GoAdmio
GoAdmio Documentation

Schedule Backup

From the GoAdmio knowledge base.

Schedule Backup

This page explains the Schedule Backup feature in GoAdmio. It configures automated, scheduled backups of every domain account on the server, with the archives sent to one or more remote destinations — including IDrive, and any storage supported by rclone.

Location: Admin Panel → Backup → Schedule Backup


Overview

Scheduled backups are the backbone of any hosting provider's disaster recovery plan. Unlike snapshots (which are fast, frequent, and local), scheduled backups are:

  • Long-term — retained over weeks or months
  • Off-site — stored on a remote destination, so they survive server loss
  • Layered — primary, secondary, and tertiary destinations for redundancy
  • Configurable — interval, type, destination, and retention are all under your control
The Schedule Backup page is where you configure all of this.

> Note: Scheduled backups work alongside Snapshots (fast point-in-time recovery) and Backup Wizard (manual, on-demand backups). Use all three for a complete backup strategy.


What the Page Shows

Storage Box Section

| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Primary Backup | The primary destination (required) |
| Secondary Backup | An optional second destination |
| Tertiary Backup | An optional third destination |

> Tip: Using multiple destinations provides redundancy. If the primary fails (network issue, provider outage, credentials revoked), the secondary and tertiary still receive backups.

Configuration Section

| Field | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Backup Interval | How often backups run | Sat & Tue (twice a week) |
| Type | What to back up — Full, Files only, Databases only, Email only | Full |
| Destination | The storage backend | IDrive (Cloud Backup) |
| Username | Account username for the destination | info@mls.eg |
| Password | Password or API key for the destination | •••••••••••• |
| Remote Dir | Remote directory for the archives | / |
| Retention | How many backups to keep | 8 |

Status Table

| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Domain | The account being backed up |
| Backup Status | Last backup result (✔ / ✖) |
| Last Backup | Date and time of the last successful backup |
| Disk Usage | Size of the last backup archive |
| Footer | Showing 16 of 16 records — total accounts |


Supported Destinations

The Destination field supports multiple storage backends. The most important ones:

| Destination | Description |
|---|---|
| IDrive (Cloud Backup) | IDrive cloud storage — shown on the page, with username/password authentication |
| SSH/SFTP | A remote server accessed via SSH/SFTP |
| Remote Server | Another GoAdmio server |
| rclone-supported backends | Any storage supported by rclone — 70+ backends |

rclone-backed destinations

Because GoAdmio integrates rclone, scheduled backups can be sent to almost any cloud or remote storage:

| Backend | What you need |
|---|---|
| Amazon S3 (and compatible) | Access key, secret key, bucket, region |
| Backblaze B2 | Application key ID, application key, bucket |
| Google Drive | OAuth token (via rclone config) |
| Dropbox | OAuth token |
| OneDrive | OAuth token |
| IDrive | Username, password |
| SFTP | Host, user, password or key |
| WebDAV | URL, user, password |
| FTP | Host, user, password |
| Local NAS | Mount point or NFS path |

> Tip: If your version supports rclone, configure the backend in rclone config first, then reference it in GoAdmio. Check the panel for an rclone-specific field or dropdown.


Primary, Secondary, Tertiary — Why Three?

Using multiple destinations is a best practice:

| Destination | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Primary | The main backup destination — fast, reliable, frequently verified |
| Secondary | A fallback if the primary is unavailable — different provider or region |
| Tertiary | A third copy for compliance or disaster recovery — ideally a different provider and region |

> Tip: Use different providers and different regions for each destination. If one provider has an outage or a data-loss incident, the others still have your backups.

> Warning: Do not store all three destinations in the same account or the same provider. A single account compromise or billing issue could lock you out of all three.


