| Open Group Technical Standard |
|---|
| Systems Management: Backup Services API (XBSA) |
| Document Number: C425 |
| ISBN: 1-85912-056-3 |
©April 1998, The Open Group All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owners.
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The Open Group is the leading vendor-neutral, international consortium for buyers and suppliers of technology. Its mission is to cause the development of a viable global information infrastructure that is ubiquitous, trusted, reliable, and as easy-to-use as the telephone. The essential functionality embedded in this infrastructure is what we term the IT DialTone. The Open Group creates an environment where all elements involved in technology development can cooperate to deliver less costly and more flexible IT solutions.
Formed in 1996 by the merger of the X/Open Company Ltd. (founded in 1984) and the Open Software Foundation (founded in 1988), The Open Group is supported by most of the world's largest user organizations, information systems vendors, and software suppliers. By combining the strengths of open systems specifications and a proven branding scheme with collaborative technology development and advanced research, The Open Group is well positioned to meet its new mission, as well as to assist user organizations, vendors, and suppliers in the development and implementation of products supporting the adoption and proliferation of systems which conform to standard specifications.
With more than 200 member companies, The Open Group helps the IT industry to advance technologically while managing the change caused by innovation. It does this by:
The Open Group operates in all phases of the open systems technology lifecycle including innovation, market adoption, product development, and proliferation. Presently, it focuses on seven strategic areas: open systems application platform development, architecture, distributed systems management, interoperability, distributed computing environment, security, and the information superhighway. The Open Group is also responsible for the management of the UNIX trademark on behalf of the industry.
This process includes the identification of requirements for open systems and, now, the IT DialTone, development of Technical Standards (formerly CAE and Preliminary Specifications) through an industry consensus review and adoption procedure (in parallel with formal standards work), and the development of tests and conformance criteria.
This leads to the preparation of a Product Standard which is the name used for the documentation that records the conformance requirements (and other information) to which a vendor may register a product.
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The Open Group publishes a wide range of technical documentation, the main part of which is focused on development of Technical Standards and product documentation, but which also includes Guides, Snapshots, Technical Studies, Branding and Testing documentation, industry surveys, and business titles.
There are several types of specification:
The Open Group Technical Standards form the basis for our Product Standards. These Standards are intended to be used widely within the industry for product development and procurement purposes.
Anyone developing products that implement a Technical Standard can enjoy the benefits of a single, widely supported industry standard. Where appropriate, they can demonstrate product compliance through the Open Brand. Technical Standards are published as soon as they are developed, so enabling vendors to proceed with development of conformant products without delay.
CAE Specifications and Developers' Specifications published prior to
January 1998 have the same status as Technical Standards (see above).
Preliminary Specifications have usually addressed an emerging area of technology and consequently are not yet supported by multiple sources of stable conformant implementations. They are published for the purpose of validation through implementation of products. A Preliminary Specification is as stable as can be achieved, through applying The Open Group's rigorous development and review procedures.
Preliminary Specifications are analogous to the trial-use
standards issued by formal standards organizations, and
developers are encouraged to develop products on the basis
of them. However, experience through implementation work may
result in significant (possibly upwardly incompatible) changes
before its progression to becoming a Technical Standard. While
the intent is to progress Preliminary Specifications to
corresponding Technical Standards, the ability to do so depends
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The Open Group publishes specifications on behalf of industry consortia. For example, it publishes the NMF SPIRIT procurement specifications on behalf of the Network Management Forum. It also publishes Technology Specifications relating to OSF/1, DCE, OSF/Motif, and CDE.
Technology Specifications (formerly AES Specifications) are often candidates for consensus review, and may be adopted as Technical Standards, in which case the relevant Technology Specification is superseded by a Technical Standard.
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This includes product documentation-programmer's guides, user manuals, and so on-relating to the Pre-structured Technology Projects (PSTs), such as DCE and CDE. It also includes the Single UNIX Documentation, designed for use as common product documentation for the whole industry.
These provide information that is useful in the evaluation, procurement, development, or management of open systems, particularly those that relate to the Technical Standards or Preliminary Specifications. The Open Group Guides are advisory, not normative, and should not be referenced for purposes of specifying or claiming conformance to a Product Standard.
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As with all live documents, Technical Standards and Specifications require revision to align with new developments and associated international standards. To distinguish between revised specifications which are fully backwards compatible and those which are not:
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The focus of this API is on defining backup services for data movement, as opposed to management, with an emphasis on retaining programming flexibility so as to ensure broad applicability. The programming model used aligns with the widely accepted open/read-write/close model.
Background information is included, which is intended to be of particular value to end users and vendors, covering the use of this API, and consideration of the wider issues involved in backup, archive, and restore operations.
A Glossary and Index are also provided.
Motif,® OSF/1,® UNIX,® and the "X Device"® are registered trademarks and IT DialToneTM; and The Open GroupTM; are trademarks of The Open Group in the U.S. and other countries.
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