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Backup Configuration

Valid for versions 108 through the latest version

Version:

108

Last modified: 2025 February 25

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Note:

Your hosting provider can enable or disable this interface for resellers in WHM's Edit Reseller Nameservers and Privileges interface (WHM >> Home >> Resellers >> Edit Reseller Nameservers and Privileges).

Overview

The Backup Configuration interface allows system administrators to customize their scheduled backups.

Note:

The system applies the current Backup Configuration settings to accounts that you create or transfer.

The Backup Settings tab

Use the Backup Settings tab to enable and set up your backup configuration.

Backup Status

Select Enable Backups to enable system-scheduled backups of your WHM account files, including cPanel user account files that you select. This setting is disabled by default.

Backup Status and restoration interfaces

When you have taken at least one backup on your local disk and created at least one metadata entry, the following cPanel & WHM interfaces will appear:

When you deselect the Enable Backups checkbox, you disable these interfaces.

For more information about this interaction and how scheduled backups create metadata, read our How to Manage Metadata Settings documentation.

Global Settings

You can configure the following global backup settings for your WHM account in the Backup Settings tab:

Backup Type

Select one of the following Backup Type settings to determine how the system stores backup files:

Setting Effect Notes
Compressed Select this setting to save all of your information in a compressed format. This setting uses less disk space but requires more time to finish a backup.
Uncompressed Select this setting to save all of your information in an uncompressed format. This setting uses more disk space but runs faster than Compressed backups.
Incremental Select this setting to save all of your files in the directory tree. This setting uses a combination of hard links and files for speed and to save disk space.

You can also configure the following additional settings:

Setting Effect Notes
Check the Available Disk Space Select this checkbox to enable the system to check whether the server contains the minimum free disk space available to create local backups. The system enables this setting by default, though you can also configure it yourself.

To do so, enter the minimum amount of free disk space you want the system to check for before to performing a scheduled backup in the setting’s text box. Then, select % to let the amount represent a percent of available disk space, or MB to let the amount represent a quantity of megabytes. For example, to require the backup system to check if there is more than 500 MB of disk space available before performing a backup, enter 500 and select MB.
Warning:
  • If the server runs out of free disk space, critical services may no longer function until you create more available space.
  • If you do not select this setting, the server will run backups regardless of the amount of free disk space available.
Maximum Destination Backup Timeout Enter the maximum number of seconds to allow a backup process to upload a single backup file to a destination. Ensure that the number of seconds that you enter will provide enough time for the system to upload your largest backup file.
Maximum Backup Restoration Timeout Enter the maximum number of seconds to allow a backup process to restore a single backup file. Ensure that the number of seconds that you enter will provide enough time for the system to restore your largest backup file.

Scheduling and Retention

The Scheduling and Retention settings allow you to specify when to run the backup process. You can run backups on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, or any combination thereof. Select the checkboxes that correspond to the timing settings that you wish to use.

You must select at least one of the following settings in the Backup Settings tab:

Setting Effect Further configuration
Daily Backup Your system creates a new backup on each of the days of the week that you select. Select which days to run backups, then configure retention settings when they appear.
Weekly Backup Your system creates a new backup once each week on the day that you select. Select which days of the week to run backups, then configure retention settings when they appear.
Monthly Backup Your system creates a new backup either once or twice per month, on the first and/or 15th day of each month. Select the days to run backups, then configure retention settings when they appear.
Note:

If you run daily and monthly backups on the same day, the daily backup runs first. When the daily backup completes, the monthly backup copies the daily backup.

Retention settings

When you configure your scheduling settings, you must also configure your retention settings as well. These settings determine how long the system keeps your backups. You can configure the following settings for daily, weekly, and monthly backup files:

In the Retention text box, enter the maximum number of daily, weekly, or monthly backup files to store on your system at any given time. The system stores these backups after a backup completes successfully. Enter any number between 1 and 9999.

To remove successful and unsuccessful backups when the number of backup files exceeds the Retention number, select the Strictly enforce retention, regardless of backup success checkbox. The system will remove all backups that are over the number you set in the daily, weekly, or monthly Retention text box.

