Plakar Encrypted Backup Appliance

This is a repackaged open source software product wherein additional charges apply for cloudimg support services.

## Backups You Can Prove You Can Restore

Plakar is an open source backup engine that creates versioned, encrypted, deduplicated snapshots in a content addressed Kloset store. Identical data is stored exactly once regardless of how many snapshots reference it, so long retention histories cost a fraction of repeated full backups. Every snapshot is independently restorable and integrity checkable, and the built in web interface lets you browse snapshots, compare revisions, and restore files without touching the command line.

## Who This Is For

• Infrastructure teams running scheduled server and application backups who need long retention without paying for it in storage
• Security and compliance teams who require that the encryption key never leaves the customer's instance and that no vendor can decrypt the archive
• Operations teams running disaster recovery drills who need a restore that can be proven byte for byte rather than assumed

## Application Stack

• Plakar 1.1.4 installed from the official upstream release binary, checksum verified against the upstream manifest
• nginx reverse proxy on port 80; the Plakar server binds to loopback only and is never exposed directly
• Encrypted Kloset repository on a dedicated EBS volume, independently resizable and separate from the OS disk
• A hardened, fully patched Linux base with plakar-ui and nginx as enabled systemd units

## Zero Shared Secrets, Per Instance Key Generation

A backup appliance that shipped one passphrase for every customer would let anyone holding the image read anyone else's backups. This image ships nothing cryptographic at all:

• The repository encryption passphrase is generated uniquely on first boot of every instance
• The web interface API token is generated uniquely on first boot of every instance
• The repository is created fresh on first boot, not at build time
• Both secrets are written to a root only file, and the build verifies no key material survives image capture
• The API rejects unauthenticated requests and wrong tokens

Because the passphrase never leaves the instance, cloudimg cannot decrypt your backups and cannot recover the passphrase for you. Store it somewhere safe on first launch.

## Shipped Self Test Proves End To End Integrity

The image includes a self test at /usr/local/sbin/plakar-selftest. It writes a known dataset, backs it up into the real encrypted repository, restores it to a different path, and compares every restored file by sha256. It then runs a full integrity check and exercises four negative controls: a wrong passphrase must not open the repository, a bogus snapshot ID must not restore, an unauthenticated API call must be refused, and a wrong token must be refused. Run it any time to confirm the appliance genuinely backs up and genuinely restores.

## Getting Started

1. Launch the AMI on an m5.large or larger, opening ports 22 and 80 in the security group

2. SSH in and run: sudo cat /root/plakar-credentials.txt

3. Record the repository passphrase somewhere safe, then open the web interface link shown in that file

4. Point Plakar at the directories you want protected and take your first snapshot

5. Run sudo /usr/local/sbin/plakar-selftest to confirm backup and restore end to end

## Recommended Sizing

• Compute: m5.large (2 vCPU, 8 GB RAM) for routine server and application backup workloads
• Storage: repository on its own EBS volume, sized to your retention needs; deduplication keeps costs far below repeated full backups
• Networking: port 22 for SSH, port 80 for the web interface

## Evaluate Before You Commit

Launch the AMI, run the self test, and take a test snapshot to validate the backup and restore cycle in your own environment. For pre-purchase deployment questions, email support@cloudimg.co.uk.

## 24/7 cloudimg Support

Every deployment is backed by cloudimg engineers available around the clock by email. Support covers deployment guidance, instance sizing, repository and volume layout, scheduling backups, restore and integrity check procedures, TLS termination, and Plakar version upgrades.

Plakar is open source under the ISC licence with no licence fee. The cloudimg charge covers packaging, security patching, image maintenance, and 24/7 support. Plakar is a trademark of its respective owner; cloudimg is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Plakar project.