Backup structure in Plesk for Linux

Information

Note: This structure is valid for Plesk 12.x and Onyx.

Each backup consists of <info>.xml (backup metadata files), <backup>.<zip|tar> (archived backup files which include website content, databases, etc.) and the directory .discovered , which contains backup technical information.

The backup is identified by the data number, and the list of all files included in the backup can be found with the command find .

For example, to find all the files for backup 0812121508:

From the output above it is seen that this is a backup of a client with the login mydomains which owns the domain example.com with the mail account john.doe@example.com . The backup of this client includes the backup of the domain it owns.

Warning: Modifying Plesk backup is not recommended.

The Plesk backup repository is $DUMP_D (the default location is /var/lib/psa/dump ).

Below are the descriptions of directories corresponding to personal backup repositories accessible through Plesk.

• Root backup directory where server backups and subdirectories with backups of resellers, clients, and domains are stored.

  CONFIG_TEXT: /var/lib/psa/dumps/
  /var/lib/psa/dumps/.discovered

  In Plesk, this directory is accessible through Home > Backup Manager . The required auxiliary subdirectory .discovered is where technical backup information is stored. The directory is not visible in Plesk:
  
• Subdirectory where backups of domains owned by the administrator are stored.

  CONFIG_TEXT: var/lib/psa/dumps/domains
  /var/lib/psa/dumps/domains/<domain.name>
  /var/lib/psa/dumps/domains/<domain.name>/.discovered

  The repositories are identified by the domain name and accessible via Domains > example.com > Backup Manager:
  
  
• Subdirectory where backups of clients and their domains are stored. The repositories are identified by client login and domain name.

  CONFIG_TEXT: /var/lib/psa/dumps/clients
  /var/lib/psa/dumps/clients/<client.login>
  /var/lib/psa/dumps/clients/<client.login>/.discovered
  /var/lib/psa/dumps/clients/<client.login>/<domain.name>
  /var/lib/psa/dumps/clients/<client.login>/<domain.name>/.discovered

  They are accessible via:
  • Clients > client_name > Backup Manager
  • Clients > client_name > Domains > example.com > Backup Manager .
• Subdirectory where backups of resellers, their clients and domains are stored.

  CONFIG_TEXT: /var/lib/psa/dumps/resellers
  /var/lib/psa/dumps/resellers/<reseller.login>
  /var/lib/psa/dumps/resellers/<reseller.login>/.discovered
  /var/lib/psa/dumps/resellers/<reseller.login>/<cient.login>
  /var/lib/psa/dumps/resellers/<reseller.login>/<cient.login>/.discovered
  /var/lib/psa/dumps/resellers/<reseller.login>/<cient.login>/<domain.name>
  /var/lib/psa/dumps/resellers/<reseller.login>/<cient.login>/<domain.name>/.discovered

  The repositories are identified by reseller login, client login and domain name. They are accessible via:
  • Resellers > reseller_name > Backup Manager
  • Resellers > reseller_name > Client Accounts > client_name > Backup Manager
  • Resellers > reseller_name > Client Accounts > client_name > Domains > example.com > Backup Manager .

If there is a plan to migrate objects to a new server, move the root backup directory as a whole.

Foreign files located in the backup repository are not visible through Plesk.

Technical details of Plesk backup are stored in the .discovered directory ( .discovered/converted\_mydomains\_info_0812121508 ). For example:

# ls -l /var/lib/psa/dumps/clients/mydomains/.discovered/converted_mydomains_info_0812121508
-rw-r----- 1 root root 0 Feb 26 14:09 GUID_6ef49c73-4806-48ca-908e-a6674b83d80e
-rw-r----- 1 root root 0 Feb 26 14:09 objectid_mydomains
-rw-r----- 1 root root 0 Feb 26 14:09 owner_6706c956-3955-41f4-8ff0-f3b993999a12
-rw-r----- 1 root root 0 Feb 26 14:09 ownertype_server
-rw-r----- 1 root root 0 Feb 26 14:09 size_1149879
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 0 Feb 26 14:09 status_OK

Where

• GUID_6ef49c73-4806-48ca-908e-a6674b83d80e indicates the GUID of the object which is being backed up;
• objectid_mydomains is the name of the object which is being backed up. (It may be DOMAIN.NAME, CLIENT.LOGIN, RESELLER.LOGIN or admin);
• owner_6706c956-3955-41f4-8ff0-f3b993999a12 indicates the GUID of the owner of the object which is being backed up;
• size_1149879 indicates the backup size which is shown in Plesk on the page {Backup Manager};
• status_OK indicates the status of the backup.

Backup status may be:

• status_OK to indicate a valid backup (marked with green in Plesk);
• status_WRONG-FORMAT for an invalid backup (marked with red in Plesk);
• status_SIGN-ERROR for a modified backup in which the backup signature does not match the backup content. This notification is shown in Plesk when you click on the backup: "Warning: This backup was created on another server or modified after creation."

Note: The status backup file is kind of like a cache. You need to remove it to allow Plesk Backup Manager to generate a new status file.