Data Protection

Backup & Restore

Complete guide to backup strategies and data recovery for your VPS. Learn automated backups, disaster recovery, and data protection best practices.

Prerequisites

Root or sudo access to your VPS
Sufficient storage space for backups
Understanding of your data structure
Backup destination (local, remote, or cloud)
Basic knowledge of compression tools

Backup Fundamentals

Regular backups are crucial for data protection and disaster recovery. Understanding backup types and strategies helps ensure your data remains safe and recoverable.

3-2-1 Backup Rule:

3 copies of your data
2 different media types
1 offsite copy

# Check available disk space for backups
df -h
du -sh /var/www/*  # Check web directory sizes
du -sh /home/*     # Check user directories

# Create backup directory structure
sudo mkdir -p /backups/{daily,weekly,monthly}
sudo chown root:root /backups
sudo chmod 755 /backups

Database Backups

Database backups require special attention as they contain dynamic data. Different database systems have different backup methods and considerations.

Backup Types:

Logical backups - SQL dumps (slower, smaller)
Physical backups - File system copies (faster, larger)
Incremental backups - Only changed data
Differential backups - All changes since last full backup

# MySQL/MariaDB backup
mysqldump -u root -p --all-databases > all_databases.sql
mysqldump -u root -p mydatabase > mydatabase.sql

# PostgreSQL backup
pg_dump -U postgres -h localhost mydatabase > mydatabase.sql
pg_dumpall -U postgres > all_databases.sql

# MongoDB backup
mongodump --db mydatabase --out /backups/mongodb
mongodump --out /backups/mongodb_all  # All databases

# Redis backup (if using RDB persistence)
redis-cli save
cp /var/lib/redis/dump.rdb /backups/redis/dump.rdb

# Compress database backups
gzip all_databases.sql
tar -czf databases_backup.tar.gz /backups/databases/

File System Backups

File system backups protect configuration files, user data, and application files. Use tools like tar, rsync, or specialized backup software.

Common Backup Targets:

/etc - System configuration
/home - User data and configurations
/var/www - Web applications
/opt - Custom applications
/var/lib - Application data

# Create system configuration backup
sudo tar -czf /backups/system_config.tar.gz /etc

# Backup user directories
sudo tar -czf /backups/home_backup.tar.gz /home

# Backup web applications
sudo tar -czf /backups/web_backup.tar.gz /var/www

# Backup specific directories with exclusions
sudo tar -czf /backups/wordpress_backup.tar.gz \
  --exclude='wp-content/cache' \
  --exclude='wp-content/uploads/cache' \
  /var/www/wordpress

# Use rsync for efficient incremental backups
sudo rsync -avz --delete /var/www/ /backups/web_mirror/

# Backup with timestamps
TIMESTAMP=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)
sudo tar -czf /backups/backup_$TIMESTAMP.tar.gz /important/data/

Automated Backup Solutions

Automated backups ensure consistency and reduce the risk of human error. Several tools can help automate the backup process.

Popular Automation Tools:

cron - Simple scheduling
rsync - Efficient file synchronization
Bacula - Enterprise backup solution
Duplicati - Encrypted cloud backups
restic - Modern backup program

# Create automated backup script
sudo nano /usr/local/bin/backup.sh

#!/bin/bash
# Automated backup script

BACKUP_DIR="/backups"
TIMESTAMP=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)
LOG_FILE="/var/log/backup.log"

# Function to log messages
log() {
    echo "$(date): $1" >> $LOG_FILE
}

log "Starting backup process"

# Database backup
mysqldump -u root -p --all-databases > $BACKUP_DIR/db_$TIMESTAMP.sql
log "Database backup completed"

# File system backup
tar -czf $BACKUP_DIR/files_$TIMESTAMP.tar.gz /var/www /home
log "File system backup completed"

# Clean old backups (keep last 7 days)
find $BACKUP_DIR -name "*.sql" -mtime +7 -delete
find $BACKUP_DIR -name "*.tar.gz" -mtime +7 -delete
log "Old backups cleaned"

log "Backup process completed"

# Schedule with cron
sudo crontab -e

# Add this line for daily backups at 2 AM
0 2 * * * /usr/local/bin/backup.sh

Cloud Storage Integration

Offsite backups provide additional protection against local disasters. Cloud storage services offer reliable and scalable backup solutions.

