Applicable to:
- Plesk for Linux
- Plesk for Windows
Question
How to create and restore backups using Dropbox Backup extension in Plesk?
Answer
Note: Scheduled subscription backups in a remote cloud/SFTP storage is a premium feature that can be unlocked with a single purchase of Backup to Cloud Pro license.
- Log into Plesk.
- Install Dropbox Backup extension in Extensions > Dropbox Backup > Install.
- Creating a full server backup:
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Navigate to Tools & Settings > Backup Manager.
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Press the Remote Storage Settings button.
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In the opened window click on Dropbox Backup, enter your Dropbox account details, and go through all steps there.
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To create a backup go to Tools & Settings > Backup Manager > press the Back Up button.
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Select the required storage and adjust other backup settings.
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Press OK to start the backup creation task.
- Restoring a full server backup:
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Go to Tools & Settings > Backup Manager.
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Click on the name of a backup from the list that should be restored.
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Select objects for restoration, specify other settings, and click the Restore button.
- Creating a subscription backup:
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Go to Subscription > example.com > Backup Manager.
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Press the Remote Storage Settings button.
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In the opened window click on Dropbox Backup, enter your Dropbox account details, and go through all steps there.
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To create a backup go to Tools & Settings > Backup Manager > press the Back Up button.
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Select the required storage and adjust other settings.
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Press OK to start the backup creation task.
- Restoring a subscription backup:
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Go to Subscription > example.com > Backup Manager.
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Click on the name of a backup from the list that should be restored.
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Select objects for restoration, specify other settings, and click the Restore button.
Comments
11 comments
Hi, could you please specify how much extra free disk space is necessary to run a full server backup using the Dropbox Backup extension? As many people have pointed out, using the Dropbox backup on a per subscription basis with the login details of the sysadmin presents a security risk, as all backups of all subscriptions are visible to all Plesk accounts. I'd like to use the full server back-up as a workaround, but the backup keeps failing because there is not enough disk space. Please advise.
@Maarten Machiels
The current version of Dropbox backup prior to uploading a backup to the cloud creating a usual backup and then upload it. So the recommendation same as if you are creating a full server backup.
Hi Robert, thanks for your answer. If I understand you correctly this means that a full server back-up requires at least 50% of free space? So, if I would perform a full server back-up, all the data will be first backed up locally and then moved to Dropbox, yes? So imagine I have a server with 100GB disk space, of which 80GB is filled with data, a full server backup would never be able to complete. I would at least need a disk space of 160GB?
@Maarten Machiels
1) Yes, when you perform a full server back-up all the data will be first backed up locally and then moved to Dropbox.
2) Disk space depends on data compression ratio. In a case when you have 80Gb data, 80Gb free disk space should be sufficient to create full server backup. Dropbox backup I'd recommend creating a per-subscription backup.
Hi Robert. Thanks for your in-depth answer. This is now a lot clearer. Performing the Dropbox back-up on a per subscription basis would be the most flexibel, but there's an issue still. If an administrator performs subscription-based Dropbox back-ups, the customer accounts can see all the back-ups that are stored in the Dropbox account of the administrator and can even download them. This is a security and privacy issue preventing us to use the Dropbox back-up at the moment. It's been discussed in detail here https://ext.plesk.com/packages/9f3b75b3-d04d-44fe-a8fa-7e2b1635c2e1-dropbox-backup#!. Hopefully this can be addressed soon, because it's a great back-up solution, though unusable at the moment.
I can't find any info of how to restore the data of old Plesk on a fresh Plesk install. Is it possible?
@Mark if you looking to restore data from Dropbox backup on a fresh Plesk you need:
1. First add old Dropbox storage to fresh Plesk server as a remote storage.
2. After that under Backup Manager you'll see backups from old Plesk and will be able to restore them.
THanks Anton, but this does not work :(
Still can not see the backup :(
Hello, @Mark
Please submit a request to continue the investigation of this issue further: https://support.plesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/213608509-How-to-submit-a-request-to-Plesk-support-
Hello Kea
The possible cause is that only backups created in Plesk Onyx and later can be restored in Plesk Obsidian.
As a workaround, you may use Plesk migrator.
Also, you may try downloading backup to the server in question and use this instruction: https://support.plesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/213947385
If none of this helps, submit a request to Plesk Support.
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