VPS backup: how to protect your data

The golden rule of infrastructure: data that exists in one place is data you can lose. A well-run VPS always has a backup strategy. Here are your options.

1. Snapshots

A snapshot is a full copy of the server at a point in time, which you can take from the panel with one click. Perfect before a major update or a risky change: if something goes wrong, you restore in minutes.

2. Backup Box (dedicated storage)

For regular, off-server copies, use a Backup Box: storage from 1 TB to 20 TB, accessible over SFTP, SMB and WebDAV. You copy databases and important files to it, and if the server fails completely, the data is safe elsewhere.

3. Automated backup with cron

Automate everything with a script run daily. Example that saves a PostgreSQL database to a Backup Box over SFTP:

pg_dump mydb | gzip > /tmp/mydb-$(date +%F).sql.gz
# then copy the file to the Backup Box over sftp/rsync

The 3-2-1 rule

The industry-recommended strategy: 3 copies of the data, on 2 different storage types, with 1 in another location. A snapshot plus a Backup Box already covers this principle.

Do not wait for the first incident to think about backup. Set it up on the day you launch the server.