How do I automatically back up my data to my server’s backup drive using Plesk?

Once you set up and mount a backup drive to your server, you can then set it up to automatically back up your data at a time you set.  You will need to create a FTP user, so that your files can transfer smoothly into your backup space.

To create an FTP user in Linux:

1. Log into your server through SSH
2. Enter:

useradd -d /backups -ou 10001 -g psacln -s /bin/bash [USERNAME]

Where [USERNAME] is the name you are giving your backup within your FTP server, with /backups as its home directory

3. Set a password for your new user by entering:

passwd [USERNAME]

Where [USERNAME] is your name

4. Enter in a new UNIX password when prompted
5. Repeat the password
6. Once you have successfully updated the FTP server, you will see:

passwd; all authentication tokens updated successfully

To create an FTP user in Windows:

1. Log into your server
2. Click ‘Start’
3. Click ‘Administrative Tools’
4. Open ‘Server Manager’
5. Select ‘Configuration’
6. Click ‘Local Users and Groups’
7. Click ‘Users’
8. Create a new Windows user account to use as an FTP username

To create an FTP site in Windows:

1. Click ‘Start’
2. Click ‘Administrative Tools’
3. Open ‘Internet Information Service (IIS) Manager’
4. Click ‘Sites’
5. Click the name of your site
6. Click ‘Add FTP Publishing…’
7. Make certain that ‘Not Selected’ is chosen in the Certificates drop-down list
8. Make certain that ‘Allow SSL’ is checked
9. Click ‘Next’
10. Select ‘Basic’ in the Authentication drop-down list
11. Select ‘Specified Users’ in the ‘Allow Access’ drop-down list
12. Enter in the user name you created before
13. Select ‘Read’ and ‘Write’ for Permissions
14. Click ‘Advanced Settings’
15. Change the physical path to the backup directory you’ve created
16. Click ‘OK’

Once you have created the necessary FTP accounts, you can now use Plesk to create your automatic backup.

To set up a backup:

1. Log into Plesk
2. Under ‘Server Management’, click ‘Tools & Settings’
3. Click ‘Backup Manager’
4. Click ‘Personal FTP Repository Settings’
5. Enter in the FTP details you’ve created in ‘Personal FTP Repository Settings’
6. Return to ‘Backup Manager’
7. Click ‘Scheduled Backup Settings’
8. Configure the settings to what you need to happen with your backups
9. Click ‘OK’
10. Your backups will now be automatically stored on your backup space at the time you’ve set