Acronis Backup for Windows Server Essentials - User Guide - Manual (Page 346)

346 Copyright © Acronis International GmbH, 2002-2014
This section also provides information on configuring communication settings, selecting a network
port for communication, and managing security certificates.
15.1.3.1 Secure communication
Acronis Backup provides the capability to secure the data transferred between its components within
a local area network and through a perimeter network (also known as demilitarized zone, DMZ).
There are two mechanisms which ensure secure communication between Acronis Backup
components:

Secure authentication provides secure transfer of certificates needed to establish a connection,
by using the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol.

Encrypted communication provides secure transfer of information between any two
components—for example, between Acronis Backup Agent and Acronis Backup Storage
Node—by encrypting the data being transferred.
For instructions on how to set up secure authentication and data encryption settings, see Configuring
communication options (p. 347).
For instructions on how to manage SSL certificates used for secure authentication, see SSL
certificates (p. 348).
Note: The components of earlier Acronis products, including those of the Acronis True Image Echo family,
cannot connect to the Acronis Backup components, regardless of the secure authentication and data encryption
settings.
15.1.3.2 Client and server applications
There are two stakeholders of the secure communication process:

Client application, or client, is an application that tries to establish connection.

Server application, or server, is an application to which the client tries to connect.
For example, if Acronis Backup Management Console is connecting to Acronis Backup Agent on a
remote machine, the former is the client and the latter is the server.
An Acronis component can act as a client application, a server application, or both, as shown in the
following table.
Component name Can be
client Can be
server
Acronis Backup Management Console Yes No
Acronis Backup Agent Yes Yes
Acronis Backup Management Server Yes Yes
Acronis Backup Storage Node Yes Yes
Acronis PXE Server No Yes
Acronis Backup Bootable Agent Yes Yes