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Description of AOServ Backup
We developed our backup system with four primary requirements in mind. First, it should be efficient, consuming as little of the system's resources as possible. Second, any single file of the backup data should be available for immediate retrieval. Third, all backup data should be replicated off-site for longer term archival. And fourth, the system should be completely configurable, with clients being able to determine exactly which files to back up and for how long.

Efficiency
Our backup system is "continuously incremental"-- meaning that after the initial full-system backup, files are backed up again only when they change. This is accomplished using a PostgreSQL database that keeps track of each file on every server. As each server scans its file system, the files are verified against this database and backed up again as necessary.

Fast Recovery
Fast recovery of data is important in an environment that is designed to run continually and consistently. Two aspects of the system provide extremely quick recoveries. First, all backup data is stored on-site on other servers for direct access over 100 MBit ethernet, allowing a recovery rate of 12.5 MB/second. Second, the use of a relational database provides us with almost instantaneous access to all of the file attributes and backup data, whether for an entire server, a single directory, or a single database. Avoiding the sequential behavior of traditional backup systems provides for much faster recovery times.

Off-Site Replication
Several times a day, newly backed-up files are replicated through SSL to our Mobile, Alabama office. This ensures that even in the extreme (and completely hypothetical) case of a tornado demolishing the 12-story building in Kansas City that houses our primary data center, you would not lose your data. Although not immediately, we would be able to bring your data back online.

Configurability
The backup system is completely configurable, allowing our clients to manage the amount of their allotted system resources used for backups. If a web site has a 2 GB database that is simply a production copy of a database they build and upload, then we can tell the backup system to skip the database completely, saving up to 14 GB on-site and a further 14 GB off-site.


Overall, our unique approach to file and database backup and recovery yields an extremely efficient backup system. The use of all servers as part of the backup system provides immense backup capacity without the cost of a multi-terabyte backup server. And finally, the configurability of the backup system allows us to maintain an optimal balance between backup and production capacity and load.
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