Are there any standards for server-free or LAN-free backup?
Not so much. Each of the ISVs, the independent software vendors, have their own way of talking to the disk vendors. And each disk vendor has their way of talking to the ISVs. So, if you are an ISV that plans to support server-free backup, there’s no single API for you to write to. So, generally, an ISV has to decide which of the OEMs they are going to support. Most start with the obvious two or three and then the others as the market dictates. While its really important for the people that need it, the people that need it are definitely in the minority. The market share for server-free backup is relatively small compared to the general backup market. This kind of thing doesn’t tend to drive standards. Are there any alternatives to server-free backup that address the same problems? If you asked this question five years ago, I would say no. It was the only way to do large server backups. However, the advent of continuous data protection (CDP) and near-CDP has created real alternatives to
