How to Set Up Daily Automated Backups on a Linux Server

Every server administrator knows backups matter. Most servers still do not have them set up properly. This guide covers the complete backup setup — daily automated backups, offsite storage, and most importantly, testing that restores actually work.

What to Back Up

• MySQL/MariaDB databases: All databases, dumped as .sql files
• Website files: /www/wwwroot/ (aaPanel) or /home/ (cPanel) — everything in your web root
• Configuration files: Nginx configs, PHP configs, cron jobs, SSL certificates
• Email data (if your server handles email)

Method 1: aaPanel Built-In Backup (Easiest)

If you are using aaPanel: Cron → Add Task → Backup Site. Set:

• Backup type: Website + Database (back up both together)
• Frequency: Daily, at 2:00 AM
• Save to: Cloud storage (Google Drive recommended)
• Retention: Keep last 7 copies

Repeat for each site. Also add a separate Database backup task as a redundant database-only backup.

Method 2: Shell Script + Cron (Full Control)

For a complete custom backup script:

#!/bin/bash # /usr/local/bin/daily-backup.sh DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M) BACKUP_DIR="/backup/daily" KEEP_DAYS=7 mkdir -p $BACKUP_DIR # Backup all MySQL databases mysqldump --all-databases -u root -pYOUR_PASS | gzip > $BACKUP_DIR/db_all_$DATE.sql.gz # Backup website files tar -czf $BACKUP_DIR/www_$DATE.tar.gz /www/wwwroot/ # Backup Nginx configs tar -czf $BACKUP_DIR/nginx_$DATE.tar.gz /www/server/nginx/conf/ # Delete backups older than KEEP_DAYS find $BACKUP_DIR -type f -mtime +$KEEP_DAYS -delete echo "Backup completed: $DATE"

Make executable and add to cron:

chmod +x /usr/local/bin/daily-backup.sh crontab -e # Add: 0 2 * * * /usr/local/bin/daily-backup.sh >> /var/log/backup.log 2>&1

Offsite Backup with rclone (Google Drive)

rclone syncs your local backups to Google Drive automatically:

# Install rclone curl https://rclone.org/install.sh | sudo bash # Configure Google Drive remote rclone config # Follow prompts: New remote → n → name: gdrive → Storage: drive → follow OAuth flow # Add sync to cron (runs after backup script) 30 2 * * * rclone sync /backup/daily gdrive:server-backups/$(hostname) --min-age 1m

Testing Your Backups

A backup you have never tested is a backup you cannot trust. Test quarterly:

• Database restore test: Create a test database, restore a backup SQL file into it, verify the data looks correct
• File restore test: Extract a backup archive to a temp directory, verify files are intact and readable
• Full restore drill: Once a year, spin up a test VPS and do a complete restore — time how long it takes