Automatic Offsite Backup: How it Works

The Vector automatic offsite backup system is easy to implement. Here's how it works:

STEP 1 » Once a customer has signed up for an account, they are supplied with a username and password, along with a link to download a piece of software called the VDS backup client. This software is installed on the customer's server or computers that need to be backed up. A simple setup process is followed in order to select which files are to be backed up, and to set a schedule for the backups.

STEP 2 » When the backup is scheduled to begin, the client software begins to encrypt the selected files and transmit them over the Internet to Vector's backup servers. Because only the file changes since the last backup are transmitted over the Internet, this process does not take long to complete. Also, all data is compressed before it is backed up. This makes for faster backups and more efficient use of Internet bandwidth.

STEP 3 » After the files have been transferred to Vector's servers, they are stored in encrypted form, waiting to be restored. Because the files are replicated to multiple locations, and are stored on ultra-reliable hardware with technologies such as RAID, they will be ready for retrieval at any time.

STEP 4 » When a file restoration needs to be performed, the backup client software allows the user to select which version of the file to restore and where to place the restored file. Restoration takes only a few mouse clicks.