X-Git-Url: https://git.proxmox.com/?p=pve-docs.git;a=blobdiff_plain;f=vzdump.adoc;h=62b848022000c60e167812889ec7bae1678f6961;hp=00f4aa67a2aaf9b6c0cd236fef2677fd753c021a;hb=a297b96efb178509e72a30be9d0eb670d39582b4;hpb=21c1275541b68afa13b909f033cdd69967dc1869

diff --git a/vzdump.adoc b/vzdump.adoc
index 00f4aa6..62b8480 100644
--- a/vzdump.adoc
+++ b/vzdump.adoc
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
+[[chapter_vzdump]]
 ifdef::manvolnum[]
-PVE({manvolnum})
-================
+vzdump(1)
+=========
 include::attributes.txt[]
+:pve-toplevel:
 
 NAME
 ----
@@ -9,7 +11,7 @@ NAME
 vzdump - Backup Utility for VMs and Containers 
 
 
-SYNOPSYS
+SYNOPSIS
 --------
 
 include::vzdump.1-synopsis.adoc[]
@@ -18,68 +20,102 @@ include::vzdump.1-synopsis.adoc[]
 DESCRIPTION
 -----------
 endif::manvolnum[]
-
 ifndef::manvolnum[]
 Backup and Restore
 ==================
 include::attributes.txt[]
 endif::manvolnum[]
+ifdef::wiki[]
+:pve-toplevel:
+endif::wiki[]
+
+Backups are a requirements for any sensible IT deployment, and {pve}
+provides a fully integrated solution, using the capabilities of each
+storage and each guest system type. This allows the system
+administrator to fine tune via the `mode` option between consistency
+of the backups and downtime of the guest system.
+
+{pve} backups are always full backups - containing the VM/CT
+configuration and all data.  Backups can be started via the GUI or via
+the `vzdump` command line tool.
+
+.Backup Storage
+
+Before a backup can run, a backup storage must be defined. Refer to
+the Storage documentation on how to add a storage. A backup storage
+must be a file level storage, as backups are stored as regular files.
+In most situations, using a NFS server is a good way to store backups.
+You can save those backups later to a tape drive, for off-site
+archiving.
 
-'vzdump' is a utility to make consistent backups of running guest
-systems. It basically creates an archive of the guest private area,
-which also includes the guest configuration files. 'vzdump' currently
-supports LXC containers and QemuServer VMs. There are several ways to
-provide consistency (option `mode`), depending on the guest type.
+.Scheduled Backup
 
-.Backup `mode` for VMs:
+Backup jobs can be scheduled so that they are executed automatically
+on specific days and times, for selectable nodes and guest systems.
+Configuration of scheduled backups is done at the Datacenter level in
+the GUI, which will generate a cron entry in /etc/cron.d/vzdump.
+
+Backup modes
+------------
+
+There are several ways to provide consistency (option `mode`), 
+depending on the guest type.
+
+.Backup modes for VMs:
 
 `stop` mode::
 
-This first performns a clean shutdown of the VM to make sure it is
-stopped. It then starts the VM in suspended mode and uses the qemu
-backup feature to dump all data. If the VM was running, we start
-(resume) it immediately after starting the qemu backup task. This
-keeps the downtime as low as possible.
+This mode provides the highest consistency of the backup, at the cost
+of a downtime in the VM operation.  It works by executing an orderly
+shutdown of the VM, and then runs a background Qemu process to backup
+the VM data. After the backup is complete, the Qemu process resumes
+the VM to full operation mode if it was previously running.
 
 `suspend` mode::
 
-This mode does not really make sense for qemu. Please use snapshot
-mode instead.
+This mode is provided for compatibility reason, and suspends the VM
+before calling the `snapshot` mode. Since suspending the VM results in
+a longer downtime and does not necessarily improve the data
+consistency, the use of the `snapshot` mode is recommended instead.
 
 `snapshot` mode::
 
-This mode simply starts a qemu live backup task. If the guest agent
-is enabled (`agent: 1`) and running, it calls 'guest-fsfreeze-freeze'
-and 'guest-fsfreeze-thaw' to improve consistency.
+This mode provides the lowest operation downtime, at the cost of a
+small inconstancy risk.  It works by performing a Proxmox VE live
+backup, in which data blocks are copied while the VM is running. If the
+guest agent is enabled (`agent: 1`) and running, it calls
+`guest-fsfreeze-freeze` and `guest-fsfreeze-thaw` to improve
+consistency.
 
