| title | excerpt | updated |
|---|---|---|
Using automated backups on a VPS |
Find out how to enable and use the automated backups option in the OVHcloud Control Panel |
2023-08-07 |
This option offers a convenient way to frequently have complete VPS backups available from your OVHcloud Control Panel without having to connect to the server to create and restore them manually. Another advantage is that you can also choose to mount a backup and then access it via SSH.
This guide explains the usage of auto-backups for your OVHcloud VPS.
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Before applying backup options, we recommend to consult the product pages and FAQ for pricing comparisons and further details.
- Access to the OVHcloud Control Panel
- An OVHcloud VPS service already set up
- Administrative access (sudo) via SSH to your VPS (optional)
Log in to your OVHcloud Control Panel, open the Bare Metal Cloud{.action} section, and select your server under Virtual Private Servers{.action}.
After selecting your VPS, click on the Automated backup{.action} tab in the horizontal menu.
In the next step, please take note of the pricing information, then click on Order{.action}. You will be guided through the order process and receive a confirmation email. Backups will now be created daily until the option is cancelled again.
You can change the time of day at which the backup will take place.
Click on ...{.action} above the table and then on Edit{.action}.
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In the window that appears, edit the time of day (24-hour UTC time standard). Click on Confirm{.action}.
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Once confirmed in the Control Panel, the change will come into effect after 24 to 48 hours.
After selecting your VPS, click on the Automated backup{.action} tab in the horizontal menu. There will be a maximum of 7 daily backups available (15 with older VPS ranges). Click on ...{.action} next to the backup you would like to restore and select Restoration{.action}.
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If you recently changed your root password, make sure to tick the option "Modify the root password on restoration" in the popup window to preserve your current root password and click on Confirm{.action}. You will receive an email as soon as the task is complete. The restoration might take a while, depending on the disk space used.
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Please note that the automated backups will not include your additional disks.
It is not necessary to completely overwrite your existing service with a restoration. The "Mounting" option allows you to access the backup data to retrieve your files.
Warning
OVHcloud is providing you with services for which you are responsible, with regard to their configuration and management. You are therefore responsible for ensuring they function correctly.
This guide is designed to assist you in common tasks as much as possible. Nevertheless, we recommend contacting a specialised provider and/or the software publisher for the service if you encounter any difficulties. We will not be able to assist you ourselves. You can find more information in the “Go further” section of this guide.
Click on ...{.action} next to the backup you need to access and select Mounting{.action}.
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When you use this option, a read-write copy of the backup is created and mounted. The original backup will remain available unchanged for future restorations.
After the process is completed, you will receive an email. You can now connect to your VPS and access the partition where your backup is located.
First, connect to your VPS via SSH.
You can use the following command to verify the name of the newly attached device:
lsblkHere is a sample output of this command:
NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
sda 8:0 0 25G 0 disk
├─sda1 8:1 0 24.9G 0 part /
├─sda14 8:14 0 4M 0 part
└─sda15 8:15 0 106M 0 part
sdb 8:16 0 25G 0 disk
├─sdb1 8:17 0 24.9G 0 part
├─sdb14 8:30 0 4M 0 part
└─sdb15 8:31 0 106M 0 part /boot/efiIn this example, the partition containing your backup filesystem is named "sdb1". Next, create a directory for this partition and define it as the mountpoint:
sudo mkdir -p /mnt/restore
sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/restoreYou can now switch to this folder and access your backup data.
Remember to unmount the backup once you have finished using it. Click on the button Unmount the backup{.action} in the Automated backup{.action} tab, then confirm in the popup window.
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Establish an RDP connection to your server. Once logged in, right-click on the Start Menu{.action} button, and then click Disk Management{.action}.
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When the disk management tool opens, your mounted backup will appear as a basic disk with the same storage space as your main disk.
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The disk will appear as Offline, right-click on the disk and select Online{.action}.
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Once done, your mounted backup will be accessible in the File Explorer.
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Remember to unmount the backup once you have finished using it. Click on the button Unmount the backup{.action} in the Automated backup{.action} tab, then confirm in the popup window.
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Warning
Please note that a server reboot will occur when the backup is unmounted.
The Automated Backup functionality is based on VPS snapshots. We recommend to follow the steps below to prevent any issues before using this option.
Snapshots are instantaneous images of your running system ("live snapshot"). To ensure the availability of your system when the snapshot is created, the QEMU agent is used to prepare the filesystem for the process.
The required qemu-guest-agent is not installed by default on most distributions. Moreover, licensing restrictions may prevent OVHcloud from including it in the available OS images. Therefore, it is best practice to verify and install the agent in case it is not activated on your VPS. Connect to your VPS via SSH and follow the instructions below, according to your operating system.
Use the following command to check whether the system is properly set up for snapshots:
file /dev/virtio-ports/org.qemu.guest_agent.0
/dev/virtio-ports/org.qemu.guest_agent.0: symbolic link to ../vport2p1If the output is different ("No such file or directory"), install the latest package:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install qemu-guest-agentReboot the VPS:
sudo rebootStart the service to ensure it is running:
sudo service qemu-guest-agent startUse the following command to check whether the system is properly set up for snapshots:
file /dev/virtio-ports/org.qemu.guest_agent.0
/dev/virtio-ports/org.qemu.guest_agent.0: symbolic link to ../vport2p1If the output is different ("No such file or directory"), install and enable the agent:
sudo yum install qemu-guest-agent
sudo chkconfig qemu-guest-agent onReboot the VPS:
sudo rebootStart the agent and verify that it is running:
sudo service qemu-guest-agent start
sudo service qemu-guest-agent statusYou can install the agent via MSI file, available from the Fedora project website: https://fedorapeople.org/groups/virt/virtio-win/direct-downloads/latest-qemu-ga/.
Verify that the service is running by using this powershell command:
PS C:\Users\Administrator> Get-Service QEMU-GA
Status Name DisplayName
------ ---- -----------
Running QEMU-GA QEMU Guest AgentJoin our community of users.