Cloud Backup Options:

AWS S3 - Scalable object storage
Google Cloud Storage - Global CDN
Azure Blob Storage - Enterprise-grade storage
DigitalOcean Spaces - S3-compatible storage
rsync.net/Bacula - Specialized backup services

# AWS S3 backup setup
# Install AWS CLI
sudo apt install awscli -y

# Configure AWS credentials
aws configure

# Upload backup to S3
aws s3 cp /backups/backup.tar.gz s3://my-backup-bucket/

# Sync directory to S3
aws s3 sync /backups/ s3://my-backup-bucket/ --delete

# Rclone for multiple cloud providers
sudo apt install rclone -y

# Configure rclone
rclone config

# Copy to cloud storage
rclone copy /backups/ remote:backup-folder

# Mount cloud storage (if needed)
rclone mount remote:backup-folder /mnt/cloud-backup/

# Automated cloud backup script
#!/bin/bash
BACKUP_FILE="/backups/backup_$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz"
aws s3 cp $BACKUP_FILE s3://my-backup-bucket/daily/
echo "Backup uploaded to S3: $BACKUP_FILE"

Restore Procedures

Having backups is only half the solution - you need reliable restore procedures. Test your restore process regularly to ensure it works when needed.

Restore Best Practices:

Test restore procedures regularly
Have a restore checklist
Document the restore process
Keep restore tools ready
Practice disaster recovery scenarios

# Database restore examples

# MySQL/MariaDB restore
mysql -u root -p < all_databases.sql
mysql -u root -p mydatabase < mydatabase.sql

# PostgreSQL restore
psql -U postgres -d mydatabase < mydatabase.sql
psql -U postgres < all_databases.sql

# MongoDB restore
mongorestore --db mydatabase /backups/mongodb/mydatabase
mongorestore /backups/mongodb_all

# File system restore
tar -xzf backup.tar.gz -C /

# Selective restore
tar -xzf backup.tar.gz -C / --wildcards "*/important-file.txt"

# Verify restore integrity
# For databases
mysql -u root -p -e "SHOW DATABASES;"
psql -U postgres -l

# For files
ls -la /restored/directory/
du -sh /restored/directory/

Backup Monitoring & Maintenance

Monitor your backup processes to ensure they're running correctly and your data is being backed up as expected.

Monitoring Tasks:

Check backup completion status
Verify backup integrity
Monitor storage usage
Test restore procedures
Review backup logs regularly

# Check backup script logs
tail -f /var/log/backup.log

# Verify backup files exist and are recent
ls -la /backups/
find /backups/ -name "*.tar.gz" -mtime -1  # Files from last 24 hours

# Check backup file integrity
tar -tzf /backups/backup.tar.gz > /dev/null && echo "Backup is valid"

# Monitor disk space for backups
df -h /backups

# Setup backup monitoring with cron
# Add to crontab for monitoring alerts
*/30 * * * * /usr/local/bin/check_backup.sh

# Backup monitoring script
#!/bin/bash
BACKUP_DIR="/backups"
LOG_FILE="/var/log/backup_monitor.log"
ADMIN_EMAIL="admin@example.com"

# Check if recent backup exists
if [ $(find $BACKUP_DIR -name "*.tar.gz" -mtime -1 | wc -l) -eq 0 ]; then
    echo "$(date): No recent backup found!" >> $LOG_FILE
    # Send alert email
    echo "Backup Alert: No recent backup found on $(hostname)" | mail -s "Backup Alert" $ADMIN_EMAIL
fi

echo "$(date): Backup check completed" >> $LOG_FILE

Contents

Related Docs

Database Setup

Set up databases with proper backup configurations

Security Hardening

Secure your backup storage and processes

Monitoring Tools

Monitor backup processes and storage

Need Help?

Can't find what you're looking for? Our support team is here to help.

# Check available disk space for backups df -h du -sh /var/www/* # Check web directory sizes du -sh /home/* # Check user directories # Create backup directory structure sudo mkdir -p /backups/{daily,weekly,monthly} sudo chown root:root /backups sudo chmod 755 /backups

# MySQL/MariaDB backup mysqldump -u root -p --all-databases > all_databases.sql mysqldump -u root -p mydatabase > mydatabase.sql # PostgreSQL backup pg_dump -U postgres -h localhost mydatabase > mydatabase.sql pg_dumpall -U postgres > all_databases.sql # MongoDB backup mongodump --db mydatabase --out /backups/mongodb mongodump --out /backups/mongodb_all # All databases # Redis backup (if using RDB persistence) redis-cli save cp /var/lib/redis/dump.rdb /backups/redis/dump.rdb # Compress database backups gzip all_databases.sql tar -czf databases_backup.tar.gz /backups/databases/

