Backup & Restore

Protect your data with automated backups. Schedule regular snapshots, manage retention policies, and restore quickly when needed.

Technical Implementation

CtrlOps uses Rclone as its core backup engine, providing high-performance synchronization with over 40 cloud providers.

The Backup Engine

When you configure a backup job, CtrlOps manages the following technical flow:

1. Rclone Provisioning: If Rclone is not installed, CtrlOps fetches the latest binary for your architecture.
2. Remote Configuration: A unique rclone.conf is managed on the server, isolating backup credentials.
3. Internal Scheduler: Jobs are managed via an internal Rust-based timer or a standard system cron job for persistent scheduling.
4. Bandwidth Control: Transfers are optimized to avoid saturating your server's network during peak hours.

Supported Providers

CtrlOps provides native support for:

• AWS S3 & Compatible (DigitalOcean, Wasabi, Minio)
• Google Drive & Google Cloud Storage
• Dropbox
• SND (CtrlOps Managed)
• Backblaze B2
• Microsoft OneDrive / Azure Blob

Creating Your First Backup Job

Step-by-Step Setup

Backup Methods

Incremental Backups

Only backs up changed files since last backup.

Pros:

• Fast (minutes, not hours)
• Uses less storage
• Less bandwidth

Cons:

• Requires full backup first
• Complex restore (need full + increments)

Best for: Frequent backups of large datasets

Full Backups

Copies everything every time.

Pros:

• Simple restore (single file)
• Complete independence
• Easier verification

Cons:

• Slower
• More storage needed

Best for: Weekly/monthly archives

Differential Backups

Backs up changes since last full backup.

Pros:

• Faster than full
• Only need full + latest differential

Cons:

• Grows larger over time

Best for: Mid-frequency backups

Scheduling Examples

Website (Small)

Daily:   Incremental at 2 AM
Weekly:  Full backup on Sunday at 3 AM
Retain:  14 daily, 4 weekly

Database (Large)

Hourly:  Transaction logs
Daily:   Full dump at 1 AM
Weekly:  Compressed archive Sunday
Retain:  24 hourly, 7 daily, 4 weekly

System (Critical)

Daily:   /etc, /home (incremental)
Weekly:  Full system (Sunday 4 AM)
Monthly: Archive (1st of month)
Retain:  30 daily, 8 weekly, 12 monthly

Storage Destinations

Local Storage

Setup:

# Mount external drive
sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/backup

# Set permissions
sudo chown $(whoami):$(whoami) /mnt/backup

Pros: Fast, cheap, private Cons: Single point of failure, limited capacity

Remote Server

Setup:

1. Add remote server to CtrlOps
2. Use as backup destination
3. Credentials stored securely

Pros: Geographic separation, reliable Cons: Requires second server, bandwidth costs

Cloud Storage (S3)

Setup:

Provider: AWS S3
Bucket: my-backup-bucket
Region: us-east-1
Access Key: AKIA...
Secret Key: ****
Path: /server1/backups

Pros: Infinite scale, durable (99.999999999%), pay-as-you-go Cons: Ongoing costs, requires internet

Cost estimation:

• 100 GB storage: ~$2.30/month
• 100 GB download: ~$9.00 (restore)

CtrlOps Managed Storage

Easiest option — we handle everything:

• Automatic encryption
• Geo-redundant copies
• Instant restoration
• Flat monthly fee

Plans:

• Starter: 50 GB ($5/month)
• Pro: 500 GB ($25/month)
• Enterprise: 5 TB ($150/month)

Advanced Features

Compression

Reduce backup size by 50-80%:

Compression Level: Normal | High | Maximum

Normal:  Fast, moderate compression
High:    Slower, better compression  
Maximum: Slowest, smallest size

Encryption

Protect sensitive backups:

Encryption: AES-256
Password: ************
Key File: (optional)

Pre/Post Scripts

Run commands before/after backup:

# Pre-backup: Stop services
#!/bin/bash
systemctl stop mysql
systemctl stop nginx

# Post-backup: Restart services  
#!/bin/bash
systemctl start nginx
systemctl start mysql

Notifications

Get alerted when:

• ✅ Backup completes successfully
• ❌ Backup fails
• ⚠️ Storage running low
• 🕐 Backup overdue

Channels:

• Email
• Slack
• Webhook
• Push notification

Restoration

Full Restore

1. Go to Backup > Restore
2. Select backup job
3. Choose restore point (date/time)
4. Select destination:
   • Original location
   • New location
   • Download as archive
5. Click "Restore"

Selective Restore

Restore specific files:

1. Browse backup archive
2. Select files/folders
3. Choose restore location
4. Restore

Database Restoration

MySQL example:

# From backup tab
mysql -u root -p database < backup.sql

# Or use CtrlOps UI
# Select database backup → Restore → Confirm

Point-in-Time Recovery

For databases with transaction logs:

1. Restore last full backup
2. Apply incremental logs
3. Stop at specific timestamp

Example: "Restore database to April 13, 2:30 PM"

Monitoring & Maintenance

Health Dashboard

Backup Status
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
✓ Website Files     Last: Today 2:00 AM  Size: 1.2 GB
✓ MySQL Database    Last: Today 2:15 AM  Size: 450 MB
⚠ Server Configs    Last: 2 days ago    Size: 12 MB
✗ User Uploads      FAILED: Disk full
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Testing Backups

Regular restore tests:

1. Monthly: Restore to test server
2. Verify data integrity
3. Check application functionality
4. Document any issues

Cleanup

Automated maintenance:

• Delete expired backups
• Compact old archives
• Verify checksums
• Rebuild indexes

Troubleshooting

"Backup failed: Disk full"

• Clean old backups
• Reduce retention period
• Use compression
• Add more storage

"Permission denied"

• Check destination permissions
• Verify SSH key access
• Try with sudo
• Check SELinux/AppArmor

"Connection timeout"

• Check network connectivity
• Increase timeout settings
• Use resume capability
• Schedule off-peak

"Corrupted backup"

• Verify checksums
• Check disk health
• Re-run backup
• Test restoration

Best Practices

1. 3-2-1 Rule:

   • 3 copies of data
   • 2 different media types
   • 1 offsite backup

2. Regular Testing:

   • Test restore monthly
   • Document procedures
   • Train team members

3. Monitor & Alert:

   • Check backup logs
   • Set up notifications
   • Review storage usage

4. Document Everything:

   • What's backed up
   • Where it's stored
   • How to restore
   • Who has access