How to Configure Scheduled Backups

Step 1 — Open Schedule Backup

  1. Log in to the GoAdmio Admin Panel.
  2. Navigate to Backup → Schedule Backup.

Step 2 — Configure the primary destination

  1. Under Storage Box, select Primary Backup.
  2. Choose the Destination (e.g., IDrive (Cloud Backup)).
  3. Enter the Username and Password (or API key) for the destination.
  4. Set the Remote Dir — the path where backups are stored (e.g., / or /backups).
  5. Click Test if the panel offers a connection test.

Step 3 — Configure secondary and tertiary destinations (optional but recommended)

  1. Select Secondary Backup.
  2. Choose a different destination (different provider or region).
  3. Enter its credentials.
  4. Repeat for Tertiary Backup.
> Tip: Test each destination separately before relying on it. A misconfigured secondary is worse than no secondary — it gives false confidence.

Step 4 — Set the backup interval

  1. Choose the Backup Interval — e.g., Sat & Tue for twice-weekly.
  2. Available intervals depend on your version — daily, weekly, or specific days.

Step 5 — Choose the backup type

| Type | What it backs up |
|---|---|
| Full | Files, databases, email, and configuration |
| Files only | Website files and configuration |
| Databases only | MySQL/MariaDB databases |
| Email only | Mailboxes and email configuration |

> Tip: For most accounts, Full is the right choice. Use partial types only when you need targeted backups (e.g., daily database backups alongside weekly full backups).

Step 6 — Set the retention policy

  1. Enter the Retention — how many backups to keep (e.g., 8).
  2. Older backups beyond the retention count are automatically deleted.
> Tip: Retention × backup size = storage needed. A retention of 8 with twice-weekly backups gives you about 4 weeks of history. Adjust based on your RPO (recovery point objective) and storage budget.

Step 7 — Save and enable

  1. Click Save.
  2. The first backup runs on the next scheduled interval.
  3. Monitor the Backup Status table to confirm the first run succeeds.

Understanding the Status Table

| Column | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Domain | The account |
| ✔ / ✖ | Whether the last backup succeeded |
| Last Backup | When the last successful backup ran |
| Disk Usage | How much space the last backup occupies on the destination |

> Tip: A domain showing ✖ means the backup failed — check the remote destination, network, and credentials. See the troubleshooting section.


What Gets Backed Up

A Full scheduled backup includes:

| Item | Backed up? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Website files | ✅ Yes | The account's home directory |
| MySQL/MariaDB databases | ✅ Yes | Exported and included |
| Email mailboxes | ✅ Yes | Included in full backups |
| Email forwarders and autoresponders | ✅ Yes | |
| FTP accounts | ✅ Yes | |
| Cron jobs | ⚠️ Depends | Verify after restore |
| DNS zones | ⚠️ Depends | May be included |
| SSL certificates | ❌ No | Re-issue after restore |
| PHP version | ❌ No | Re-assign via MultiPHP Manager |

> Note: The exact contents depend on your GoAdmio version. Check the backup archive on the destination to confirm.


Restoring from a Scheduled Backup

To restore from a scheduled backup:

  1. Navigate to Backup → Restore Full Backup — see Restore Full Backup.
  2. Choose the Remote server or Home directory source, depending on where the backup is stored.
  3. Select the backup archive.
  4. Restore.
> Tip: For a terminated account, use Recover Terminated Accounts — it can restore from scheduled backups if the account is still within the recovery window.

Common Scenarios

"I want daily backups"

  1. Set Backup Interval to Daily (if available).
  2. Verify the retention × daily archives fits the destination storage.
  3. Monitor the status table.

"I want backups to IDrive"

  1. Choose IDrive (Cloud Backup) as the destination.
  2. Enter the IDrive username (info@mls.eg in the example) and password.
  3. Set the remote directory.
  4. Test the connection.
> Tip: IDrive is a cloud backup provider — reliable and well-integrated. Combine it with a second destination (e.g., S3 or a second server) for redundancy.