# Create system configuration backup sudo tar -czf /backups/system_config.tar.gz /etc # Backup user directories sudo tar -czf /backups/home_backup.tar.gz /home # Backup web applications sudo tar -czf /backups/web_backup.tar.gz /var/www # Backup specific directories with exclusions sudo tar -czf /backups/wordpress_backup.tar.gz \ --exclude='wp-content/cache' \ --exclude='wp-content/uploads/cache' \ /var/www/wordpress # Use rsync for efficient incremental backups sudo rsync -avz --delete /var/www/ /backups/web_mirror/ # Backup with timestamps TIMESTAMP=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S) sudo tar -czf /backups/backup_$TIMESTAMP.tar.gz /important/data/

# Create automated backup script sudo nano /usr/local/bin/backup.sh #!/bin/bash # Automated backup script BACKUP_DIR="/backups" TIMESTAMP=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S) LOG_FILE="/var/log/backup.log" # Function to log messages log() { echo "$(date): $1" >> $LOG_FILE } log "Starting backup process" # Database backup mysqldump -u root -p --all-databases > $BACKUP_DIR/db_$TIMESTAMP.sql log "Database backup completed" # File system backup tar -czf $BACKUP_DIR/files_$TIMESTAMP.tar.gz /var/www /home log "File system backup completed" # Clean old backups (keep last 7 days) find $BACKUP_DIR -name "*.sql" -mtime +7 -delete find $BACKUP_DIR -name "*.tar.gz" -mtime +7 -delete log "Old backups cleaned" log "Backup process completed" # Schedule with cron sudo crontab -e # Add this line for daily backups at 2 AM 0 2 * * * /usr/local/bin/backup.sh

# AWS S3 backup setup # Install AWS CLI sudo apt install awscli -y # Configure AWS credentials aws configure # Upload backup to S3 aws s3 cp /backups/backup.tar.gz s3://my-backup-bucket/ # Sync directory to S3 aws s3 sync /backups/ s3://my-backup-bucket/ --delete # Rclone for multiple cloud providers sudo apt install rclone -y # Configure rclone rclone config # Copy to cloud storage rclone copy /backups/ remote:backup-folder # Mount cloud storage (if needed) rclone mount remote:backup-folder /mnt/cloud-backup/ # Automated cloud backup script #!/bin/bash BACKUP_FILE="/backups/backup_$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz" aws s3 cp $BACKUP_FILE s3://my-backup-bucket/daily/ echo "Backup uploaded to S3: $BACKUP_FILE"

# Database restore examples # MySQL/MariaDB restore mysql -u root -p < all_databases.sql mysql -u root -p mydatabase < mydatabase.sql # PostgreSQL restore psql -U postgres -d mydatabase < mydatabase.sql psql -U postgres < all_databases.sql # MongoDB restore mongorestore --db mydatabase /backups/mongodb/mydatabase mongorestore /backups/mongodb_all # File system restore tar -xzf backup.tar.gz -C / # Selective restore tar -xzf backup.tar.gz -C / --wildcards "*/important-file.txt" # Verify restore integrity # For databases mysql -u root -p -e "SHOW DATABASES;" psql -U postgres -l # For files ls -la /restored/directory/ du -sh /restored/directory/

# Check backup script logs tail -f /var/log/backup.log # Verify backup files exist and are recent ls -la /backups/ find /backups/ -name "*.tar.gz" -mtime -1 # Files from last 24 hours # Check backup file integrity tar -tzf /backups/backup.tar.gz > /dev/null && echo "Backup is valid" # Monitor disk space for backups df -h /backups # Setup backup monitoring with cron # Add to crontab for monitoring alerts */30 * * * * /usr/local/bin/check_backup.sh # Backup monitoring script #!/bin/bash BACKUP_DIR="/backups" LOG_FILE="/var/log/backup_monitor.log" ADMIN_EMAIL="admin@example.com" # Check if recent backup exists if [ $(find $BACKUP_DIR -name "*.tar.gz" -mtime -1 | wc -l) -eq 0 ]; then echo "$(date): No recent backup found!" >> $LOG_FILE # Send alert email echo "Backup Alert: No recent backup found on $(hostname)" | mail -s "Backup Alert" $ADMIN_EMAIL fi echo "$(date): Backup check completed" >> $LOG_FILE