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7e688b71 DM |
1 | Introduction |
2 | ============ | |
3 | ||
d9f365d7 | 4 | What is Proxmox Backup Server? |
2357744b | 5 | ------------------------------ |
7e688b71 | 6 | |
65418a07 DW |
7 | Proxmox Backup Server is an enterprise-class, client-server backup software |
8 | package that backs up :term:`virtual machine`\ s, :term:`container`\ s, and | |
9 | physical hosts. It is specially optimized for the `Proxmox Virtual Environment`_ | |
10 | platform and allows you to back up your data securely, even between remote | |
11 | sites, providing easy management with a web-based user interface. | |
6a1cb691 | 12 | |
d9f365d7 | 13 | It supports deduplication, compression, and authenticated |
65418a07 DW |
14 | encryption (AE_). Using :term:`Rust` as the implementation language guarantees high |
15 | performance, low resource usage, and a safe, high-quality codebase. | |
6a1cb691 | 16 | |
44a5f38b DW |
17 | Proxmox Backup uses state of the art cryptography for both client-server |
18 | communication and backup content :ref:`encryption <encryption>`. All | |
19 | client-server communication uses `TLS | |
20 | <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_Layer_Security>`_, and backup data can | |
21 | be encrypted on the client-side before sending, making it safer to back up data | |
22 | to targets that are not fully trusted. | |
0c56b0e6 | 23 | |
d2a8d597 DM |
24 | Architecture |
25 | ------------ | |
26 | ||
d2c7ef09 | 27 | Proxmox Backup Server uses a `client-server model`_. The server stores the |
092378ba | 28 | backup data and provides an API to create and manage datastores. With the |
32dc4c46 | 29 | API, it's also possible to manage disks and other server-side resources. |
d2a8d597 | 30 | |
d2c7ef09 TL |
31 | The backup client uses this API to access the backed up data. With the command |
32 | line tool ``proxmox-backup-client`` you can create backups and restore data. | |
33 | For QEMU_ with `Proxmox Virtual Environment`_ we deliver an integrated client. | |
d2a8d597 | 34 | |
d2c7ef09 TL |
35 | A single backup is allowed to contain several archives. For example, when you |
36 | backup a :term:`virtual machine`, each disk is stored as a separate archive | |
37 | inside that backup. The VM configuration itself is stored as an extra file. | |
32dc4c46 | 38 | This way, it's easy to access and restore only important parts of the backup, |
d2c7ef09 | 39 | without the need to scan the whole backup. |
7ee2198e | 40 | |
0c56b0e6 | 41 | |
4f3db187 | 42 | Main Features |
6253aa50 | 43 | ------------- |
3147e56a | 44 | |
d2c7ef09 TL |
45 | :Support for Proxmox VE: The `Proxmox Virtual Environment`_ is fully |
46 | supported and you can easily backup :term:`virtual machine`\ s and | |
3147e56a DM |
47 | :term:`container`\ s. |
48 | ||
d2c7ef09 | 49 | :Performance: The whole software stack is written in :term:`Rust`, |
32dc4c46 | 50 | in order to provide high speed and memory efficiency. |
3147e56a | 51 | |
d2c7ef09 | 52 | :Deduplication: Periodic backups produce large amounts of duplicate |
32dc4c46 DW |
53 | data. The deduplication layer avoids redundancy and minimizes the storage |
54 | space used. | |
d2c7ef09 TL |
55 | |
56 | :Incremental backups: Changes between backups are typically low. Reading and | |
32dc4c46 | 57 | sending only the delta reduces the storage and network impact of backups. |
3147e56a | 58 | |
32dc4c46 DW |
59 | :Data Integrity: The built-in `SHA-256`_ checksum algorithm ensures accuracy and |
60 | consistency in your backups. | |
efd3e76b | 61 | |
4f3db187 AL |
62 | :Remote Sync: It is possible to efficiently synchronize data to remote |
63 | sites. Only deltas containing new data are transferred. | |
3147e56a | 64 | |
32dc4c46 | 65 | :Compression: The ultra-fast Zstandard_ compression is able to compress |
efd3e76b | 66 | several gigabytes of data per second. |
3147e56a | 67 | |