For more information, read our Backup Retention Behavior documentation.

Files

Warning:
  • Although you do not need to back up your system files to back up account data, we strongly recommend that you back up your system files.
  • The backup process for an account near or over its quota may fail because the system cannot write necessary files, such as a database lock file.

The Files settings allow you to configure which information you wish to back up. You can use the checkboxes to enable or disable your preferred settings, though you must select the Back up User Accounts checkbox and/or the Back up System Files checkbox in order to run backups. The following settings are available:

Setting Effect
Back up User Accounts Select the Back up User Accounts checkbox to create backups for cPanel accounts.

Click Select Users to select individual cPanel accounts to back up. This action opens the Backup User Selection interface (WHM » Home » Backup » Backup User Selection).
Back up Suspended Accounts Select the checkbox to back up suspended accounts.
Warning:
Back up Access Logs Select the checkbox to back up your server’s access logs and the /usr/local/apache/domlogs file.
Back up Bandwidth Data Select the checkbox to back up your server’s bandwidth data.
Use Local DNS Select the method to back up the Domain Name System (DNS) information:
  • Deselect the checkbox — The system backs up DNS information from the DNS cluster.
  • Select the checkbox — The system backs up DNS information from the server that hosts the domain.
Back up System Files Select the checkbox to back up your server’s system files.
Note:
  • The system stores many of these files in the /etc directory.
  • You must enable this setting for server restoration. For more information, read our System Backups documentation.
  • We strongly recommend that you enable this setting.

Back up SQL Databases

The Back up SQL Databases settings determine how to back up MariaDB® and MySQL® databases, but not PostgreSQL databases.

Setting Effect
Per Account Only Use the mysqldump utility to create backup files with the .sql file extension for each account.
Note:

The Per Account Only setting will only create backups when the Back up User Accounts setting is enabled and only for users enabled in Backup User Selection (WHM » Home » Backup » Backup User Selection). To back up MySQL without backing up cPanel accounts, select the Entire MySQL Directory setting instead.
Entire MySQL Directory Back up all files in the MySQL data directory. This directory is located at /var/lib/mysql/ by default.
Per Account and Entire MySQL Directory Back up all files in the MySQL data directory. This directory is located at /var/lib/mysql/ by default. Use the mysqldump utility to create backup files with the .sql extension for each account.
Warning:
  • Exercise extreme caution if you select the Entire MySQL Directory or Per Account and Entire MySQL Directory options. The system attempts to back up the MySQL directory without stopping MySQL, which may cause InnoDB issues in the backup file. You cannot restore backup files with InnoDB issues.
  • You cannot restore the Entire MySQL Directory backup files through the cPanel & WHM interface. The system administrator must restore these files manually.

PostgreSQL

By default, the system does not back up users’ PostgreSQL databases. You must back up these databases manually.

To manually configure your server to back up users’ PostgreSQL databases, perform the following steps:

  1. Log in to your server as the root user.
  2. On the command line, open the /var/cpanel/backups/config file with your preferred editor.
  3. Locate the PSQLBACKUP setting.
  4. Set the PSQLBACKUP setting to 'yes' instead of 'no'. For example: 
    PSQLBACKUP: 'yes'
  5. Save the changes.

Configure the Backup Directory

Warning:
  • We strongly recommend that you also save your backups to a remote Additional Destinations location.
  • The backup process and the transfer process use separate queues. If each backup completes much faster than each transfer, backup files can accumulate on the server and fill the hard drive.
  • We strongly recommend that you do not perform backups to remote filesystems (for example, NFS, CIFS, smbfs, or other types of network drive systems). While you can back up directly to a remote filesystem, cPanel & WHM does not support this configuration. We strongly recommend that you work with a qualified system administrator to manage this custom backup path and avoid potential risks.
  • We strongly recommend that you use unique filepaths when you store multiple-server backups in a shared filesystem. This action prevents backup file conflicts.
  • To prevent performance degradation, the system automatically disables quotas on non-root filesystems that contain a backup destination.

