Word of the Day: serverless backup

Word of the Day Daily updates on the latest technology terms |June 19, 2017

serverless backup A serverless backup is a type of network-based backup that seeks to limit the role of production servers in backup procedures. The goal of serverless backup is to facilitate disk-to-tape or disk-to-disk backup without depleting server resources. Ordinarily, the amount of time a production server can devote to processing requests from applications is limited by the amount of time it must reserve to backup data. Offloading backup procedures from production servers frees the servers up to process more data.   While all serverless backup systems enable disk-to-tape or disk-to-disk backup, vendors who provide this service may map the copy function slightly differently. For example, backup may be performed by an appliance, which can be an actual physical device or a software function in a larger storage management product. A number of companies offer serverless backup products, including Arcserve with its Arcserve Unified Data Protection (UDP), Dell EMC and its NetWorker software and Veritas Technologies' NetBackup appliances. The CA and Veritas products are based on a process known as disk imaging. These applications use an intelligent agent to make a snapshot copy of pointers to the data. The snapshot copy consists of an image of the pointers, which indicate the location of the data, but is not yet a backup of the data itself. The actual backup still needs to happen, based on the snapshot. The intelligent agent and backup procedures communicate through the Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP). The Dell EMC serverless backup function has become part of the NetWorker software, based on technology EMC received from its acquisition of Legato Systems in 2003. Proprietary software within the hardware platform is used to mark logical backup objects and to back up data on the list. Another method of performing a serverless backup is via XCOPY, the extended copy function within SCSI. In this case, the server initiates and manages the backup, but is not involved in actually backing up the data. The SCSI XCOPY command simply tells the data to replicate from one device or location to another.   Quote of the Day "Serverless backups offload the backup overhead from production servers while also helping to expedite the backup process." - Brien Posey   Trending Terms storage area network disk image Dell EMC NetWorker image-based backup serverless computing storage snapshot   Learning Center Serverless architectures offer more than a catchy buzzword To understand the innovation behind serverless architectures, start by exploring the abstraction and scalability benefits they delivers over traditional infrastructure. An introduction to serverless backups A serverless backup is a general term for a backup in which a production server is not involved (or is minimally involved) in the backup process. Taking production servers out of the backup process can increase backup efficiency. This tip outlines how serverless backups are performed today. Serverless deployment spells fresh opportunities for IT ops Serverless deployment will become a tool for IT ops pros to offer developers alongside traditional infrastructures. FAQ: Serverless backup Our site experts define serverless backup, explain the difference between LAN-free backups and serverless backups, and tell how to design a server-free backup architecture. Function as a service, or serverless computing: Cloud's next big act? What is function as a service, aka serverless computing, and why do CIOs need to know about it? Writing for Business Serverless computing can significantly bring down costs since you're not paying for servers 24/7, _________ of whether they are actively serving requests. A. irregardless B. regardless Answer       Stay In Touch For feedback about any of our definitions or to suggest a new definition, please contact me at: mrouse@techtarget.com   Visit the Word of the Day Archives and catch up on what you've missed!   FOLLOW US About This E-Newsletter This e-newsletter is published by the TechTarget network. To unsubscribe from Whatis.com, click here. Please note, this will not affect any other subscriptions you have signed up for. TechTarget, Whatis, 275 Grove Street, Newton, MA 02466. Contact: webmaster@techtarget.com Copyright 2016 TechTarget. All rights reserved.