Glossary

 

Welcome to Redstor's glossary

Below you can find brief definitions of our key product terms, as well as links to articles with more detail.

 

• Account

In Redstor's software suite, an Account is a selection of data managed as a unit. Multiple Accounts form Groups (known in the RedApp as Folders), while multiple Groups (Folders) form Collections.

 

• AccountServer

The AccountServer forms part of the Storage Platform and is the part of our software that manages user authentication (e.g. passwords), updates, reporting and more.

 

• administrator

 A top-level member of a customer organisation with administrative user rights to our software.

 

• Archiving

Our Archiving service saves on disk space and storage costs by replacing redundant, obsolete and trivial (ROT) files with much smaller (“sparse”) files.

 

• backup set

A selection of data for backup that can be configured as a single unit.

 

• Bare Metal Recovery (BMR)

Bare Metal Recovery is a data recovery method that entails recreating a backed-up system on a completely new physical or virtual machine, i.e. with no software or operating system components present on the machine before the recovery.

 

• changed block tracking (CBT)

Changed block tracking is a faster method of backing up, in which only those data blocks in the backup selection that have changed since the previous backup are scanned for changes, instead of scanning whole files.

 

• Classic User

A Storage Platform Console user who logs in with a Redstor-issued username and password.

 

• Collection

Two or more Groups (known in the RedApp as Folders) that function as a unit.

 

• Data Protected (all backups)

The amount (in GB) of protected data from all currently completed backups before compression, patching, and account-level deduplication, i.e. the sum of the uncompressed sizes of all files in all backups. If there are multiple copies of the same file, they will all contribute to the final size. If a file is patched, the resulting uncompressed file size is used.

 

• Data Protected (last backup)

The amount (in GB) of protected data from the most recently completed backup before compression, patching, and account-level deduplication, i.e. the sum of the uncompressed sizes of all files in the last restore point.

 

• Data Selected

The total amount (in GB) of data selected for backup at client level.

 

• data verification

Our data verification functionality regularly scans all the data in each of a customer’s Accounts, checking that all the files are present and intact.

 

• deduplication

Our deduplication functionality saves time and storage space by checking that identical files are transferred into storage only once.

 

• Enterprise Server Edition

The Enterprise Server Edition (ESE) Agent is a desktop application that is linked to a specific Account and is used by the customer to manage the data on that Account’s machine or server. ESE Agents can be deployed from the RedApp using the Machines backup functionality, or from the Storage Platform Console.

 

• Full System Backup (FSB)

Full System Backup is a backup option offered by Redstor which automatically includes not only a selection of files, but all data and metadata on a system, including the system state (OS, installed software and updates, hot fixes, etc.). In a disaster scenario, this backup can be used to do a Full System Recovery (FSR).

 

• granular retention

This is a feature offered by Redstor that gives customers the ability to specify in detail which of their backups are kept for how long. Granular retention also makes it possible to reduce the number of backups over time without losing any data. This is particularly relevant to customers who backup multiple times a day.

 

• Group

Two or more Accounts that function as a unit. (A Group is known as a Folder on the RedApp.)

 

• Group certificate

A Group certificate is a type of electronic document used by Redstor to prove the ownership of stored data and to control access to that data.

 

• GUID

The Globally Unique Identifier of any Account or Group.

 

• HSM data

Hierarchical Storage Management (HSM) data consists of roll-ups that were archived before they were deleted from our Storage Platform.

 

• incremental backups

Incremental backups is a backup method used by Redstor in which only data that has been changed or created since the previous backup is backed up.

 

• InstantData       

InstantData is a Redstor technology which allows a customer to access their backed-up files almost instantly after triggering a recovery. This is possible because the files that are accessed first are recovered first, while the less urgent data recovery continues in the background.

 

• Integrity Check

Our Integrity Check feature is a reliable way of checking the integrity of your backed-up files on the relevant StorageServers and MirrorServers. All files are scanned to make sure they are present and intact.

 

• local copy

Local copy is a Redstor feature whereby the customer’s most recent backups can be kept on a local machine in addition to on the Storage Platform, facilitating faster recovery.

 

• logical volume management (LVM)

Our logical volume management (LVM) Snapshot feature for the Linux ESE Agent is used when a crash-consistent backup is required, for example when backing up database files that can be written to while a backup is in progress.

 

• MirrorServer

A MirrorServer is an optional server on the Storage Platform that contains an exact duplicate of the customer’s backups as an additional safety measure.

 

• On Disk

The approximate amount of disk space (in GB) taken up on a StorageServer by all backups after compression, patching, and account-level deduplication. This amount is based on the values in the data index.

 

• Profiling

Profiling is a Redstor functionality that enables a customer to centrally apply specific settings (such as backup inclusions and exclusions) to all Data Management Agents in a Group.

 

• RedApp

The RedApp is our web-based user interface, used for managing backup and recovery of all your cloud and machine/server data.

 

• Restorable Data

The total data restored when restoring a full, uncompressed copy of each backup.

 

• Server Edition

Server Edition (SE) is the now-deprecated predecessor to our Enterprise Server Edition (ESE) Data Management Agent. We are no longer adding new functionality to the SE version of the software.

 

• Snapshot backup

A Snapshot is a point-in-time copy of all your data which can be used as a seed (initial) backup (for example, onto external media) to save on transfer costs and allow business operations to continue while the first full backup is completed. (Not to be confused with VSS snapshots.)

 

• staged backup

Staged backup is a backup method used by our ESE Data Management Agent in which the customer’s data is written to temporary storage before it is transferred to the Storage Platform. This enables uninterrupted backups, but results in greater disk usage.

 

• Storage Platform

The Storage Platform forms part of our software and consists of the AccountServer, where our customers’ account information is stored, and the StorageServers (and MirrorServers), where their data is stored.

 

• Storage Platform Console

The Storage Platform Console is the user interface of our Storage Platform and is accessed by the customer’s data administrator as part of the data management process, e.g. to add, rename or delete Groups or Collections, or read backup reports.

  

• Storage Pool

Two or more StorageServers on the Storage Platform that function as a unit.

 

• StorageServer

StorageServers form part of the Storage Platform and house our customers’ backed-up data.

 

• streaming backup

Streaming backup is a backup method used by our SE Data Management Agent in which the customer’s data is transferred to the Storage Platform without being written to temporary storage first. This method is faster than staged backup and uses less disk space, but is severely limited in terms of customisation.

 

• stub file

A stub is a very small (“sparse”) file that represents an original file which is stored in a different location. When a stub is accessed, its original file’s data is immediately accessible through a process called rehydration.

 

• system state backup

A system state backup is a backup of the files that a system needs in order to function, such as the boot files and the registry.

 

• Tenant User

A Storage Platform Console user who logs in with a third-party (e.g. Microsoft 365) email address and password. 

 

• VSS Snapshot

A Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) Snapshot is a point-in-time copy of all your files that can be made even while these files are in use. VSS is unique to Microsoft Windows.