The following settings allow you to specify where to save your backups in the Backup Settings tab:

Setting Description
Default Backup Directory To change the default backup directory, enter the absolute path to the desired directory location.
By default, the system saves backup files locally to the /backup directory.
Backup Staging Directory To change the backup staging directory path, enter an absolute path to update the backup staging directory.
The system uses the backup staging directory when restoring backups from a remote server. The backup staging directory stores the remote backup’s files and directories during a backup restoration. The system empties the directory after the system restores the backup.
By default, the system stages remote backup files locally in the /backup directory.
  • You cannot use the following paths: 
    1
2
3
4
5
6

     /etc
/dev
/sys
/proc
/run
/boot
  • You cannot use the following paths, but you can use a subdirectory within these paths: 
    1
2
3
4

     /
/home
/var
/usr
  • You cannot use any front slash characters (\) in the path.
  • You cannot use any path which contains two consecutive periods (..).
  • The system restores backups one at a time. The backup staging directory must be large enough to contain the largest remote backup file that you wish to restore. For example, if you wish to restore three backups, sized 1.5 GB, 528 MB, and 950 MB each, your backup staging directory must be able to hold at least 1.5 GB.
Retain Backups in the Default Backup Directory Select this checkbox to retain each account backup in the /backup directory after the backups transfer to another destination.
Warning:

If you do not select the Retain Backups in the Default Backup Directory setting, you will disable WHM’s File and Directory Restoration interface (WHM » Home » Backups » File and Directory Restoration) and hide cPanel’s File and Directory Restoration interface (cPanel » Home » Files » File and Directory Restoration). For more information, read the How to Manage Metadata Settings documentation.


If you do not select this setting, your server deletes account backup files from the /backup directory only after the following events occur:
  • The system successfully transfers the backup file to at least one additional destination.
  • The system attempts, successfully or unsuccessfully, to transfer the backup file to all of your additional destinations.

This setting does not cause the system to remove system backup files, directories, or other files.

You must select at least one destination for your backup. If you do not select the Retain Backups in the Default Backup Directory setting and do not specify a destination in the Additional Destinations section, the system will return the following error: Error: Nowhere to back up: no enabled destinations found and retaining local copies is disabled.
Mount Backup Drive as Needed Select the checkbox to mount a backup drive. This setting requires a separate mount point and causes the Backup Configuration process to check the /etc/fstab file for a backup mount. If a mount exists with the same name as the staging directory, the Backup Configuration process mounts the drive and backs up the information to the mount.
Warning:
  • When you select the checkbox, you will disable WHM’s File and Directory Restoration interface (WHM » Home » Backups » File and Directory Restoration) and hide cPanel’s File and Directory Restoration interface (cPanel » Home » Files » File and Directory Restoration). For more information, read the How to Manage Metadata Settings documentation.
  • If you deselect the checkbox, the Backup Configuration process does not check the /etc/fstab file for a mounted backup drive.

After the backup process finishes, the system dismounts the drive.

The location that you specify in the Default Backup Directory text box must exactly match the mount point in the /etc/fstab file. Otherwise, the backup will fail and the system will log an error similar to the following message: 
 You have enabled BACKUPMOUNT in the
/var/cpanel/backups/config file, but there
is no mount point that matches /mnt/disk/backupMAIN
in the /etc/fstab file.

Save Configuration

After you configure the desired settings in the Backup Settings tab, click Save Configuration at the bottom of the Backup Settings form. To reset all of the settings in the form to the previously saved settings, click Reset.

The Additional Destinations tab

Use the Additional Destinations tab to store your backups in a remote destination.

You must select at least one remote destination for your backup if you do not enable the Retain Backups in the Default Backup Directory setting, or the backup will fail and return the following error: 

Error: Nowhere to back up: no enabled destinations found and retaining local copies is disabled.

We recommend that you both enable this setting and specify a remote destination.

To specify a remote destination, select a destination type from the menu and click Create New Destination. A form for the selected destination type will appear.

Note:
  • Each additional destination transfer will increase the amount of time that the backup process requires. If the process runs too long, it may interfere with the next backup process.
  • If you use the Incremental backup type, you can only use Rsync additional destinations.