32dc4c46 | 68 | :Encryption: Backups can be encrypted on the client-side, using AES-256 in |
44a5f38b DW |
69 | Galois/Counter Mode (GCM_). This authenticated encryption (AE_) mode |
70 | provides very high performance on modern hardware. In addition to client-side | |
71 | encryption, all data is transferred via a secure TLS connection. | |
2501c57c | 72 | |
32dc4c46 | 73 | :Web interface: Manage the Proxmox Backup Server with the integrated, web-based |
0c136efe | 74 | user interface. |
d2c7ef09 TL |
75 | |
76 | :Open Source: No secrets. Proxmox Backup Server is free and open-source | |
0c136efe | 77 | software. The source code is licensed under AGPL, v3. |
59b9c7ef | 78 | |
0c136efe TL |
79 | :Support: Enterprise support will be available from `Proxmox`_ once the beta |
80 | phase is over. | |
59b9c7ef | 81 | |
2501c57c | 82 | |
d2c7ef09 TL |
83 | Reasons for Data Backup? |
84 | ------------------------ | |
6253aa50 | 85 | |
d2c7ef09 | 86 | The main purpose of a backup is to protect against data loss. Data loss can be |
32dc4c46 | 87 | caused by both faulty hardware and human error. |
6253aa50 | 88 | |
d2c7ef09 | 89 | A common mistake is to accidentally delete a file or folder which is still |
32dc4c46 DW |
90 | required. Virtualization can even amplify this problem, as deleting a whole |
91 | virtual machine can be as easy as pressing a single button. | |
6253aa50 | 92 | |
d2c7ef09 TL |
93 | For administrators, backups can serve as a useful toolkit for temporarily |
94 | storing data. For example, it is common practice to perform full backups before | |
95 | installing major software updates. If something goes wrong, you can easily | |
96 | restore the previous state. | |
6253aa50 | 97 | |
d2c7ef09 TL |
98 | Another reason for backups are legal requirements. Some data, especially |
99 | business records, must be kept in a safe place for several years by law, so | |
100 | that they can be accessed if required. | |
6253aa50 | 101 | |
d2c7ef09 TL |
102 | In general, data loss is very costly as it can severely damage your business. |
103 | Therefore, ensure that you perform regular backups and run restore tests. | |
6253aa50 DM |
104 | |
105 | ||
2501c57c DM |
106 | Software Stack |
107 | -------------- | |
108 | ||
7ba2c1c3 TL |
109 | Proxmox Backup Server consists of multiple components: |
110 | ||
3bbb70b3 | 111 | * A server-daemon providing, among other things, a RESTful API, super-fast |
7ba2c1c3 TL |
112 | asynchronous tasks, lightweight usage statistic collection, scheduling |
113 | events, strict separation of privileged and unprivileged execution | |
32dc4c46 DW |
114 | environments |
115 | * A JavaScript management web interface | |
116 | * A management CLI tool for the server (`proxmox-backup-manager`) | |
117 | * A client CLI tool (`proxmox-backup-client`) to access the server easily from | |
118 | any `Linux amd64` environment | |
7ba2c1c3 | 119 | |
32dc4c46 | 120 | Aside from the web interface, everything is written in the Rust programming |
7ba2c1c3 TL |
121 | language. |
122 | ||
123 | "The Rust programming language helps you write faster, more reliable software. | |
124 | High-level ergonomics and low-level control are often at odds in programming | |
125 | language design; Rust challenges that conflict. Through balancing powerful | |
126 | technical capacity and a great developer experience, Rust gives you the option | |
127 | to control low-level details (such as memory usage) without all the hassle | |
128 | traditionally associated with such control." | |
129 | ||
130 | -- `The Rust Programming Language <https://doc.rust-lang.org/book/ch00-00-introduction.html>`_ | |
131 | ||
bb26843c | 132 | .. _get_help: |
e1dfcddc | 133 | |
56b814e3 TL |
134 | Getting Help |
135 | ------------ | |
136 | ||
137 | Community Support Forum | |
138 | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
139 | ||
140 | We always encourage our users to discuss and share their knowledge using the | |
