LAN-Free backup in the Enterprise removes the Application server from the backup process:
The master backup server sends a list of files or records across the LAN to the backup client. The backup client translates the list into block addresses and sends the block addresses to the media server. The media server is resident in either a mount host or could be a server split out from an application cluster for the duration of the backup window. The media server then initiates a copy of the disk blocks to tape.
The media server, however, needs to have access to a consistent usable copy of data. So for this function to work this way it will actually be supported in conjunction with things like sub-system based snapshots, sub-system based split mirrors or staged type data.