133 lines
4.5 KiB
ReStructuredText
133 lines
4.5 KiB
ReStructuredText
Introduction
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============
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This documentationm is written in :term:`reStructuredText` and formatted with :term:`Sphinx`.
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What is Proxmox Backup
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----------------------
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Proxmox Backup is an enterprise class client-server backup software,
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specially optimized for `Proxmox Virtual Environment`_ to backup
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:term:`virtual machine`\ s and :term:`container`\ s. It is also
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possible to backup physical hosts.
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It supports deduplication, compression and authenticated encryption
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(AE_). Using :term:`Rust` as implementation language guarantees high
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performance, low resource usage, and a safe, high quality code base.
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Encryption is done at the client side. This makes backups to not fully
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trusted targets possible.
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Architecture
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------------
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Proxmox Backup uses a `Client-server model`_. The server is
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responsible to store the backup data, and provides an API to create
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backups and restore data. It is also possible to manage disks and
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other server side resources using this API.
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A backup client uses this API to access the backed up data,
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i.e. ``proxmox-backup-client`` is a command line tool to create
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backups and restore data. We also deliver an integrated client for
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QEMU_ with `Proxmox Virtual Environment`_.
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A single backup is allowed to contain several archives. For example,
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when you backup a :term:`virtual machine`, each disk is stored as a
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separate archive inside that backup. The VM configuration also gets an
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extra file. This way, it is easy to access and restore important parts
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of the backup, without having to scan the whole backup.
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Main features
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-------------
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:Proxmox VE: The `Proxmox Virtual Environment`_ is fully
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supported. You can backup :term:`virtual machine`\ s and
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:term:`container`\ s.
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:GUI: We provide a graphical, web based user interface.
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:Deduplication: Incremental backup produces large amounts of duplicate
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data. The deduplication layer removes that redundancy and makes
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inkremental backup small and space efficient.
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:Data Integrity: The built in `SHA-256`_ checksum algorithm assures the
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accuracy and consistency of your backups.
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:Remote Sync: It is possible to efficently synchronize data to remote
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sites. Only deltas containing new data are transfered.
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:Performance: The whole software stack is written in :term:`Rust`,
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which provides high speed and memory efficiency.
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:Compression: 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 at client side using AES-256 in
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GCM_ mode. This authenticated encryption mode (AE_) provides very
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high performance on modern hardware.
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:Open Source: No secrets. You have access to the whole source tree.
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:Support: Commercial support options available from `Proxmox`_.
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Why Backup?
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-----------
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The primary purpose of backup is to protect against data loss. Data
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loss can happen because of faulty hardware, but also by human errors.
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A common mistake is to delete a file or folder which is still
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required. Virtualization can amplify this problem, because it is now
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easy to delete a whole virtual machine by a single button press.
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Backups can also serve as a toolkit for administrators to temporarily
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store data. For example, it is common practice to perform full backups
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before installing major software updates. If something goes wrong, you
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can just restore the previous state.
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Another reason for backups are legal requirements. Some data must be
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kept in a safe place for several years so that you can access it if
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required by law.
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Data loss can be very costly as it can severely restrict your
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business. Therefore, make sure that you regularly perform a backup
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and run restore tests.
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Software Stack
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--------------
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.. todo:: Eplain why we use Rust (and Flutter)
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License
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-------
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Copyright (C) 2019 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 is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
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it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as
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published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the
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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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.. todo:: Add development History of the product
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