6253aa50 | 127 | |
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128 | History |
129 | ------- | |
130 | ||
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131 | .. todo:: Add development History of the product |
132 |