Select one of the tabs below to view information for that destination type.

This setting allows you to save backup files to another local filesystem.

Setting Description
Destination Name Required — Enter a destination name for your backup file. This name appears in your destination table.
Transfer System Backups to this Destination Select this checkbox to transfer system backups to this additional destination. To use this setting, you must also select the Back up System Files checkbox in the Backup Settings tab.
Only use this destination for log file transfers Select this checkbox to only transfer log files to the remote destination. Do not select this checkbox if you will use this destination for all backups. If you select this setting, you cannot use this destination for account and/or system backups.
Backup Directory Required — Enter the directory path, relative to the account’s home directory, in which you wish to store backups.
Mount Backup Drive as Needed Select the checkbox to mount a backup drive. This setting requires a separate mount point and causes the Backup Configuration process to check the /etc/fstab file for a backup mount. If a mount exists with the same name as the staging directory, the Backup Configuration process mounts the drive and backs up the information to the mount. After the backup process completes, the system dismounts the drive. If you deselect the checkbox, the Backup Configuration process does not check the /etc/fstab file for a mount.

To use this destination type, you must possess an Amazon S3 account. To create an account, follow the directions in Amazon’s Sign Up for Amazon S3 documentation.

Setting Description
Destination Name Required — Enter a destination name for your backup files. This name appears in your destination table.
Transfer System Backups to this Destination Select this checkbox to transfer system backups to this additional destination. To use this setting, you must also select the Back up System Files checkbox in the Backup Settings tab.
Only use this destination for log file transfers Select this checkbox to only transfer log files to the remote destination. Do not select this checkbox if you will use this destination for all backups. If you select this setting, you cannot use this destination for account and/or system backups.
Folder Enter the name of the directory where you wish to store backups.
Bucket Required — Enter the name of a currently-existing bucket in which you wish to store your backup.
Access Key ID Required — Enter the access key ID in this text box. Your server uses the access key to authenticate with the Amazon S3 account. For more information about access keys for Amazon S3, read Amazon’s Managing Access Keys documentation.
Secret Access Key Required — Enter the secret access key in this text box. For more information about secret access keys for Amazon S3, read Amazon’s Managing Access Keys documentation.
Timeout Required — The maximum amount of time, in seconds, that you want the server to wait for a response from the remote server before it generates errors.
  • You must enter a number between 30 and 300.
  • If the server does not respond before the time expires, it makes two additional attempts to contact the server.
  • If the server does not respond after those attempts, the system administrator receives an email that notes the failed attempts. The system will retry the transfer when it runs the backup process again.

After cPanel & WHM deletes the oldest backup retention in Backblaze B2 remotely, the Backblaze B2 website will not reflect the deletion until five to ten minutes after the action occurs.

Setting Description
Destination Name Required — Enter a destination name for your backup files. This name appears in your destination table.
Transfer System Backups to this Destination Select this checkbox to transfer system backups to this additional destination. To use this setting, you must also select the Back up System Files checkbox in the Backup Settings tab.
Only use this destination for log file transfers Select this checkbox to only transfer log files to the remote destination. Do not select this checkbox if you will use this destination for all backups. If you select this setting, you cannot use this destination for account and/or system backups.
Backup Directory Enter the directory’s path, where you wish to store backups.
Bucket ID Required — Enter the bucket’s identification number. You must first create the bucket through your Backblaze B2 account.
Bucket Name Required — Enter the bucket’s name where you wish to store your backup. You must first create the bucket name through your Backblaze B2 account.
Application Key ID Required — Enter the application key ID in this text box. Your server uses the access key to authenticate with the Backblaze B2 account. You must first generate an application key ID through your Backblaze B2 account.
Application Key Required — Enter the application key in this text box. You must first generate an application key through your Backblaze B2 account.
Timeout Required — The maximum amount of time, in seconds, that you want the server to wait for a response from the remote server before it generates errors.
  • You must enter a number between 30 and 300.
  • If the server does not respond before the time expires, it makes two additional attempts to contact the server.
  • If the server does not respond after those attempts, the system administrator receives an email that notes the failed attempts. The system will retry the transfer when it runs the backup process again.

