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 GCM_.
  69    This authenticated encryption (AE_) mode provides very high performance on
  70    modern hardware. In addition to client-side encryption, all data is
  71    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 :No Limits: Proxmox Backup Server has no artificial limits for backup storage or
  80    backup-clients.
  81
  82 :Enterprise Support: Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH offers enterprise support in
  83    form of `Proxmox Backup Server Subscription Plans
  84    <https://www.proxmox.com/en/proxmox-backup-server/pricing>`_. Users at every
  85    subscription level get access to the Proxmox Backup :ref:`Enterprise
  86    Repository <sysadmin_package_repos_enterprise>`. In addition, with a Basic,
  87    Standard or Premium subscription, users have access to the :ref:`Proxmox
  88    Customer Portal <get_help_enterprise_support>`.
  89
  90
  91 Reasons for Data Backup?
  92 ------------------------
  93
  94 The main purpose of a backup is to protect against data loss. Data loss can be
  95 caused by both faulty hardware and human error.
  96
  97 A common mistake is to accidentally delete a file or folder which is still
  98 required. Virtualization can even amplify this problem, as deleting a whole
  99 virtual machine can be as easy as pressing a single button.
 100
 101 For administrators, backups can serve as a useful toolkit for temporarily
 102 storing data. For example, it is common practice to perform full backups before
 103 installing major software updates. If something goes wrong, you can easily
 104 restore the previous state.
 105
 106 Another reason for backups are legal requirements. Some data, especially
 107 business records, must be kept in a safe place for several years by law, so
 108 that they can be accessed if required.
 109
 110 In general, data loss is very costly as it can severely damage your business.
 111 Therefore, ensure that you perform regular backups and run restore tests.
 112
 113
 114 Software Stack
 115 --------------
 116
 117 Proxmox Backup Server consists of multiple components:
 118
 119 * A server-daemon providing, among other things, a RESTful API, super-fast
 120   asynchronous tasks, lightweight usage statistic collection, scheduling
 121   events, strict separation of privileged and unprivileged execution
 122   environments
 123 * A JavaScript management web interface
 124 * A management CLI tool for the server (`proxmox-backup-manager`)
 125 * A client CLI tool (`proxmox-backup-client`) to access the server easily from
 126   any `Linux amd64` environment
 127
 128 Aside from the web interface, most parts of Proxmox Backup Server are written in
 129 the Rust programming language.
 130
 131  "The Rust programming language helps you write faster, more reliable software.
 132  High-level ergonomics and low-level control are often at odds in programming
 133  language design; Rust challenges that conflict. Through balancing powerful
 134  technical capacity and a great developer experience, Rust gives you the option
 135  to control low-level details (such as memory usage) without all the hassle
 136  traditionally associated with such control."
 137
 138  -- `The Rust Programming Language <https://doc.rust-lang.org/book/ch00-00-introduction.html>`_
 139
 140 .. _get_help:
 141
 142 Getting Help
 143 ------------
 144
 145 .. _get_help_enterprise_support:
 146
 147 Enterprise Support
 148 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 149
 150 Users with a `Proxmox Backup Server Basic, Standard or Premium Subscription Plan
 151 <https://www.proxmox.com/en/proxmox-backup-server/pricing>`_ have access to the
 152 `Proxmox Customer Portal <https://my.proxmox.com>`_. The customer portal
 153 provides support with guaranteed response times from the Proxmox developers.
 154 For more information or for volume discounts, please contact office@proxmox.com.
 155
 156 Community Support Forum
 157 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 158
 159 We always encourage our users to discuss and share their knowledge using the
 160 `Proxmox Community Forum`_. The forum is moderated by the Proxmox support team.
 161 The large user base is spread out all over the world. Needless to say that such
 162 a large forum is a great place to get information.
 163
 164 Mailing Lists
 165 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 166
 167 Proxmox Backup Server is fully open-source and contributions are welcome! Here
 168 is the primary communication channel for developers:
 169
 170 :Mailing list for developers: `PBS Development List`_
 171
 172 Bug Tracker
 173 ~~~~~~~~~~~
 174
 175 Proxmox runs a public bug tracker at `<https://bugzilla.proxmox.com>`_. If an
 176 issue appears, file your report there. An issue can be a bug as well as a
 177 request for a new feature or enhancement. The bug tracker helps to keep track
 178 of the issue and will send a notification once it has been solved.
 179
 180 License
 181 -------
 182
 183 Copyright (C) 2019-2021 Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH
 184
 185 This software is written by Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH <support@proxmox.com>
 186
 187 Proxmox Backup Server is free and open source software: you can use it,
 188 redistribute it, and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Affero General
 189 Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3
 190 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
 191
 192 This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
 193 ``WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY``; without even the implied warranty of
 194 ``MERCHANTABILITY`` or ``FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE``.  See the GNU
 195 Affero General Public License for more details.
 196
 197 You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
 198 along with this program.  If not, see AGPL3_.
 199
 200
 201 History
 202 -------
 203
 204 Backup is, and always has been, a central aspect of IT administration.
 205 The need to recover from data loss is fundamental and only increases with
 206 virtualization.
 207
 208 For this reason, we've been shipping a backup tool with Proxmox VE, from the
 209 beginning. This tool is called ``vzdump`` and is able to make
 210 consistent snapshots of running LXC containers and KVM virtual
 211 machines.
 212
 213 However, ``vzdump`` only allows for full backups. While this is fine
 214 for small backups, it becomes a burden for users with large VMs. Both
 215 backup duration and storage usage are too high for this case, especially
 216 for users who want to keep many backups of the same VMs. To solve these
 217 problems, we needed to offer deduplication and incremental backups.
 218
 219 Back in October 2018, development started. We investigated
 220 several technologies and frameworks and finally decided to use
 221 :term:`Rust` as the implementation language, in order to provide high speed and
 222 memory efficiency. The 2018-edition of Rust seemed promising for our
 223 requirements.
 224
 225 In July 2020, we released the first beta version of Proxmox Backup
 226 Server, followed by the first stable version in November 2020. With support for
 227 incremental, fully deduplicated backups, Proxmox Backup significantly reduces
 228 network load and saves valuable storage space.