51f83548ed
It does not help users if that is spelled out, and its not a common use of GCM, and especially in the AES 256 context its clear what is meant. The link to Wikipedia stays, so interested people can still read up on it and others get a better overview due to the text being more concise. Signed-off-by: Thomas Lamprecht <t.lamprecht@proxmox.com>
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Introduction
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============
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What is Proxmox Backup Server?
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------------------------------
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Proxmox Backup Server is an enterprise-class, client-server backup software
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package that backs up :term:`virtual machine`\ s, :term:`container`\ s, and
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physical hosts. It is specially optimized for the `Proxmox Virtual Environment`_
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platform and allows you to back up your data securely, even between remote
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sites, providing easy management with a web-based user interface.
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It supports deduplication, compression, and authenticated
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encryption (AE_). Using :term:`Rust` as the implementation language guarantees high
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performance, low resource usage, and a safe, high-quality codebase.
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Proxmox Backup uses state of the art cryptography for both client-server
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communication and backup content :ref:`encryption <client_encryption>`. All
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client-server communication uses `TLS
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<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_Layer_Security>`_, and backup data can
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be encrypted on the client-side before sending, making it safer to back up data
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to targets that are not fully trusted.
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Architecture
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------------
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Proxmox Backup Server uses a `client-server model`_. The server stores the
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backup data and provides an API to create and manage datastores. With the
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API, it's also possible to manage disks and other server-side resources.
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The backup client uses this API to access the backed up data. With the command
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line tool ``proxmox-backup-client`` you can create backups and restore data.
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For QEMU_ with `Proxmox Virtual Environment`_ we deliver an integrated client.
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A single backup is allowed to contain several archives. For example, when you
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backup a :term:`virtual machine`, each disk is stored as a separate archive
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inside that backup. The VM configuration itself is stored as an extra file.
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This way, it's easy to access and restore only important parts of the backup,
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without the need to scan the whole backup.
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Main Features
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-------------
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:Support for Proxmox VE: The `Proxmox Virtual Environment`_ is fully
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supported and you can easily backup :term:`virtual machine`\ s and
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:term:`container`\ s.
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:Performance: The whole software stack is written in :term:`Rust`,
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in order to provide high speed and memory efficiency.
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:Deduplication: Periodic backups produce large amounts of duplicate
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data. The deduplication layer avoids redundancy and minimizes the storage
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space used.
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:Incremental backups: Changes between backups are typically low. Reading and
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sending only the delta reduces the storage and network impact of backups.
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:Data Integrity: The built-in `SHA-256`_ checksum algorithm ensures accuracy and
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consistency in your backups.
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:Remote Sync: It is possible to efficiently synchronize data to remote
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sites. Only deltas containing new data are transferred.
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:Compression: The ultra-fast Zstandard_ compression is able to compress
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several gigabytes of data per second.
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:Encryption: Backups can be encrypted on the client-side, using AES-256 GCM_.
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This authenticated encryption (AE_) mode provides very high performance on
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modern hardware. In addition to client-side encryption, all data is
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transferred via a secure TLS connection.
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:Web interface: Manage the Proxmox Backup Server with the integrated, web-based
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user interface.
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:Open Source: No secrets. Proxmox Backup Server is free and open-source
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software. The source code is licensed under AGPL, v3.
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:Enterprise Support: Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH offers enterprise support in
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form of `Proxmox Backup Server Subscription Plans
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<https://www.proxmox.com/en/proxmox-backup-server/pricing>`_. Users at every
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subscription level get access to the Proxmox Backup :ref:`Enterprise
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Repository <sysadmin_package_repos_enterprise>`. In addition, with a Basic,
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Standard or Premium subscription, users have access to the :ref:`Proxmox
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Customer Portal <get_help_enterprise_support>`.
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Reasons for Data Backup?
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------------------------
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The main purpose of a backup is to protect against data loss. Data loss can be
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caused by both faulty hardware and human error.
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A common mistake is to accidentally delete a file or folder which is still
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required. Virtualization can even amplify this problem, as deleting a whole
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virtual machine can be as easy as pressing a single button.