We strongly recommend that only advanced users create custom backup destinations. We also strongly recommend that you only transfer system backup files over encrypted connections.

Setting Description
Destination Name Required — Enter a destination name for your backup files. This name appears in your destination table.
Transfer System Backups to this Destination Select this checkbox to transfer system backups to this additional destination. To use this setting, you must also select the Back up System Files checkbox in the Backup Settings tab.
Only use this destination for log file transfers Select this checkbox to only transfer log files to the remote destination. Do not select this checkbox if you will use this destination for all backups. If you select this setting, you cannot use this destination for account and/or system backups.
Script Required — Enter your custom transport script’s absolute path. For more information on custom transport scripts, read the How to Create a Custom Transport Script for Backups documentation.
Backup Directory Required — Enter the directory path, relative to the account’s home directory, in which you wish to store backups.
Remote Host Required — Enter the hostname or IP address of the remote server.
  • Do not include http://, https://, a trailing port, or path information.
  • Do not use local hosts or loopback addresses.
Remote Account Username Required — The username of the account on the remote server.
Remote Password Required — The password for the account on the remote server. Unless you specify a new password, your server will use the existing password.
Timeout Required — The maximum amount of time, in seconds, that you want the server to wait for a response from the remote server before it generates errors.
  • You must enter a number between 30 and 300.
    • If the server does not respond before the time expires, it makes two additional attempts to contact the server.
    • If the server does not respond after those attempts, the system administrator receives an email that notes the failed attempts. The system will retry the transfer when it runs the backup process again.
    		•

    • We strongly recommend that you only transfer system backup files over encrypted connections. For example, you could use SFTP instead of FTP.

    • Make certain that your FTP server supports the MLSD (Machine List Directory) or LIST commands. If the FTP server does not support these commands, the backup system cannot use the FTP server as a remote FTP server.

    • Unix-supported FTP servers, such as ProFTP and Pure-FTPd, support these commands.

    • For more information about these commands, read Wikipedia’s List of FTP commands documentation and itef.org’s RCF 3659 documentation.

    • Make certain that any hidden files, or files that begin with a period (.), have write permissions on the FTP server. The backup system can only prune data from files with these permissions.

    • We strongly recommend that you use Pure-FTPd or ProFTPD on remote FTP servers. Unexpected results may occur with some FTP server software.

    • If you use Pure-FTPd, ensure that the DisplayDotFiles yes statement resides in the /etc/pure-ftpd.conf file.

    • If you use ProFTPD, ensure that the Listsettings -a statement resides in the /etc/proftpd.conf file

    • If you use the Very Secure FTP daemon (vsftpd), ensure that you set the force_dot_files setting to yes in the /etc/vsftpd.conf file. For more information about vsftpd, read the vsftpd documentation.

    Setting Description
    Destination Name Required — Enter a destination name for your backup files. This name appears in your destination table.
    Transfer System Backups to this Destination Select this checkbox to transfer system backups to this additional destination. To use this setting, you must also select the Back up System Files checkbox in the Backup Settings tab.
    Only use this destination for log file transfers Select this checkbox to only transfer log files to the remote destination. Do not select this checkbox if you will use this destination for all backups. If you select this setting, you cannot use this destination for account and/or system backups.
    Backup Directory Enter the directory path, relative to the account’s home directory, in which you wish to store backups.
    Remote Host Required — Enter the hostname or IP address of the remote server.
    • Do not include http://, https://, a trailing port, or path information.
    • Do not use local hosts or loopback addresses.
    Port Enter the port to use to communicate with the remote server. By default, FTP destinations use port 21.
    Remote Account Username Required — Enter the username of the account on the remote server.
    Remote Password Required — Enter the password for the account on the remote server.
    Timeout Required — The maximum amount of time, in seconds, that you want the server to wait for a response from the remote server before it generates errors.
    • You must enter a number between 30 and 300.
    • If the server does not respond before the time expires, it makes two additional attempts to contact the server.
    • If the server does not respond after those attempts, the system administrator receives an email that notes the failed attempts. The system will retry the transfer when it runs the backup process again.
    Passive FTP Select whether to use passive FTP. FTP servers behind NAT firewalls require this setting.

