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FireBackup FireServe developed FireBackup (FireServe Online Backup) in 2002 as an in-house block-change network-based file backup solution for the various servers and computers powering FireServe's wireless ISP network. We developed it out of frustration that none of the existing online backup services (like Connected Online Backup) supported Linux, and our network is extensively Linux-based. All of the existing network backup solutions from companies like Veritas continued to use the traditional, yet obsolete and outmoded concept of full and incremental backups, which we felt was an inefficient use of network storage and resources. Thus, FireBackup was born out of necessity. Shortly after, we began offering FireBackup to business customers to provide secure off-site point-in-time network backup services, as an alternative to other online backup providers like Connected Online Backup. We are now preparing to release FireBackup as an open-source product in March or April 2008. Check back then to download and try a copy on your own network! FireBackup is currently the only block-change network storage and backup solution with point-in-time recovery that supports Windows, Linux, and other UNIX clients. And best of all, FireBackup will soon be free to deploy on your own network! Features
How It Works FireBackup works by logically dividing your files into small blocks, each of which can be uniquely identified by it's MD5 hash value (a unique value that can identify the contents of a block of data). The FireBackup client analyzes the files that are being backed up to identify which blocks may have changed since the last backup, and when a block appears to have changed, the client asks the FireBackup server if it already has a copy of the new block. If it does not yet exist on the FireBackup server, the block is uploaded over a secure encrypted SSL connection. In this way, only data that has actually changed is ever uploaded to the FireBackup server, dramatically cutting down network traffic and storage space requirements of traditional backup systems that store complete copies of any changed file. The FireBackup server "tags" each block referenced by a particular backup session, enabling point-in-time recovery of any file you've backed up at any point in the past, without requiring massive amounts of storage space on the server. This does away with the concept of full backups (where every file is copied and backed up in full) and incremental backups (where only changed files are backed up, requiring a previous full backup to restore the full set of files) in the traditional sense. Full and incremental backups evolved out of obsolete tape backup systems and we feel have no place in modern network storage based backup solutions, as they are wasteful and unnecessary! Every FireBackup session is a full backup, yet only has to transfer changed blocks, so it combines the best aspects of both types of traditional backups! How To Download FireBackup The FireBackup server and client applications will soon be released as open-source. We anticipate making the first open source release in March or April 2008. Please check back then to download a copy! Getting Help and Tech Support The FireBackup Message Forum is now online. New releases will be announced there, and we hope a community of FireBackup users will grow around the forums to help newcomers to FireBackup, and to further FireBackup development. Secure Off-Site Network Backup Services FireServe will also be continuing to provide off-site network storage and backup services using FireBackup for individuals or businesses that want to take advantage of FireBackup to backup their files to a secure off-site FireBackup server. Do you have a FireServe Online Backup off-site backup storage account? Login below to access your account: |
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FireBackup(tm) is a trademark of FireServe, LLC |