A LAN-free backup is a backup

Backup

In information technology, a backup or the process of backing up is making copies of data which may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form is back up in two words, whereas the noun is backup....

 of server data to a shared, central storage device

Storage device

Storage device may refer to:*Box, or any of a variety of containers or receptacles*Data storage device, a device for recording information, which could range from handwriting to video or acoustic recording, or to electromagnetic energy modulating magnetic tape and optical discs* Object storage...

 without sending the data over the local area network

Local area network

A local area network is a computer network that interconnects computers in a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, or office building...

 (LAN). It is usually achieved by using a storage area network

Storage area network

A storage area network is a dedicated network that provides access to consolidated, block level data storage. SANs are primarily used to make storage devices, such as disk arrays, tape libraries, and optical jukeboxes, accessible to servers so that the devices appear like locally attached devices...

 (SAN).

Note that trivial backup to a dedicated, unshared storage device (such as local tape drive

Tape drive

A tape drive is a data storage device that reads and performs digital recording, writes data on a magnetic tape. Magnetic tape data storage is typically used for offline, archival data storage. Tape media generally has a favorable unit cost and long archival stability.A tape drive provides...

) does not meet the definition.

Technical aspects

The goal of LAN-free backup is to reduce the load on LAN and reduce the time it takes to complete the backup. It offers an alternative way of backup than a simple data copy to network-attached storage

Network-attached storage

Network-attached storage is file-level computer data storage connected to a computer network providing data access to heterogeneous clients. NAS not only operates as a file server, but is specialized for this task either by its hardware, software, or configuration of those elements...

 (NAS) over LAN.

It comes in different flavours:

• with backup server: in addition to a shared storage device (usually a traditional tape library
  Tape library
  In computer storage, a tape library, sometimes called a tape silo, tape robot or tape jukebox, is a storage device which contains one or more tape drives, a number of slots to hold tape cartridges, a barcode reader to identify tape cartridges and an automated method for loading tapes...
  
  ), there exists a central server arbitrating access to device (for all the other SAN servers). The central server however, does not handle data stream itself.
• without backup server: the storage facility (usually a virtual tape library
  Virtual Tape Library
  A virtual tape library is a data storage virtualization technology used typically for backup and recovery purposes. A VTL presents a storage component as tape libraries or tape drives for use with existing backup software.Virtualizing the disk storage as tape allows integration of VTLs with...
  
  , or VTL) is smart enough to handle multiple data accesses without intermediate component.

See also

• Data Backup
  Backup
  In information technology, a backup or the process of backing up is making copies of data which may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form is back up in two words, whereas the noun is backup....
  
  
• Storage area network
  Storage area network
  A storage area network is a dedicated network that provides access to consolidated, block level data storage. SANs are primarily used to make storage devices, such as disk arrays, tape libraries, and optical jukeboxes, accessible to servers so that the devices appear like locally attached devices...
  
  
• Network attached storage
• Fiber channel technology