    To use this destination type, you must possess a Google Drive account. To create a Google Drive account, visit the Google® Create your Google Account page.

    For more information about how to use Google Drive for backup transfers, read our How to Configure Google Drive as a Backup Additional Destination documentation.

    Setting Description
    Destination Name Required — Enter a destination name for your backup files. This name appears in your destination table.
    Transfer System Backups to this Destination Select this checkbox to transfer system backups to this additional destination. To use this setting, you must also select the Back up System Files checkbox in the Backup Settings tab.
    Only use this destination for log file transfers Select this checkbox to only transfer log files to the remote destination. Do not select this checkbox if you will use this destination for all backups. If you select this setting, you cannot use this destination for account and/or system backups.
    Folder Enter a directory where you would like to store backups, relative to the remote account’s directory root. The system will store backups under this directory in subdirectories which use a date-based naming convention.
    Client ID Required — Enter the client ID for the access credentials.
    Client secret Required — Enter the client secret for the access credentials.
    Generate Credentials Click this button to generate the necessary credentials from your client ID and client secret.
    Timeout Required — The maximum amount of time, in seconds, that you want the server to wait for a response from the remote server before it generates errors.
    • You must enter a number between 30 and 300.
    • If the server does not respond before the time expires, it makes two additional attempts to contact the server.
    • If the server does not respond after those attempts, the system administrator receives an email that notes the failed attempts. The system will retry the transfer when it runs the backup process again.

    Setting Description
    Destination Name Required — Enter a destination name for your backup files. This name appears in your destination table.
    Transfer System Backups to this Destination Select this checkbox to transfer system backups to this additional destination. To use this setting, you must also select the Back up System Files checkbox in the Backup Settings tab.
    Only use this destination for log file transfers Select this checkbox to only transfer log files to the remote destination. Do not select this checkbox if you will use this destination for all backups. If you select this setting, you cannot use this destination for account and/or system backups.
    Backup Directory Enter the directory path, relative to the account’s home directory, in which you wish to store backups.
    Remote Host Required — Enter the hostname or IP address of the remote server.
    • Do not include http://, https://, a trailing port, or path information.
    • Do not use local hosts or loopback addresses.
    Port Required - The port to use to communicate with the remote server. By default, Rsync destinations use port 22.
    Remote Account Username Required — The username for the account on the remote server.
    Authentication Type Required — Select how you wish to authenticate to the remote server:
    • Key Authentication — Select this setting to use key-based authentication. We strongly recommend that you use this method.
    • Password Authentication — Select this setting to use password-based authentication.
    Key Authentication settings If you selected Key Authentication for the Authentication Type setting, perform the following actions:
    • Enter the full path of the private key on this server in the Private Key text box.
      1. Click on a key’s name in the Private Keys list to add that private key’s filepath to the Private Key text box.
      2. To generate a new private key, click Generate a New Key and then Generate Key. A success message will appear at the bottom of the interface.
      3. The private key resides in the /root/.ssh/keyname file, where keyname represents the key’s name. The private key’s corresponding public key resides in the /root/.ssh/keyname.pub file.
    • Enter the passphrase for this server in the Passphrase text box.
    Password Authentication settings If you selected Password Authentication for the Authentication Type setting, enter the password for the account on the remote server in the Remote Password text box.
    Timeout Required — The maximum amount of time, in seconds, that you want the server to wait for a response from the remote server before it generates errors.
    • You must enter a number between 30 and 300.
    • If the server does not respond before the time expires, it makes two additional attempts to contact the server.
    • If the server does not respond after those attempts, the system administrator receives an email that notes the failed attempts. The system will retry the transfer when it runs the backup process again.The interface currently only recognizes the default value of 30 seconds.

    We strongly recommend that you only transfer system backup files over encrypted connections.

