Welcome to the Proxmox Backup documentation!

Copyright (C) 2019-2023, Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH

Version 3.1.5 -- Monday, 25 March 2024

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".

A PDF version of the documentation is also available here

Table of Contents

• Introduction
  • What is Proxmox Backup Server?
  • Architecture
  • Main Features
  • Reasons for Data Backup?
  • Software Stack
  • Getting Help
    • Enterprise Support
    • Community Support Forum
    • Mailing Lists
    • Bug Tracker
  • License
  • History
• Installation
  • System Requirements
    • Minimum Server Requirements, for Evaluation
    • Recommended Server System Requirements
    • Supported Web Browsers for Accessing the Web Interface
  • Debian Package Repositories
    • SecureApt
    • Proxmox Backup Enterprise Repository
    • Proxmox Backup No-Subscription Repository
    • Proxmox Backup Test Repository
    • Proxmox Backup Client-only Repository
    • Repository Access Behind HTTP Proxy
  • Server Installation
    • Install Proxmox Backup Server using the Installer
    • Install Proxmox Backup Server on Debian
    • Install Proxmox Backup Server on Proxmox VE
  • Client Installation
    • Install Proxmox Backup Client on Debian
• Terminology
  • Backup Content
    • Image Archives: <name>.img
    • File Archives: <name>.pxar
    • Binary Data (BLOBs)
    • Catalog File: catalog.pcat1
    • The Manifest: index.json
  • Backup Namespace
  • Backup Type
  • Backup ID
  • Backup Time
  • Backup Group
  • Backup Snapshot
• Graphical User Interface
  • Features
  • Login
  • GUI Overview
  • Sidebar
    • Dashboard
    • Configuration
    • Administration
    • Tape Backup
    • Datastore
• Backup Storage
  • Disk Management
  • Datastore
    • Datastore Configuration
    • Backup Namespaces
    • Options
  • Ransomware Protection & Recovery
    • Built-in Protection
    • The 3-2-1 Rule with Proxmox Backup Server
    • Restrictive User & Access Management
    • Ransomware Detection
    • General Prevention Methods and Best Practices
• User Management
  • User Configuration
  • API Tokens
  • Access Control
    • Privileges
    • Access Roles
    • Objects and Paths
    • Configuration & Management
    • API Token Permissions
    • Effective Permissions
  • Two-Factor Authentication
    • Introduction
    • Available Second Factors
    • Setup
    • TFA and Automated Access
    • Limits and Lockout of Two-Factor Authentication
  • Authentication Realms
    • LDAP
• Backup Client Usage
  • Backup Repository Locations
  • Environment Variables
  • Output Format
  • Creating Backups
    • Excluding Files/Directories from a Backup
  • Encryption
    • Using a Master Key to Store and Recover Encryption Keys
  • Restoring Data
    • Interactive Restores
    • Mounting of Archives via FUSE
  • Login and Logout
  • Changing the Owner of a Backup Group
  • Pruning and Removing Backups
  • Garbage Collection
  • Benchmarking
• Proxmox VE Integration
  • Using the Proxmox VE Web-Interface
  • Using the Proxmox VE Command Line
• pxar Command-line Tool
  • Creating an Archive
  • Extracting an Archive
  • List the Contents of an Archive
  • Mounting an Archive
• Tape Backup
  • Tape Technology Primer
  • Supported Hardware
    • Drive Performance
    • LTO-9+ considerations
  • Terminology
  • Tape Quick Start
  • Configuration
    • Tape changers
    • Tape drives
    • Media Pools
    • Tape Backup Jobs
  • Administration
    • Label Tapes
    • Run Tape Backups
    • Restore from Tape
    • Update Inventory
    • Restore Catalog
    • Encryption Key Management
    • Tape Cleaning
  • WORM Tapes
  • Example Setups
    • Single Continued Media Set
    • Weekday Scheme
    • Multiple Pools with Different Policies
• Managing Remotes & Sync
  • Remote
  • Sync Jobs
    • Namespace Support
    • Bandwidth Limit
• Maintenance Tasks
  • Pruning
    • Prune Simulator
    • Prune Jobs
    • Manual Pruning
    • Retention Settings Example
  • Garbage Collection
    • GC Background
    • Manually Starting GC
    • Scheduled GC
  • Verification
  • Notifications
  • Maintenance Mode
• Host System Administration
  • ZFS on Linux
    • Hardware
    • ZFS Administration
  • Host Bootloader
    • Partitioning Scheme Used by the Installer
    • Synchronizing the Content of the ESP with proxmox-boot-tool
    • Determine which Bootloader is Used
    • Grub
    • Systemd-boot
    • Editing the Kernel Commandline
    • Override the Kernel-Version for next Boot
    • Secure Boot
  • Certificate Management
    • Certificates for the API and SMTP
    • Upload Custom Certificate
    • Trusted certificates via Let’s Encrypt (ACME)
    • ACME HTTP Challenge Plugin
    • ACME DNS API Challenge Plugin
    • Automatic renewal of ACME certificates
    • Manually Change Certificate over the Command Line
  • Service Daemons
    • proxmox-backup-proxy
    • proxmox-backup
  • Command-line Tools
    • proxmox-backup-client
    • proxmox-backup-manager
    • proxmox-tape
    • pmt
    • pmtx
    • pxar
    • proxmox-file-restore
    • proxmox-backup-debug
• Network Management
  • Traffic Control
• Technical Overview
  • Datastores
  • Snapshots
  • Chunks
    • Fixed-Sized Chunks
    • Dynamically Sized Chunks
    • Encrypted Chunks
  • Caveats and Limitations
    • Notes on Hash Collisions
    • File-Based Backup
    • Verification of Encrypted Chunks
  • Troubleshooting
    • Restore without a Running Proxmox Backup Server
• FAQ
  • What distribution is Proxmox Backup Server (PBS) based on?
  • Which platforms are supported as a backup source (client)?
  • Will Proxmox Backup Server run on a 32-bit processor?
  • How long will my Proxmox Backup Server version be supported?
  • How can I upgrade Proxmox Backup Server to the next point release?
  • How can I upgrade Proxmox Backup Server to the next major release?
  • Can I copy or synchronize my datastore to another location?
  • Can Proxmox Backup Server verify data integrity of a backup archive?
  • When backing up to remote servers, do I have to trust the remote server?
  • Is the backup incremental/deduplicated/full?

Appendix

• Command Syntax
  • proxmox-backup-client
  • proxmox-backup-manager
  • proxmox-tape
  • pmt
  • pmtx
  • pxar
  • proxmox-file-restore
  • proxmox-backup-debug
• Configuration Files
  • acl.cfg
  • datastore.cfg
  • domains.cfg
  • media-pool.cfg
  • tape.cfg
  • tape-job.cfg
  • user.cfg
  • remote.cfg
  • sync.cfg
  • verification.cfg
• File Formats
  • Proxmox File Archive Format (.pxar)
  • Data Blob Format (.blob)
  • Fixed Index Format (.fidx)
  • Dynamic Index Format (.didx)
• Backup Protocol
  • Backup Protocol API
  • Restore/Reader Protocol API
• Calendar Events
  • Introduction and Format
  • Differences to systemd
  • Notes on Scheduling
• Markdown Primer
  • Markdown Basics
• Glossary
• GNU Free Documentation License