Cloud Glossary

Access key is the AWS equivalent of a username, the security access key is the equivalent of a password.

The AWS account ID is a 12-digit number that you use to construct Amazon Resource Names (ARNs).

To get Application-Consistent snapshots on Windows devices you need to install the N2WS Thin Agent.

Amazon EC2 is a web service that allows you to launch + manage Linux/UNIX and Windows instances.

Amazon EFS provides simple, scalable file storage for use with Amazon EC2 instances on AWS.

Amazon managed service that simplifies the creation and control of encryption keys for data encryption.

Amazon RDS provides cost-efficient, resizable capacity for an industry-standard relational database.

Amazon Redshift is a fully managed, petabyte-scale data warehouse service in the AWS cloud.

You can use S3 to store and retrieve any amount of data, at any time, from anywhere on the web.

Amazon S3 Glacier is a secure, low-cost storage service for data archiving and long-term backup.

S3IA is a lower-cost Amazon S3 storage class for data that is accessed less frequently.

Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS) is a notification service provided as part of AWS.

An Amazon Machine Image (AMI) is an encrypted machine image stored in Amazon EBS or S3.

Application-Consistent backups freeze operations and include transactions in the backup session.

Objects in AWS have a standardized Amazon Resource Name (ARN) to which they can be referred.

Amazon Aurora is a fully managed MySQL-compatible relational database engine.

Automatically deletes old snapshots based on policy.

A unified downloadable and configurable tool for managing AWS services.

An AWS Region is a separate geographic area that has multiple, isolated Availability Zones.

In N2WS, backups refer to snapshots that are driven by policy and schedule.

In N2WS Backup & Recovery, all operations regarding a backup are present in the Backup Monitor.

A form of storage that emulates the behavior of a traditional block device, such as a hard drive.

Amazon CloudWatch is a service that enables you to monitor and manage various metrics.

A container image is a stand-alone, executable package available for Linux and Windows apps.

A disaster recovery (DR) solution allows you to recover your data and servers in case of a disaster.

Amazon DynamoDB is a fast, scalable NoSQL database that can handle 10 trillion+ requests daily.

Amazon EBS provides persistent block storage volumes for use with Amazon EC2 instances.

Encryption is the process of converting data to an unrecognizable or “encrypted” form.

File-level restore allows you to recover a single file or folder rather than an entire volume/instance.

If you wish to keep a backup indefinitely and make sure it is not deleted, you can move it to the freezer.

IAM is a web service that enables AWS customers to manage users and user permissions within AWS.

An “instance” is the general name for a copy of an AMI running as a virtual service in the AWS cloud.

JSON is a common, open-standard file format that uses human-readable text to transmit data objects.

Users who can log in and manage their backup environment but the root/admin can also do it for them.

Persistent Data refers to information that is infrequently accessed and not likely to be modified.

A policy typically allows access to specific actions and can limit those actions to specific resources.

Policies in N2WS are the main objects defining backups including what to backup and how to back it up.

A private key is code that is paired with a public key to set off algorithms for text encryption/decryption.

To quiesce in AWS means to pause or to achieve a consistent state, usually in preparation for a backup.

N2WS can offer rapid recovery of instances, volumes, databases, as well as individual files and folders.

The Recovery Monitor tab in your N2WS dashboard will contain records for all recovery operations.

The Reports tab in your N2WS dashboard will contain records for all recovery operations.

Recovery Point Objective (RPO) is determined by the amount of time between data protection events.

Recovery Time Objective (RTO) is the duration of time within which a process must be restored.

Schedules in N2WS are the objects defining when to perform backup and are separate from policies.

You can use Pre/Post backup scripts so that you don’t have to use an agent for Linux instances.

Secret Keys are saved in the database in an encrypted format as an extra safety measure.

A snapshot is a backup of your volumes that is stored to protect your data for long-term durability.

A Snapshot Vault is created when you combine cross-account and cross-region backup.

Secure Socket Shell (SSH) is a network protocol to securely access a remote computer.

SSL Certificates are small data files that digitally bind a cryptographic key to an organization’s details.

In N2WS Backup & Recovery, you can use tags to automatically find and back up AWS resources.

Amazon Virtual Private Cloud enables you to launch AWS resources into a virtual network.

A volume is a fixed amount of storage on an instance.

VSS operates at the block level and enables virtual server backup in Microsoft environments.