Yosemite Server Backup operates within an existing network to back up user, application, and system data on client machines to storage devices in a backup domain. A backup domain consists of a single master server (acting as backup manager or storage controller) and one or more client computers. The master server hosts a specialized database used to coordinate backup and restore operations. The backup domain can be administered from any machine installed with Yosemite Server Backup.
A backup device is a disk or tape drive attached to any machine in the backup domain or to the network on which the backup domain resides. A media server is a client machine to which a backup device (such as an optical or tape drive) is attached. Any machine in the backup domain can act as a media server. The media server writes data to the target media during backup operations and reads backed up data from the media during restore jobs. Backup devices attached to the media server can be shared by all the machines in the same backup domain.
All resources in a backup domain can be accessed by all members of the backup domain and centrally managed from the Yosemite Server Backup Administrator interface, which can be run from any machine in the domain. Each file server, application server, user PC, and attached peripherals such as backup devices can be a member of only one backup domain.