From d2c7ef09baba845802f12d05c410e9e4bb1b965d Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Thomas Lamprecht Date: Fri, 3 Jul 2020 18:58:14 +0200 Subject: [PATCH] docs: rework and add a bit to introduction MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Contributed-by: Daniela Häsler [ discussed and edited some parts live with me, Thomas ] Signed-off-by: Thomas Lamprecht --- docs/introduction.rst | 122 ++++++++++++++++++++++-------------------- 1 file changed, 63 insertions(+), 59 deletions(-) diff --git a/docs/introduction.rst b/docs/introduction.rst index fa232e46..e96bf5b2 100644 --- a/docs/introduction.rst +++ b/docs/introduction.rst @@ -1,57 +1,61 @@ Introduction ============ -This documentation is written in :term:`reStructuredText` and formatted with :term:`Sphinx`. +This documentation is written in :term:`reStructuredText` and formatted with +:term:`Sphinx`. -What is Proxmox Backup ----------------------- +What is Proxmox Backup Server +----------------------------- -Proxmox Backup is an enterprise class client-server backup software, -specially optimized for the `Proxmox Virtual Environment`_ to backup -:term:`virtual machine`\ s and :term:`container`\ s. It is also -possible to backup physical hosts. +Proxmox Backup Server is an enterprise-class client-server backup software that +backups :term:`virtual machine`\ s, :term:`container`\ s, and physical hosts. +It is specially optimized for the `Proxmox Virtual Environment`_ platform and +allows you to backup your data securely, even between remote sites, providing +easy management with a web-based user interface. -It supports deduplication, compression and authenticated encryption -(AE_). Using :term:`Rust` as implementation language guarantees high +Proxmox Backup Server supports deduplication, compression, and authenticated +encryption (AE_). Using :term:`Rust` as implementation language guarantees high performance, low resource usage, and a safe, high quality code base. -Encryption is done at the client side. This makes backups to not fully -trusted targets possible. +It features strong encryption done on the client side. Thus, it's possible to +backup data to not fully trusted targets. Architecture ------------ -Proxmox Backup uses a `Client-server model`_. The server is -responsible to store the backup data and provides an API to create -backups and restore data. It is possible to manage disks and -other server side resources using this API. +Proxmox Backup Server uses a `client-server model`_. The server stores the +backup data and provides an API to create backups and restore data. With the +API it's also possible to manage disks and other server side resources. -A backup client uses this API to access the backed up data, -i.e. ``proxmox-backup-client`` is a command line tool to create -backups and restore data. We deliver an integrated client for -QEMU_ with `Proxmox Virtual Environment`_. +The backup client uses this API to access the backed up data. With the command +line tool ``proxmox-backup-client`` you can create backups and restore data. +For QEMU_ with `Proxmox Virtual Environment`_ we deliver an integrated client. -A single backup is allowed to contain several archives. For example, -when you backup a :term:`virtual machine`, each disk is stored as a -separate archive inside that backup. The VM configuration also gets an -extra file. This way, it is easy to access and restore important parts -of the backup without having to scan the whole backup. +A single backup is allowed to contain several archives. For example, when you +backup a :term:`virtual machine`, each disk is stored as a separate archive +inside that backup. The VM configuration itself is stored as an extra file. +This way, it is easy to access and restore only important parts of the backup +without the need to scan the whole backup. Main Features ------------- -:Proxmox VE: The `Proxmox Virtual Environment`_ is fully - supported. You can backup :term:`virtual machine`\ s and +:Support for Proxmox VE: The `Proxmox Virtual Environment`_ is fully + supported and you can easily backup :term:`virtual machine`\ s and :term:`container`\ s. -:GUI: We provide a graphical, web based user interface. +:Performance: The whole software stack is written in :term:`Rust`, + to provide high speed and memory efficiency. -:Deduplication: Incremental backups produce large amounts of duplicate - data. The deduplication layer removes that redundancy and makes - incremental backups small and space efficient. +:Deduplication: Periodic backups produce large amounts of duplicate + data. The deduplication layer avoids redundancy and minimizes the used + storage space. + +:Incremental backups: Changes between backups are typically low. Reading and + sending only the delta reduces storage and network impact of backups. :Data Integrity: The built in `SHA-256`_ checksum algorithm assures the accuracy and consistency of your backups. @@ -59,43 +63,43 @@ Main Features :Remote Sync: It is possible to efficiently synchronize data to remote sites. Only deltas containing new data are transferred. -:Performance: The whole software stack is written in :term:`Rust`, - to provide high speed and memory efficiency. - -:Compression: Ultra fast Zstandard_ compression is able to compress +:Compression: The ultra fast Zstandard_ compression is able to compress several gigabytes of data per second. -:Encryption: Backups can be encrypted client-side using AES-256 in +:Encryption: Backups can be encrypted on the client-side using AES-256 in GCM_ mode. This authenticated encryption mode (AE_) provides very high performance on modern hardware. -:Open Source: No secrets. You have access to all the source code. +:Web interface: Manage Proxmox backups with the integrated web-based user + interface. -:Support: Commercial support options are available from `Proxmox`_. +:Open Source: No secrets. Proxmox Backup Server is free and open-source + software. The source code is licensed under AGPL, v3. + +:Support: Enterprise support is available from `Proxmox`_. -Why Backup? ------------ +Reasons for Data Backup? +------------------------ -The primary purpose of a backup is to protect against data loss. Data -loss can be caused by faulty hardware, but also by human error. +The main purpose of a backup is to protect against data loss. Data loss can be +caused by faulty hardware but also by human error. -A common mistake is to delete a file or folder which is still -required. Virtualization can amplify this problem. It is now -easy to delete a whole virtual machine by pressing a single button. +A common mistake is to accidentally delete a file or folder which is still +required. Virtualization can even amplify this problem; it easily happens that +a whole virtual machine is deleted by just pressing a single button. -Backups can serve as a toolkit for administrators to temporarily -store data. For example, it is common practice to perform full backups -before installing major software updates. If something goes wrong, you -can restore the previous state. +For administrators, backups can serve as a useful toolkit for temporarily +storing data. For example, it is common practice to perform full backups before +installing major software updates. If something goes wrong, you can easily +restore the previous state. -Another reason for backups are legal requirements. Some data must be -kept in a safe place for several years by law, so that it can be accessed if -required. +Another reason for backups are legal requirements. Some data, especially +business records, must be kept in a safe place for several years by law, so +that they can be accessed if required. -Data loss can be very costly as it can severely restrict your -business. Therefore, make sure that you perform a backup regularly -and run restore tests. +In general, data loss is very costly as it can severely damage your business. +Therefore, ensure that you perform regular backups and run restore tests. Software Stack @@ -107,14 +111,14 @@ Software Stack License ------- -Copyright (C) 2019 Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH +Copyright (C) 2020 Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH This software is written by Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH -Proxmox Backup is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify -it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as -published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the -License, or (at your option) any later version. +Proxmox Backup Server is free and open source software: you can use it, +redistribute it, and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Affero General +Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 +of the License, or (at your option) any later version. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but ``WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY``; without even the implied warranty of