 A technical overview of the Proxmox VE live backup for QemuServer can
 be found online
 https://git.proxmox.com/?p=pve-qemu-kvm.git;a=blob;f=backup.txt[here].
 
-NOTE: Qemu backup provides snapshots on any storage type. It does
-not require that the underlying storage supports snapshots.
-
+NOTE: Proxmox VE live backup provides snapshot-like semantics on any
+storage type. It does not require that the underlying storage supports
+snapshots.
 
-.Backup `mode` for Containers:
+.Backup modes for Containers:
 
 `stop` mode::
 
-Stop the container for the duration of the backup. This potentially results in
-a very long downtime.
+Stop the container for the duration of the backup. This potentially
+results in a very long downtime.
 
 `suspend` mode::
 
 This mode uses rsync to copy the container data to a temporary
-location (see option `--tmpdir`). Then the container is suspended and a second
-rsync copies changed files. After that, the container is started (resumed)
-again. This results in minimal downtime, but needs additional space
-to hold the container copy.
+location (see option `--tmpdir`). Then the container is suspended and
+a second rsync copies changed files. After that, the container is
+started (resumed) again. This results in minimal downtime, but needs
+additional space to hold the container copy.
 +
-When the container is on a local filesystem and the target storage of the backup
-is an NFS server, you should set `--tmpdir` to reside on a local filesystem too,
-as this will result in a many fold performance improvement.
-Use of a local `tmpdir` is also required if you want to backup a local container
-using ACLs in suspend mode if the backup storage is an NFS server.
+When the container is on a local file system and the target storage of
+the backup is an NFS server, you should set `--tmpdir` to reside on a
+local file system too, as this will result in a many fold performance
+improvement.  Use of a local `tmpdir` is also required if you want to
+backup a local container using ACLs in suspend mode if the backup
+storage is an NFS server.
 
 `snapshot` mode::
 
@@ -90,11 +126,11 @@ snapshot content will be archived in a tar file. Finally, the temporary
 snapshot is deleted again.
 
 NOTE: `snapshot` mode requires that all backed up volumes are on a storage that
-supports snapshots. Using the `backup=no` mountpoint option individual volumes
+supports snapshots. Using the `backup=no` mount point option individual volumes
 can be excluded from the backup (and thus this requirement).
 
-NOTE: bind and device mountpoints are skipped during backup operations, like
-volume mountpoints with the backup option disabled.
+NOTE: bind and device mount points are skipped during backup operations, like
+volume mount points with the backup option disabled.
 
 
 Backup File Names
@@ -124,13 +160,13 @@ For details see the corresponding manual pages.
 Configuration
 -------------
 
-Global configuration is stored in '/etc/vzdump.conf'. The file uses a
+Global configuration is stored in `/etc/vzdump.conf`. The file uses a
 simple colon separated key/value format. Each line has the following
 format:
 
  OPTION: value
 
-Blank lines in the file are ignored, and lines starting with a '#'
+Blank lines in the file are ignored, and lines starting with a `#`
 character are treated as comments and are also ignored. Values from
 this file are used as default, and can be overwritten on the command
 line.
@@ -140,7 +176,7 @@ We currently support the following options:
 include::vzdump.conf.5-opts.adoc[]
 
 
-.Example 'vzdump.conf' Configuration
+.Example `vzdump.conf` Configuration
 ----
 tmpdir: /mnt/fast_local_disk
 storage: my_backup_storage
@@ -154,17 +190,16 @@ Hook Scripts
 You can specify a hook script with option `--script`. This script is
 called at various phases of the backup process, with parameters
 accordingly set. You can find an example in the documentation
-directory ('vzdump-hook-script.pl').
+directory (`vzdump-hook-script.pl`).
 
 File Exclusions
 ---------------
 
 NOTE: this option is only available for container backups.
 
-'vzdump' skips the following files by default (disable with the option
+`vzdump` skips the following files by default (disable with the option
 `--stdexcludes 0`)
 
- /var/log/?*
  /tmp/?*
  /var/tmp/?*
  /var/run/?*pid
@@ -183,7 +218,7 @@ Examples
 
 Simply dump guest 777 - no snapshot, just archive the guest private area and
 configuration files to the default dump directory (usually
-'/var/lib/vz/dump/').
+`/var/lib/vz/dump/`).
 
  # vzdump 777