    Setting Description
    Destination Name Required — Enter a destination name for your backup files. This name appears in your destination table.
    Transfer System Backups to this Destination Select this checkbox to transfer system backups to this additional destination. To use this setting, you must also select the Back up System Files checkbox in the Backup Settings tab.
    Only use this destination for log file transfers Select this checkbox to only transfer log files to the remote destination. Do not select this checkbox if you will use this destination for all backups. If you select this setting, you cannot use this destination for account and/or system backups.
    Folder Enter the name of the directory where you wish to store your backup.
    S3 Endpoint Required — Enter the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) for the remote server where your bucket resides.
    • The system backs up files to the destination server through a secured connection via SSL/TLS.
    • The FQDN that you enter must be the same as the FQDN on the server’s SSL/TLS certificate, or the connection will fail.
    • The S3 Endpoint server must use virtual-hosted-style URIs.
    Bucket Required — Enter the name of the bucket where you wish to store your backup. You must first create the bucket through your S3-compatible provider.
    Access Key ID Required — Enter the access key ID in this text box. Your server uses the access key to authenticate with your S3-compatible account. You must first generate an access key ID through your S3-compatible provider.
    Secret Access Key Required — Enter the secret access key in this text box. You must first generate a secret access key ID through your S3-compatible provider.
    Timeout Required — The maximum amount of time, in seconds, that you want the server to wait for a response from the remote server before it generates errors.
    • You must enter a number between 30 and 300.
    • If the server does not respond before the time expires, it makes two additional attempts to contact the server.
    • If the server does not respond after those attempts, the system administrator receives an email that notes the failed attempts. The system will retry the transfer when it runs the backup process again.

    Setting Description
    Destination Name Required — Enter a destination name for your backup files. This name appears in your destination table.
    Transfer System Backups to this Destination Select this checkbox to transfer system backups to this additional destination. To use this setting, you must also select the Back up System Files checkbox in the Backup Settings tab.
    Only use this destination for log file transfers Select this checkbox to only transfer log files to the remote destination. Do not select this checkbox if you will use this destination for all backups. If you select this setting, you cannot use this destination for account and/or system backups.
    Backup Directory Required — Enter the directory path, relative to the account’s home directory, in which you wish to store backups.
    Remote Host Required - Enter the hostname or IP address of the remote server.
    • Do not include http://, https://, a trailing port, or path information.
    • Do not use local hosts or loopback addresses.
    Port Enter the port to use to communicate with the remote server. By default, SFTP destinations use port 22.
    Remote Account Username Required — Enter the username of the account on the remote server.
    Authentication Type Required — Select how you wish to authenticate to the remote server:
  • Key Authentication — Select this setting to use key-based authentication. We strongly recommend that you use this method.
  • Password Authentication — Select this setting to use password-based authentication.
    		•
    Key Authentication settings If you selected Key Authentication for the Authentication Type setting, perform the following actions:
    • Enter the full path of the private key on this server in the Private Key text box.
      1. Click on a key’s name in the Private Keys list to add that private key’s filepath to the Private Key text box.
      2. To generate a new private key, click Generate a New Key and then Generate Key. A success message will appear at the bottom of the interface. The private key resides in the /root/.ssh/keyname file, where keyname represents the key’s name. The private key’s corresponding public key resides in the /root/.ssh/keyname.pub file.
    • Enter the passphrase for this server in the Passphrase text box.
    Password Authentication settings If you selected Password Authentication for the Authentication Type setting, enter the password for the account on the remote server in the Remote Password text box.
    Timeout Required — The maximum amount of time, in seconds, that you want the server to wait for a response from the remote server before it generates errors.
    • You must enter a number between 30 and 300.
    • If the server does not respond before the time expires, it makes two additional attempts to contact the server.
    • If the server does not respond after those attempts, the system administrator receives an email that notes the failed attempts. The system will retry the transfer when it runs the backup process again.

    We strongly recommend that you only transfer system backup files over encrypted connections. For WebDAV, we recommend that you enable the SSL Enabled setting.

