Introduction ============ What is Proxmox Backup Server ----------------------------- Proxmox Backup Server is an enterprise-class, client-server backup software package that backs up :term:`virtual machine`\ s, :term:`container`\ s, and physical hosts. It is specially optimized for the `Proxmox Virtual Environment`_ platform and allows you to back up your data securely, even between remote sites, providing easy management with a web-based user interface. Proxmox Backup Server supports deduplication, compression, and authenticated encryption (AE_). Using :term:`Rust` as the implementation language guarantees high performance, low resource usage, and a safe, high-quality codebase. It features strong client-side encryption. Thus, it's possible to backup data to not fully trusted targets. Architecture ------------ 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. 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 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 ------------- :Support for Proxmox VE: The `Proxmox Virtual Environment`_ is fully supported and you can easily backup :term:`virtual machine`\ s and :term:`container`\ s. :Performance: The whole software stack is written in :term:`Rust`, to provide high speed and memory efficiency. :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. :Remote Sync: It is possible to efficiently synchronize data to remote sites. Only deltas containing new data are transferred. :Compression: The ultra fast Zstandard_ compression is able to compress several gigabytes of data per second. :Encryption: Backups can be encrypted on the client-side using AES-256 in Galois/Counter Mode (GCM_) mode. This authenticated encryption (AE_) mode provides very high performance on modern hardware. :Web interface: Manage the Proxmox Backup Server with the integrated web-based user interface. :Open Source: No secrets. Proxmox Backup Server is free and open-source software. The source code is licensed under AGPL, v3. :Support: Enterprise support will be available from `Proxmox`_ once the beta phase is over. Reasons for Data Backup? ------------------------ 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 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. 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, especially business records, must be kept in a safe place for several years by law, so that they can be accessed if required. 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 -------------- Proxmox Backup Server consists of multiple components: * server-daemon providing, among others, a RESTfull API, super-fast asynchronous tasks, lightweight usage statistic collection, scheduling events, strict separation of privileged and unprivileged execution environments, ... * JavaScript management webinterface * management CLI tool for the server (`proxmox-backup-manager`) * client CLI tool (`proxmox-backup-client`) to access the server easily from any `Linux amd64` environment. Everything outside of the web interface is written in the Rust programming language. "The Rust programming language helps you write faster, more reliable software. High-level ergonomics and low-level control are often at odds in programming language design; Rust challenges that conflict. Through balancing powerful technical capacity and a great developer experience, Rust gives you the option to control low-level details (such as memory usage) without all the hassle traditionally associated with such control." -- `The Rust Programming Language `_ .. todo:: further explain the software stack Getting Help ------------ Community Support Forum ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We always encourage our users to discuss and share their knowledge using the `Proxmox Community Forum`_. The forum is moderated by the Proxmox support team. The large user base is spread out all over the world. Needless to say that such a large forum is a great place to get information. Mailing Lists ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Proxmox Backup Server is fully open-source and contributions are welcome! Here is the primary communication channel for developers: :Mailing list for developers: `PBS Development List`_ Bug Tracker ~~~~~~~~~~~ Proxmox runs a public bug tracker at ``_. If an issue appears, file your report there. An issue can be a bug as well as a request for a new feature or enhancement. The bug tracker helps to keep track of the issue and will send a notification once it has been solved. License ------- Copyright (C) 2019-2020 Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH This software is written by Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH 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 ``MERCHANTABILITY`` or ``FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE``. See the GNU Affero General Public License for more details. You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License along with this program. If not, see AGPL3_. History ------- .. todo:: Add development History of the product