docs/introduction.rst

   1 Introduction
   2 ============
   3
   4 What is Proxmox Backup Server?
   5 ------------------------------
   6
   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.
  12
  13 It supports deduplication, compression, and authenticated
  14 encryption (AE_). Using :term:`Rust` as the implementation language guarantees high
  15 performance, low resource usage, and a safe, high-quality codebase.
  16
  17 Proxmox Backup uses state of the art cryptography for both client-server
  18 communication and backup content :ref:`encryption <client_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.
  23
  24 Architecture
  25 ------------
  26
  27 Proxmox Backup Server uses a `client-server model`_. The server stores the
  28 backup data and provides an API to create and manage datastores. With the
  29 API, it's also possible to manage disks and other server-side resources.
  30
  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.
  34
  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.
  38 This way, it's easy to access and restore only important parts of the backup,
  39 without the need to scan the whole backup.
  40
  41
  42 Main Features
  43 -------------
  44
  45 :Support for Proxmox VE: The `Proxmox Virtual Environment`_ is fully
  46    supported and you can easily backup :term:`virtual machine`\ s and
  47    :term:`container`\ s.
  48
  49 :Performance: The whole software stack is written in :term:`Rust`,
  50    in order to provide high speed and memory efficiency.
  51
  52 :Deduplication: Periodic backups produce large amounts of duplicate
  53    data. The deduplication layer avoids redundancy and minimizes the storage
  54    space used.
  55
  56 :Incremental backups: Changes between backups are typically low. Reading and
  57    sending only the delta reduces the storage and network impact of backups.
  58
  59 :Data Integrity: The built-in `SHA-256`_ checksum algorithm ensures accuracy and
  60    consistency in your backups.
  61
  62 :Remote Sync: It is possible to efficiently synchronize data to remote
  63    sites. Only deltas containing new data are transferred.
  64
  65 :Compression: The ultra-fast Zstandard_ compression is able to compress
  66    several gigabytes of data per second.
  67
  68 :Encryption: Backups can be encrypted on the client-side, using AES-256 in
  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.
  72
  73 :Web interface: Manage the Proxmox Backup Server with the integrated, web-based
  74    user interface.
  75
  76 :Open Source: No secrets. Proxmox Backup Server is free and open-source
  77    software. The source code is licensed under AGPL, v3.
  78
  79 :Enterprise Support: Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH offers enterprise support in
  80    form of `Proxmox Backup Server Subscription Plans
  81    <https://www.proxmox.com/en/proxmox-backup-server/pricing>`_. Users at every
  82    subscription level get access to the Proxmox Backup :ref:`Enterprise
  83    Repository <sysadmin_package_repos_enterprise>`. In addition, with a Basic,
  84    Standard or Premium subscription, users have access to the :ref:`Proxmox
  85    Customer Portal <get_help_enterprise_support>`.
  86
  87
  88 Reasons for Data Backup?
  89 ------------------------
  90
  91 The main purpose of a backup is to protect against data loss. Data loss can be
  92 caused by both faulty hardware and human error.
  93
  94 A common mistake is to accidentally delete a file or folder which is still
  95 required. Virtualization can even amplify this problem, as deleting a whole
  96 virtual machine can be as easy as pressing a single button.
  97
  98 For administrators, backups can serve as a useful toolkit for temporarily
  99 storing data. For example, it is common practice to perform full backups before
 100 installing major software updates. If something goes wrong, you can easily
 101 restore the previous state.
 102
 103 Another reason for backups are legal requirements. Some data, especially
 104 business records, must be kept in a safe place for several years by law, so
 105 that they can be accessed if required.
 106
 107 In general, data loss is very costly as it can severely damage your business.
 108 Therefore, ensure that you perform regular backups and run restore tests.
 109
 110
 111 Software Stack
 112 --------------
 113
 114 Proxmox Backup Server consists of multiple components:
 115
 116 * A server-daemon providing, among other things, a RESTful API, super-fast
 117   asynchronous tasks, lightweight usage statistic collection, scheduling
 118   events, strict separation of privileged and unprivileged execution
 119   environments
 120 * A JavaScript management web interface
 121 * A management CLI tool for the server (`proxmox-backup-manager`)
 122 * A client CLI tool (`proxmox-backup-client`) to access the server easily from
 123   any `Linux amd64` environment
 124
 125 Aside from the web interface, everything is written in the Rust programming
 126 language.
