docs/introduction.rst

   1 Introduction
   2 ============
   3
   4 This documentationm is written in :term:`reStructuredText` and formatted with :term:`Sphinx`.
   5
   6 What is Proxmox Backup
   7 ----------------------
   8
   9 Proxmox Backup is an enterprise class client-server backup software,
  10 specially optimized for `Proxmox Virtual Environment`_ to backup
  11 :term:`virtual machine`\ s and :term:`container`\ s.
  12
  13 Architecture
  14 ------------
  15
  16 Proxmox Backup uses a `Client-server model`_. The server is
  17 responsible to store the backup data, and provides an API to create
  18 backups and restore data. It is also possible to manage disks and
  19 other resources using this API.
  20
  21 A backup client uses this API to access the backed up data,
  22 i.e. ``proxmox-backup-client`` is a command line tool to create
  23 backups and restore data. We also deliver an integrated client for
  24 QEMU_ with `Proxmox Virtual Environment`_.
  25
  26
  27 Main features
  28 -------------
  29
  30 :Proxmox VE: The `Proxmox Virtual Environment`_ is fully
  31    supported. You can backup :term:`virtual machine`\ s and
  32    :term:`container`\ s.
  33
  34 :GUI: We provide a graphical, web based user interface.
  35
  36 :Deduplication: Inkremental backup produces large amounts of duplicate
  37    data. The deduplication layer removes that redundancy and makes
  38    inkremental backup small and space efficient.
  39
  40 :Data Integrity: The built in `SHA-256`_ checksum algorithm assures the
  41    accuray and consistency of your backups.
  42
  43 :Remote Sync: It is possible to efficently synchronize data to remote
  44    sites. Only deltas containing new data are transfered.
  45
  46 :Performance: The whole software stack is written in :term:`Rust`,
  47    which provides high speed and memory efficiency.
  48
  49 :Compression: Ultra fast Zstandard_ compression is able to compress
  50    several gigabytes of data per second.
  51
  52 :Encryption: Backups can be encrypted at client side using AES-256 in
  53    GCM_ mode. This authenticated encryption mode (AE_) provides very
  54    high performance on modern hardware.
  55
  56 :Open Source: No secrets. You have access to the whole source tree.
  57
  58 :Support: Commercial support options available from `Proxmox`_.
  59
  60
  61 Why Backup?
  62 -----------
  63
  64 The primary purpose of backup is to protect against data loss. Data
  65 loss can happen because of faulty hardware, but also by human errors.
  66
  67 A common mistake is to delete a file or folder which is still
  68 required. Virtualization can amplify this problem, because it is now
  69 easy to delete a whole virtual machine by a single button press.
  70
  71 Backups can also serve as a toolkit for administrators to temporarily
  72 store data. For example, it is common practice to perform full backups
  73 before installing major software updates. If something goes wrong, you
  74 can just restore the previous state.
  75
  76 Another reason for backups are legal requirements. Some data must be
  77 kept in a safe place for several years so that you can access it if
  78 required by law.
  79
  80
  81 - value of data, importance for your business, legal regulations
  82
  83 - restore tests. to make sure backup/restore works
  84
  85
  86 Software Stack
  87 --------------
  88
  89
  90 License
  91 -------
  92
  93 Copyright (C) 2019 Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH
  94
  95 This software is written by Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH <support@proxmox.com>
  96
  97 Proxmox Backup is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
  98 it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as
  99 published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the
 100 License, or (at your option) any later version.
 101
 102 This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
 103 ``WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY``; without even the implied warranty of
 104 ``MERCHANTABILITY`` or ``FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE``.  See the GNU
 105 Affero General Public License for more details.
 106
 107 You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
 108 along with this program.  If not, see AGPL3_.
 109
 110
 111
 112 History
 113 -------
 114
 115 history ...