A Simple VPS Backup Strategy That Actually Works
Every server owner eventually needs a backup. The ones who have one tested are the ones who sleep well. Here's a plan that's simple enough to actually keep running.
The 3-2-1 rule
- 3 copies of your data
- on 2 different kinds of storage
- with 1 copy somewhere else entirely
For a VPS that usually means: the live server, an automatic backup at the provider, and an encrypted copy that lives off the provider.
Layer 1: automatic backups
Kvantis offers automatic backups as an add-on for +26% of the plan price. They capture the whole server, so a broken upgrade or a deleted directory can be rolled back.
They live with the same provider as your server, though — which is why you want layer 2.
Layer 2: your own off-site copy
restic makes encrypted, deduplicated backups to almost anywhere — S3-compatible storage, another server over SFTP, or a local disk.
apt install -y restic
export RESTIC_REPOSITORY=sftp:backup@other-host:/srv/restic
export RESTIC_PASSWORD_FILE=/root/.restic-pass
restic init
restic backup /etc /home /var/www /root/app
Keep a sensible history:
restic forget --keep-daily 7 --keep-weekly 4 --keep-monthly 6 --prune
Databases need a dump
Copying the files of a running database can give you a corrupt backup. Dump it first, then back up the dump:
pg_dump -U app appdb | gzip > /root/backup/appdb.sql.gz
mysqldump --single-transaction appdb | gzip > /root/backup/appdb.sql.gz
Automate it
Put the dump and the restic command in a script and run it nightly from cron or a systemd timer. A backup you have to remember isn't a backup.
Test the restore
Once a month, restore to a fresh hourly server, check the data, and destroy it. It costs cents and tells you the backup really works.
restic restore latest --target /tmp/restore
Don't forget the balance
On a prepaid server, a server deleted for an empty balance takes its data with it. Your off-site copy is what protects you from that, too.
Deploy a server and set up backups on day one.