 127
 128  "The Rust programming language helps you write faster, more reliable software.
 129  High-level ergonomics and low-level control are often at odds in programming
 130  language design; Rust challenges that conflict. Through balancing powerful
 131  technical capacity and a great developer experience, Rust gives you the option
 132  to control low-level details (such as memory usage) without all the hassle
 133  traditionally associated with such control."
 134
 135  -- `The Rust Programming Language <https://doc.rust-lang.org/book/ch00-00-introduction.html>`_
 136
 137 .. _get_help:
 138
 139 Getting Help
 140 ------------
 141
 142 .. _get_help_enterprise_support:
 143
 144 Enterprise Support
 145 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 146
 147 Users with a `Proxmox Backup Server Basic, Standard or Premium Subscription Plan
 148 <https://www.proxmox.com/en/proxmox-backup-server/pricing>`_ have access to the
 149 Proxmox Customer Portal. The Customer Portal provides support with guaranteed
 150 response times from the Proxmox developers.
 151 For more information or for volume discounts, please contact office@proxmox.com.
 152
 153 Community Support Forum
 154 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 155
 156 We always encourage our users to discuss and share their knowledge using the
 157 `Proxmox Community Forum`_. The forum is moderated by the Proxmox support team.
 158 The large user base is spread out all over the world. Needless to say that such
 159 a large forum is a great place to get information.
 160
 161 Mailing Lists
 162 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 163
 164 Proxmox Backup Server is fully open-source and contributions are welcome! Here
 165 is the primary communication channel for developers:
 166
 167 :Mailing list for developers: `PBS Development List`_
 168
 169 Bug Tracker
 170 ~~~~~~~~~~~
 171
 172 Proxmox runs a public bug tracker at `<https://bugzilla.proxmox.com>`_. If an
 173 issue appears, file your report there. An issue can be a bug as well as a
 174 request for a new feature or enhancement. The bug tracker helps to keep track
 175 of the issue and will send a notification once it has been solved.
 176
 177 License
 178 -------
 179
 180 Copyright (C) 2019-2021 Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH
 181
 182 This software is written by Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH <support@proxmox.com>
 183
 184 Proxmox Backup Server is free and open source software: you can use it,
 185 redistribute it, and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Affero General
 186 Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3
 187 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
 188
 189 This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
 190 ``WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY``; without even the implied warranty of
 191 ``MERCHANTABILITY`` or ``FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE``.  See the GNU
 192 Affero General Public License for more details.
 193
 194 You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
 195 along with this program.  If not, see AGPL3_.
 196
 197
 198 History
 199 -------
 200
 201 Backup is, and always has been, a central aspect of IT administration.
 202 The need to recover from data loss is fundamental and only increases with
 203 virtualization.
 204
 205 For this reason, we've been shipping a backup tool with Proxmox VE, from the
 206 beginning. This tool is called ``vzdump`` and is able to make
 207 consistent snapshots of running LXC containers and KVM virtual
 208 machines.
 209
 210 However, ``vzdump`` only allows for full backups. While this is fine
 211 for small backups, it becomes a burden for users with large VMs. Both
 212 backup duration and storage usage are too high for this case, especially
 213 for users who want to keep many backups of the same VMs. To solve these
 214 problems, we needed to offer deduplication and incremental backups.
 215
 216 Back in October 2018, development started. We investigated
 217 several technologies and frameworks and finally decided to use
 218 :term:`Rust` as the implementation language, in order to provide high speed and
 219 memory efficiency. The 2018-edition of Rust seemed promising for our
 220 requirements.
 221
 222 In July 2020, we released the first beta version of Proxmox Backup
 223 Server, followed by the first stable version in November 2020. With support for
 224 incremental, fully deduplicated backups, Proxmox Backup significantly reduces
 225 network load and saves valuable storage space.