    Setting Description
    Destination Name Required — Enter a destination name for your backup files. This name appears in your destination table.
    Transfer System Backups to this Destination Select this checkbox to transfer system backups to this additional destination. To use this setting, you must also select the Back up System Files checkbox in the Backup Settings tab.
    Only use this destination for log file transfers Select this checkbox to only transfer log files to the remote destination. Do not select this checkbox if you will use this destination for all backups. If you select this setting, you cannot use this destination for account and/or system backups.
    Backup Directory Required — Enter the directory path, relative to the account’s home directory, in which you wish to store backups.
    Remote Host Required - Enter the hostname or IP address of the remote server.
    • Do not include http://, https://, a trailing port, or path information.
    • Do not use local hosts or loopback addresses.
    Port Required - The port to use to communicate with the remote server. By default, WebDAV destinations use port 80. Secure connections use port 443. cPanel & WHM uses port 2077 for non-SSL connections and port 2078 for SSL connections.
    SSL Enabled Select this checkbox to enable SSL. WebDAV destinations require that you enable SSL encryption.
    Remote Account Username Required — The username for the account on the remote server.
    Remote Password Required — The password for the account on the remote server.
    Timeout Required — The maximum amount of time, in seconds, that you want the server to wait for a response from the remote server before it generates errors.
    • You must enter a number between 30 and 300.
    • If the server does not respond before the time expires, it makes two additional attempts to contact the server.
    • If the server does not respond after those attempts, the system administrator receives an email that notes the failed attempts. The system will retry the transfer when it runs the backup process again.The interface currently only recognizes the default value of 30 seconds.

    After you complete the form, click Save Destination to save your updated destination but not validate your changes.

    To automatically validate your information after you save your changes, click Save and Validate Destination. The current backup destination table will appear.

    The current backup destination table

    The table in the Additional Destinations tab lists your existing backup transport destinations and the following information:

    Column Description Possible values
    Destination The user-generated destination name. A string value.
    Transport The user-generated destination name. Any of the transport types listed in the Destination Type menu.
    System Backup Whether you enabled or disabled system backups transfers to this destination.
    • Enabled — You enabled transfers.
    • Disabled — You did not enable transfers.
    Destination ID The system-generated unique identifier for the destination. A string value.
    Status Whether the system has enabled or disabled the transport connection.
    • Enabled — Your system is connected to the destination.
    • Disabled — Your system is not connected to the destination.
    Information icon Whether the last validation succeeded or failed.
    • Green check mark — The last validation succeeded.
    • Red letter X — The last validation failed.
    Actions Allow you to manage the destination’s settings.
    • Edit — Opens the destination editor.
    • Delete — Deletes the destination transport from your local disk.
    • Validate — Tests and verifies the destination’s connection.
    • Enable/Disable — Sets the toggle to enable or disable the transport.

    To restore backups that exist in the additional destinations that you create, perform a remote restoration. For more information, read our Remote Restoration documentation.

    The Validation Results tab

    The Validation Results tab appears after a user verifies the connection to one or more destinations. The tab shows a table that lists the following information:

    Column Description Possible values
    Destination ID The system-generated unique identifier for the destination. A string value.
    Name The user-generated destination name. A string value.
    Transport The transport type. Any of the transport types listed in the Destination Type menu.
    Status Whether the last validation succeeded or failed.
    • Green check mark - The last validation succeeded
    • Red letter X - The last validation failed.
    • Blue hourglass - The system is validating the connection.
    Start Time The time when the system began the validation process. A timestamp in HH:MM:SS format, where:
    • HH represents the hour.
    • MM represents the minutes.
    • SS represents the seconds.
    The letters AM or PM follow the timestamp to show the 12-hour clock time convention.
    Elapsed Time How long the validation process lasted.
    Note:
    This text box appears when the validation completes.
    		A numeric value that represents seconds.
    Message A success or failure validation message.
    Note:
    This text box appears when the validation completes.
    		A string value.

    The Validation Results tab disappears when you navigate away from the Backup Configuration interface. Verify any connection to reveal it again.

    Additional Documentation