A system for providing secondary data storage and recovery services for one or more networked host nodes has a server application for facilitating data backup and recovery services; at least one client application for facilitating host node configuration to receive services; a secondary data storage medium; and at least one mechanism for passive acquisition of data from the one or more host nodes for storage into the secondary data storage medium by the server application. In a preferred embodiment secondary storage is streamlined through continuous data backup and enhanced by elimination of redundant write data.