StoreGrid Deployment Modes

Vembu StoreGrid can be installed in one of the four modes: Client Only, Server Only, Client-Server and Replication Server (this option is not available in the Free Edition). You can install StoreGrid in any of these four modes on any operating system (Windows, Linux, Mac, FreeBSD). During installation, you will be prompted to select one of these modes, unless of course, you're using a client only build in the Service Provider Edition.

Client Only mode

In this mode, StoreGrid can back up data to other StoreGrid Servers but is not allowed to receive data from other StoreGrid Clients. When installed in this mode, the User Interface automatically disables 'Server Only' related modules.

Server Only Mode

In this mode, StoreGrid can receive backup data from other StoreGrid Clients but is not allowed to back up data to other StoreGrid Servers.
When installed in this mode, the User Interface automatically disables 'Client Only' related modules

Client-Server Mode

In this mode, StoreGrid can back up data to other StoreGrid Servers and also receive backup data from other StoreGrid Clients. In fact, StoreGrid can even execute a backup within the same computer. This is especially relevant if you wish to use StoreGrid to back up to an external drive.
This is the recommended mode for a true Peer to Peer deployment of StoreGrid

Replication Server Mode

This mode is similar to the 'Server Only' mode wherein StoreGrid can only receive data. However, in this case (when in replication server mode), StoreGrid can receive data only from another StoreGrid server (or multiple StoreGrid servers) that have been configured to replicate their data to the replication server. With this functionality, if a StoreGrid Client has been backing up to a StoreGrid Server that has been replicating its data to a StoreGrid Replication Server, then the client can also restore data from the replication server if required. However, StoreGrid Clients cannot directly back up to a StoreGrid Replication Server.
For more details on server replication, please see the page on StoreGrid Server Replication in the "Server Administration" section of the help documentation.