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Backup Professional is an automated on-line network-based data backup and recovery solution. In order to appreciate its advantages and applicability, key solution concepts are outlined below:

Automated	Backups can be scheduled to run unattended at a particular time or frequency.
Secure	Data is encrypted before leaving the device and remains so until recovered. SSL is used for network encryption and 448 bit Blowfish for storage.
Networked	Data is transferred via any TCP-IP-enabled network connection. This removes the cost and effort of daily physical data shipment.
On-line	A full copy of the most recent data is kept available for immediate recovery, eliminating the response times associated with near-line and off-line systems.
Disk-to-disk	Backups are held on disk for designated periods, enabling faster recovery, before being archived to tape for long term storage. Writing to disk also improves backup speed and data integrity verification.
Incremental	Only files that have been modified or added since the last backup will be identified for backup by the system.
Sub-file	Changes to a file are extracted at the binary level. For example if a Word document is edited only the changed bytes of that document will be extracted and sent through to the backup server. Both binary and blocking techniques can be selected according to file type and size.
Progressive	The backup server is able to update files using the daily incrementals. This means every recovery is a full, updated file.

The two primary advantages are a reduction in the size of the backup, thereby reducing data transfer and storage requirements, and speed of recovery, a direct result of the ability to perform full point in time restores from disk.

This makes the solution well suited to data backups and recovery in distributed or networked environments while automation with remote management removes the effort associated with manual and tape based solutions.

Typical Attix5 Backup Professional Architecture

Backup Professional has a client-server architecture using secure TCP/IP communications for data transfer and system monitoring and management. The system has a modular configuration to allow for both entry level installation and enterprise level scaling.

The Backup process

Initial Backup
All data selected for backup is compressed in a backup file. A separate index file is also created detailing files and their hashes. The maximum size of this backup file can be limited, in which case the Backup Client will compress until the limit is reached and then flag any further files for backup at the next schedule time. Thus on the first backup only the first gigabyte of data (for example) will be backed up. The next time (which could be an hour or a day later) the first gigabyte will be patched and the next gigabyte will be added, and so on until all files have been backed up and only patches need to be sent.

Patching
Subsequent backups use Binary Patching or Delta Blocking to determine the change between the two versions of a file to reduce the size of the backup. This works as follows:

Backup Transfer
An SSL connection is established to the NameServer (NS) which verifies the account and passes the IP address of the FileServer (FS) where that accounts' data is stored. The connection is dropped and a new SSL connection is established to the FS. The files are then sent to the FS where they are stored in a dedicated account directory. File hashes are checked to ensure file integrity. Files are stored using 448-bit Blowfish encryption in CBC mode.

Local SnapShot
Should the initial backup be too large for the available bandwidth, a portable FS (or DR Box) is temporarily installed on the client LAN and the initial backup is done to this unit. The DR Box is then physically transported to the remote FS to which the backup is uploaded. Subsequent backups, being incremental and thus smaller in size, will revert to using the available bandwidth. This process is known as a Local SnapShot. The same logical process applies to recovering large amounts of data to the server.

Local Cache
Once the FS has confirmed the successful transfer of the initial backup, the Backup Client drops the connection and creates a local cache. This is a compressed file containing copies of all files that are backed up that had been modified in the previous 14 days. The size of this file is dependent on the type and size of the files concerned and also the modification date setting. To reduce the size of the cache the date can be reduced to files changed in the last 7 days etc. or turned off altogether. This will impact on the patching process.

The Recovery process

Individual Files
Recovery of data is user-driven for individual files via a simple and intuitive user interface. As the Storage Platform holds a minimum of 30 days of incremental backups the user can recover a file as it was at any state on a given day within that period. The WebAccess interface also allows users to recover individual files from a browser anywhere, anytime and on any device. The files can be downloaded or emailed to another user ensuring that an important document or presentation can be recovered instantly. This removes the cost of involvement from IT support, helpdesk time and resources, the associated delays, and, most importantly, removes the associated loss of productivity, user frustration and dissatisfaction.

Full data sets
Should the hardware device fail or breakdown for any reason the user or administrator can reload the device agent using an existing account and then recover all the files that have been backed up. This process can be done over the network or if the data set to be recovered is too big the administrator can perform a reverse 'local snapshot', as detailed above.