"I want backups to Amazon S3"

  1. Configure rclone for S3 (rclone config), if your version supports rclone.
  2. In Schedule Backup, choose the rclone S3 backend.
  3. Enter the bucket and path.
  4. Test the connection.

"The destination is full"

  1. Check the Disk Usage column — identify the largest backups.
  2. Lower the Retention to keep fewer backups.
  3. Increase the destination storage.
  4. Prune old backups on the destination.

"A backup failed"

  1. Check the Backup Status table — which domain failed?
  2. Test the remote connection (SSH, rclone, or the provider's dashboard).
  3. Verify the remote directory exists and is writable.
  4. Retry the backup.

Security Considerations

| Consideration | What to know |
|---|---|
| Dedicated backup credentials | Use credentials scoped to the backup destination only — not your main account |
| Key-based authentication | Prefer SSH keys or API keys over passwords where supported |
| Encrypt backups | If they contain sensitive data, encrypt before transfer |
| Restrict the remote directory | The backup account should only write to its designated path |
| Rotate credentials | Change the backup credentials periodically |
| Monitor access | Check the destination's logs for unauthorized access |
| Different providers per destination | Prevents a single provider's outage from losing all backups |

> Warning: The example uses a password for the destination. Passwords are less secure than keys or API tokens. Use API keys or SSH keys where supported, and restrict the destination account to write-only access to the backup directory.


Related Commands

| Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
| /go/backup | Create a backup from the CLI |
| /go/restore | Restore an account from a backup |
| /go/serversync | Sync an entire server to another GoAdmio server |
| rsync | Manual file sync |
| rclone | Transfer backups to any supported backend |

See Command Reference for the full CLI list.


Related Pages

Troubleshooting

| Problem | Likely cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Backup fails with "connection refused" | Destination port closed, or wrong host | Verify the host and port; open the port on the destination firewall |
| Backup fails with "authentication failed" | Wrong username, password, or API key | Verify the credentials; regenerate the API key |
| Backup fails with "permission denied" | The backup user cannot write to the remote directory | Create the directory with correct ownership; or choose a writable path |
| Backup fails with "no space left" | Destination is full | Free space; increase storage; lower retention |
| Backup is very slow | Large account, slow network, or compression overhead | Run during low-traffic hours; enable compression; use a closer destination |
| A domain shows ✖ but others work | That account's backup failed — likely size or a specific file error | Check the backup log; run the backup manually for that domain |
| Backups are not running at all | Schedule not saved, or the cron job is not set up | Verify the schedule; check Cron Jobs |
| rclone backend not available | rclone not configured, or the version does not support it | Configure rclone config; verify the version supports rclone |
| Cannot restore a backup | The archive is incomplete or corrupt | Use an older backup; check the archive on the destination |
| Retention did not delete old backups | Retention setting not applied, or the destination is read-only | Verify the retention value; check the destination's permissions |
| Only primary destination receives backups | Secondary/tertiary not configured, or credentials invalid | Configure each destination separately; test each one |


Best Practices

| Practice | Why |
|---|---|
| Use three destinations | Redundancy — one provider outage does not lose all backups |
| Use different providers per destination | A single account compromise cannot lock you out of all backups |
| Test each destination separately | A misconfigured secondary is worse than none |
| Set retention based on RPO and storage | Keep enough history without filling the destination |
| Prefer API keys or SSH keys | More secure than passwords |
| Encrypt sensitive backups | Protects data if the destination is compromised |
| Monitor Disk Usage | Backups can fill the destination |
| Verify the first backup succeeds | Confirms the configuration works |
| Enable failure notifications | Catch failures early — see Notification Settings |
| Document the destinations | Future administrators need to know where backups live |
| Test restores regularly | A backup is only useful if it can be restored |
| Combine with snapshots | Fast recovery + long-term archival |
| Use rclone for cloud storage | Flexible, reliable, widely supported |


Last updated: 2026-11-08

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