docs/introduction.rst

   1 Introduction
   2 ============
   3
   4 This documentation is written in :term:`reStructuredText` and formatted with :term:`Sphinx`.
   5
   6
   7 What is Proxmox Backup
   8 ----------------------
   9
  10 Proxmox Backup is an enterprise class client-server backup software,
  11 specially optimized for the `Proxmox Virtual Environment`_ to backup
  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
  16 (AE_). Using :term:`Rust` as implementation language guarantees high
  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
  22
  23 Architecture
  24 ------------
  25
  26 Proxmox Backup uses a `Client-server model`_. The server is
  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
  29 other server side resources using this API.
  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
  33 backups and restore data. We deliver an integrated client for
  34 QEMU_ with `Proxmox Virtual Environment`_.
  35
  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
  40 of the backup without having to scan the whole backup.
  41
  42
  43 Main Features
  44 -------------
  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
  52 :Deduplication: Incremental backups produce large amounts of duplicate
  53    data. The deduplication layer removes that redundancy and makes
  54    incremental backups small and space efficient.
  55
  56 :Data Integrity: The built in `SHA-256`_ checksum algorithm assures the
  57    accuracy and consistency of your backups.
  58
  59 :Remote Sync: It is possible to efficiently synchronize data to remote
  60    sites. Only deltas containing new data are transferred.
  61
  62 :Performance: The whole software stack is written in :term:`Rust`,
  63    to provide high speed and memory efficiency.
  64
  65 :Compression: Ultra fast Zstandard_ compression is able to compress
  66    several gigabytes of data per second.
  67
  68 :Encryption: Backups can be encrypted client-side using AES-256 in
  69    GCM_ mode. This authenticated encryption mode (AE_) provides very
  70    high performance on modern hardware.
  71
  72 :Open Source: No secrets. You have access to all the source code.
  73
  74 :Support: Commercial support options are available from `Proxmox`_.
  75
  76
  77 Why Backup?
  78 -----------
  79
  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.
  82
  83 A common mistake is to delete a file or folder which is still
  84 required. Virtualization can amplify this problem. It is now
  85 easy to delete a whole virtual machine by pressing a single button.
  86
  87 Backups can serve as a toolkit for administrators to temporarily
  88 store data. For example, it is common practice to perform full backups
  89 before installing major software updates. If something goes wrong, you
  90 can restore the previous state.
  91
  92 Another reason for backups are legal requirements. Some data must be
  93 kept in a safe place for several years by law, so that it can be accessed if
  94 required.
  95
  96 Data loss can be very costly as it can severely restrict your
  97 business. Therefore, make sure that you perform a backup regularly
  98 and run restore tests.
  99
 100
 101 Software Stack
 102 --------------
 103
 104 .. todo:: Eplain why we use Rust (and Flutter)
 105
 106
 107 License
 108 -------
 109
 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
 127
 128 History
 129 -------
 130
 131 .. todo:: Add development History of the product
 132