VPS & Dedicated Hosting: How to Configure WHM Backups

WHM provides backup services on VPS and Dedicated servers to ensure data security and recoverability, such as backup and legacy backup. The Legacy Backup system is deprecated and will be removed in future WHM updates. We highly recommend switching to the newer Backup system, which offers better performance, more options, and a modern interface to configure WHM backups.

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• Backup Services Overview
• User Selection for Backup
• How to Configure Backups in WHM
• Sending Backups to a Remote Location
• Migrating from Legacy Backup to Backup
• Legacy Backup Configuration (For Older Systems Only)
• Summary

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Backup Services Overview

• Recommended: Backup (New System)
• Legacy Backup (Deprecated)

Recommended: Backup (New System)

• More retention flexibility
• Remote destination options (e.g., SFTP, Amazon S3, Google Drive)
• Easier user selection and scheduling

Legacy Backup (Deprecated)

• It is still available on some servers
• Limited features
• Should be migrated to the new Backup system

User Selection for Backup

Ensure backups are enabled for the correct cPanel accounts via WHM > Backup User Selection. This allows you to include or exclude specific users to optimize server space and backup efficiency.

How to Configure WHM Backups

• Step 1: Enable or Disable Backups
• Step 2: Modify Your Backup Schedule
• Step 3: Choose Between Incremental or Full Backups

Step 1: Enable or Disable Backups

1. Log in to WHM.
2. Access the Backup section or type Backup into the search bar.
   
3. Select Backup User Selection from the options. 
   • To enable or disable all users, click Account Actions.
     
   • To enable or disable an individual user, toggle Enable to Disable and vice versa.
     
4. Scroll down and save your configuration changes.

Step 2: Modify Your Backup Schedule

Backup schedules are categorized into:

• Daily
• Weekly
• Monthly

Each schedule includes:

1. Whether the backup is active
2. Which days it runs
3. Number of retained backups

Step 3: Choose Between Incremental or Full Backups

• Incremental: Saves space and time by only backing up changed files
• Full: Complete copy; uses more space and time

Make your selection based on server capacity and recovery needs.

Sending Backups to a Remote Location

To avoid disk space issues, send backups to external storage. WHM supports:

• Google Drive
• Amazon S3
• SFTP/FTP

To avoid space issues on the server, send the backups to another location:

1. Go to Backup Configuration.
2. In the Additional Destinations section, select your destination type.
   
3. Click Create New Destination.
4. Configure the required credentials and path.
5. Decide if you want to retain local backups on the server.

Migrating from Legacy Backup to Backup

Use the Backup System Migration tool in WHM:

• Automatically copies your Legacy settings
• Moves legacy backup files to the new format
• Review your new configuration post-migration

Legacy Backup Configuration (For Older Systems Only)

• Enable/Disable
• Adjust Schedule
• Enable Compression

This system is deprecated. Switch to the Backup system if available.

Enable/Disable

1. Log in to WHM.
2. Look for Legacy Backup Configuration in the Backup section.
3. Toggle Backup Status.
   
4. Click Save.

Adjust Schedule

1. Modify Backup Interval and Backup Retention.
   
2. Uncheck unnecessary schedules to free space.
    
   • To disable Weekly and/or Monthly backups, uncheck them from the Backup Retention line.
     
   • To disable the daily backup and only keep a weekly backup, check weekly on the Backup interval and uncheck from backup retention daily. Then make sure monthly is off if you want it off or on if you want it on.
     
3. Click the Save button.

Enable Compression

Compressing your backup will save quite a lot of space, but you must remember that it requires more resources and time to generate.

Summary

When running a VPS or Dedicated server, it's essential to configure backups through WHM to ensure your website and data are secure. We recommend using the Backup system over Legacy Backup for greater control and automation. WHM allows you to manage individual user backups, schedule automated backups (daily, weekly, or monthly), and send copies to remote locations like SFTP or cloud storage. Following these steps to configure WHM backups will protect you from data loss and downtime.