backup¶

Primary audience: TAPPaaS admin.

Proxmox Backup Server (PBS) for TAPPaaS — automated, verified, deduplicated VM backups with retention, restore tooling and off-site options.

What you get¶

Reference docs in this directory:

• QUICKREF.md — day-to-day operations quick reference (status, restore, maintenance, multi-source setup, ADR-012 features).
• TEST.md — what the module tests cover (fast and deep tiers).

Architecture¶

flowchart TB
    subgraph Capabilities
        BackupCap[Backup Capability]
    end

    subgraph BackupModule["backup module"]
        PBS[Proxmox Backup Server]
        VMBackupService(["vm service — managed VM backup"])
        RemoteService(["remote service — pull a buddy's PBS"])
        ExternalService(["external service — receive third-party pushes"])
        VMBackupService -.->|provided by| PBS
        RemoteService -.->|provided by| PBS
        ExternalService -.->|provided by| PBS
    end

    BackupCap -.->|realized by| PBS

The Backup capability is realized by Proxmox Backup Server (installed natively on a cluster node), which provides the vm, remote and external services (the provides in backup.json) — backup:vm is how modules opt into the managed backup job, while remote/external implement the multi-source vault.

What is not included¶

• Foundation VMs that are reproducible from git are deliberately not auto-backed-up — only opt-in (backup:vm) modules and the alwaysBackup list are.
• S3 Object Lock immutability — that stronger tier is provided by an ADR-010 satellite, not this module (local immutability is ZFS-snapshot based, opt-in).
• Automated restore verification — test restores are an operator practice (see QUICKREF.md and TEST.md).

Requirements¶

• A node with a tankc ZFS storage pool for the datastore (preferred node/storage: tappaas3 / tankc1 in backup.json). Without one, auto placement installs a shim (no datastore) that still satisfies dependents and can be promoted later.
• PBS is installed via apt on the Proxmox node itself (not a VM), from http://download.proxmox.com/debian/pbs.
• Zone: mgmt (DNS name backup.mgmt.internal).

Alternatives considered¶

• Dedicated bare-metal PBS — full separation of concerns, but more costly (hardware not reusable), needs an extra machine in small systems, and is more complicated to deploy.
• PBS as a VM — becomes "just another service", but disk access is very complicated, restore after hardware failure is harder, and Proxmox does not recommend it.
• PBS in an LXC — shares the kernel like the native install, but hard-disk passthrough is more complicated and LXC is not the TAPPaaS default deployment.

Chosen: native PBS install alongside PVE on a cluster node. Rationale + depth: see DESIGN.md.

Dependencies¶

Provides the vm, remote and external services consumed by other modules (backup:vm is how a module opts into the managed backup job).

For installation steps see INSTALL.md.