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For administrators, backups can serve as a useful toolkit for temporarily
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storing data. For example, it is common practice to perform full backups before
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installing major software updates. If something goes wrong, you can easily
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restore the previous state.
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Another reason for backups are legal requirements. Some data, especially
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business records, must be kept in a safe place for several years by law, so
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that they can be accessed if required.
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In general, data loss is very costly as it can severely damage your business.
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Therefore, ensure that you perform regular backups and run restore tests.
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Software Stack
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--------------
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Proxmox Backup Server consists of multiple components:
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* A server-daemon providing, among other things, a RESTful API, super-fast
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asynchronous tasks, lightweight usage statistic collection, scheduling
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events, strict separation of privileged and unprivileged execution
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environments
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* A JavaScript management web interface
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* A management CLI tool for the server (`proxmox-backup-manager`)
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* A client CLI tool (`proxmox-backup-client`) to access the server easily from
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any `Linux amd64` environment
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Aside from the web interface, everything is written in the Rust programming
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language.
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"The Rust programming language helps you write faster, more reliable software.
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High-level ergonomics and low-level control are often at odds in programming
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language design; Rust challenges that conflict. Through balancing powerful
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technical capacity and a great developer experience, Rust gives you the option
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to control low-level details (such as memory usage) without all the hassle
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traditionally associated with such control."
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-- `The Rust Programming Language <https://doc.rust-lang.org/book/ch00-00-introduction.html>`_
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.. _get_help:
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Getting Help
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------------
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.. _get_help_enterprise_support:
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Enterprise Support
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Users with a `Proxmox Backup Server Basic, Standard or Premium Subscription Plan
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<https://www.proxmox.com/en/proxmox-backup-server/pricing>`_ have access to the
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Proxmox Customer Portal. The Customer Portal provides support with guaranteed
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response times from the Proxmox developers.
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For more information or for volume discounts, please contact office@proxmox.com.
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Community Support Forum
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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We always encourage our users to discuss and share their knowledge using the
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`Proxmox Community Forum`_. The forum is moderated by the Proxmox support team.
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The large user base is spread out all over the world. Needless to say that such
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a large forum is a great place to get information.
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Mailing Lists
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Proxmox Backup Server is fully open-source and contributions are welcome! Here
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is the primary communication channel for developers:
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:Mailing list for developers: `PBS Development List`_
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Bug Tracker
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~~~~~~~~~~~
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Proxmox runs a public bug tracker at `<https://bugzilla.proxmox.com>`_. If an
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issue appears, file your report there. An issue can be a bug as well as a
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request for a new feature or enhancement. The bug tracker helps to keep track
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of the issue and will send a notification once it has been solved.
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License
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-------
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Copyright (C) 2019-2021 Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH
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This software is written by Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH <support@proxmox.com>
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Proxmox Backup Server is free and open source software: you can use it,
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redistribute it, and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Affero General
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Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3
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of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
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This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
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``WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY``; without even the implied warranty of
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``MERCHANTABILITY`` or ``FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE``. See the GNU
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Affero General Public License for more details.
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You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
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along with this program. If not, see AGPL3_.
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History
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-------
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Backup is, and always has been, a central aspect of IT administration.
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The need to recover from data loss is fundamental and only increases with
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virtualization.
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For this reason, we've been shipping a backup tool with Proxmox VE, from the
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beginning. This tool is called ``vzdump`` and is able to make
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consistent snapshots of running LXC containers and KVM virtual
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machines.
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However, ``vzdump`` only allows for full backups. While this is fine
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for small backups, it becomes a burden for users with large VMs. Both
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backup duration and storage usage are too high for this case, especially
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for users who want to keep many backups of the same VMs. To solve these
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problems, we needed to offer deduplication and incremental backups.
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Back in October 2018, development started. We investigated
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several technologies and frameworks and finally decided to use
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:term:`Rust` as the implementation language, in order to provide high speed and
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memory efficiency. The 2018-edition of Rust seemed promising for our
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requirements.
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In July 2020, we released the first beta version of Proxmox Backup
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Server, followed by the first stable version in November 2020. With support for
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incremental, fully deduplicated backups, Proxmox Backup significantly reduces
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network load and saves valuable storage space.
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