Plesk: Schedule my data backup

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In this guide, we will see how to schedule data backup on a Plesk server.

Attention

This guide is dedicated only to our subscribers who have subscribed to private or dedicated servers with the Plesk license option.

Use the IP of your server to form a link identical to this one: https://ADRESSE-IP:8443/ (exemple https://92.39.246.96:8443)

Add a security certificate exception on the browser

If you are using the Mozilla Firefox browser, the screen will show you this error message when you go to Plesk.

Click on Advanced then Add an exception.

Follow the button Confirm the security exception.

If you are using the Google Chrome browser, this is what the screen will show you:

Click on Advanced settingsand then Continue to the site.

The message that appears to validate the crossed out https certificate is due to the fact that the key is auto-generated, so you have to buy a real SSL key if you don't want to have this message anymore. For more information on this subject, here is an explanatory link proposed by ODIN :
https://support.plesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/213402729

Access the Plesk interface

Once on the Plesk interface, use the login root or admin and the appropriate password to start scheduling the backup.

Follow the menu Tools & Settings then Backup Manager.

Set up backup options

We will first set the options before scheduling the backup. Click on the button Parameters.

You have the freedom to set the options as you see fit. However, here are some tips:

Maximum number of backup files to store : If you have a lot of data, it is best not to exceed three backup files. The most recent one will overwrite the oldest one.

Maximum number of scheduled backups to run simultaneously : To avoid overloading the server, schedule a single backup.

Run scheduled backups with low priority: Check this option to avoid overloading your server.

Run all backup processes with low priority: Also, check this option to avoid overloading your server.

Do not compress backup files: Do not check this option because compressed files in particular take up less disk space.

Put at least 10000 (for 10 GB) for the option Start the backup only if your server has the specified amount of free disk space (in megabytes).

Start the backup only if your server has enough free disk space (this option can significantly increase the backup time): Unless I'm mistaken, this option doesn't do anything even if it's checked (unless Plesk were able to fix or patch it to work properly).

Allow storage of FTP backups on the local server : Not recommended; You can check this option if you are going to send the backup directly to another remote server via FTP settings.

Save backups to server storage if uploading to FTP fails: This is a security to have a backup copy if sending the copy via FTP fails.

Click on OK to return to the menu.

Plan the backup

We will now schedule the data backup. Click on the button Planning.

You have the freedom to schedule the backup as you see fit. However, here are some tips:

Run the backup job : It is best to schedule the backup every week to avoid saturating the server's disk space.

Use incremental backup: This option significantly reduces the duration of a backup operation as well as the disk space occupied by the backup files.

Keep the backup files for : It is not advisable to keep all backups.

Save

Domain configuration
Configuration and content of the messaging system
User files and databases

Try to check all three options if you use email, FTP and databases.

Store under Storage of the server under /var/lib/psa/dumps : This is the directory that contains the backup copies generated by Plesk.

FTP storage settings are not shown.

Configuration:

If you want the backup copy to be sent to your own remote server, click on Configuration. You will be redirected to the page where Plesk will ask you to put the FTP access settings, namely :

Host name or IP address of the FTP server

Directory for storing backup files

FTP user name

FTP password

In case of an error during the execution of the backup task, send an e-mail notification to : Enter your email address to receive the details of the errors.

Suspend domains until the backup job is complete: Check this option if you schedule the backup where visits are rare.