Backup Client

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What Does Backup Client Mean?

A backup client is the source computer or node within a backup process that contains the data to be backed up on a destination storage server/location. A backup client is generally the end user’s computer or server in a network enabled backup environment.

Backup client can also be referred to the client-end backup software.

Techopedia Explains Backup Client

The notion of a backup client is derived from the client/server architecture, where a client requests and is dependent on the server for any specific service. Similarly, the backup client communicates with a backup server to complete the backup process. Typically, a backup client can be a computer, server, networking hardware or a virtual machine. Usually, to initiate and execute a backup process, the backup client requires client-end backup software, which communicates with the backup server software or the backup server itself. The individual user/administrator can configure the backup client to select the type, location and schedule of data to be backed up.

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Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert

Margaret is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.