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- .. include:: global.rst.inc
- .. _foreward:
- Foreword
- ========
- Features
- --------
- Space efficient storage
- Variable block size `deduplication`_ is used to reduce the number of bytes
- stored by detecting redundant data. Each file is split into a number of
- variable length chunks and only chunks that have never been seen before
- are compressed and added to the repository.
- Optional data encryption
- All data can be protected using 256-bit AES_ encryption and data integrity
- and authenticity is verified using `HMAC-SHA256`_.
- Off-site backups
- |project_name| can store data on any remote host accessible over SSH as
- long as |project_name| is installed.
- Backups mountable as filesystems
- Backup archives are :ref:`mountable <usage_attic_mount>` as
- `userspace filesystems`_ for easy backup verification and restores.
- Terminology
- -----------
- .. _deduplication_def:
- Deduplication
- Deduplication is a technique for improving storage utilization by
- eliminating redundant data.
- .. _archive_def:
- Archive
- An archive is a collection of files along with metadata that include file
- permissions, directory structure and various file attributes.
- Since each archive in a repository must have a unique name a good naming
- convention is ``hostname-YYYY-MM-DD``.
- .. _repository_def:
- Repository
- A repository is a filesystem directory storing data from zero or more
- archives. The data in a repository is both deduplicated and
- optionally encrypted making it both efficient and safe. Repositories are
- created using :ref:`attic_init` and the contents can be listed using
- :ref:`attic_list`.
- Key file
- When a repository is initialized a key file containing a password
- protected encryption key is created. It is vital to keep this file safe
- since the repository data is totally inaccessible without it.
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