141 | `Proxmox Community Forum`_. The forum is moderated by the Proxmox support team. | |
142 | The large user base is spread out all over the world. Needless to say that such | |
143 | a large forum is a great place to get information. | |
144 | ||
145 | Mailing Lists | |
146 | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
147 | ||
148 | Proxmox Backup Server is fully open-source and contributions are welcome! Here | |
149 | is the primary communication channel for developers: | |
4cda7603 | 150 | |
56b814e3 TL |
151 | :Mailing list for developers: `PBS Development List`_ |
152 | ||
153 | Bug Tracker | |
154 | ~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
155 | ||
156 | Proxmox runs a public bug tracker at `<https://bugzilla.proxmox.com>`_. If an | |
157 | issue appears, file your report there. An issue can be a bug as well as a | |
158 | request for a new feature or enhancement. The bug tracker helps to keep track | |
159 | of the issue and will send a notification once it has been solved. | |
160 | ||
2501c57c DM |
161 | License |
162 | ------- | |
163 | ||
04cec92e | 164 | Copyright (C) 2019-2021 Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH |
fdd471d5 DM |
165 | |
166 | This software is written by Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH <support@proxmox.com> | |
167 | ||
d2c7ef09 TL |
168 | Proxmox Backup Server is free and open source software: you can use it, |
169 | redistribute it, and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Affero General | |
170 | Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 | |
171 | of the License, or (at your option) any later version. | |
fdd471d5 DM |
172 | |
173 | This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but | |
174 | ``WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY``; without even the implied warranty of | |
175 | ``MERCHANTABILITY`` or ``FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE``. See the GNU | |
176 | Affero General Public License for more details. | |
177 | ||
178 | You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License | |
179 | along with this program. If not, see AGPL3_. | |
180 | ||
6253aa50 | 181 | |
7e688b71 DM |
182 | History |
183 | ------- | |
184 | ||
6cd84960 DW |
185 | Backup is, and always has been, a central aspect of IT administration. |
186 | The need to recover from data loss is fundamental and only increases with | |
e1dfcddc DM |
187 | virtualization. |
188 | ||
6cd84960 DW |
189 | For this reason, we've been shipping a backup tool with Proxmox VE, from the |
190 | beginning. This tool is called ``vzdump`` and is able to make | |
e1dfcddc DM |
191 | consistent snapshots of running LXC containers and KVM virtual |
192 | machines. | |
193 | ||
6cd84960 | 194 | However, ``vzdump`` only allows for full backups. While this is fine |
e1dfcddc | 195 | for small backups, it becomes a burden for users with large VMs. Both |
6cd84960 DW |
196 | backup duration and storage usage are too high for this case, especially |
197 | for users who want to keep many backups of the same VMs. To solve these | |
198 | problems, we needed to offer deduplication and incremental backups. | |
e1dfcddc | 199 | |
6cd84960 | 200 | Back in October 2018, development started. We investigated |
e1dfcddc | 201 | several technologies and frameworks and finally decided to use |
6cd84960 DW |
202 | :term:`Rust` as the implementation language, in order to provide high speed and |
203 | memory efficiency. The 2018-edition of Rust seemed promising for our | |
204 | requirements. | |
205 | ||
206 | In July 2020, we released the first beta version of Proxmox Backup | |
207 | Server, followed by the first stable version in November 2020. With support for | |
208 | incremental, fully deduplicated backups, Proxmox Backup significantly reduces | |
209 | network load and saves valuable storage space. |