Securing Your Data: The Best Backup Strategies for Your Dedicated Server or VPS

Protect Your Data: Smart Backup Strategies for Your InterServer VPS or Dedicated Server

When you’re running a website or an application, your data is your most valuable asset. Whether it’s customer info, your site’s code, or your databases, losing that data can be a total disaster. At InterServer, we want to help you make sure that never happens. Setting up a solid backup plan is one of the most important things you can do for your server.

In this guide, we’ll explain the difference between backup locations and why we recommend specific tools like JetBackup and InterServer Remote Storage to keep your hard work safe.

Location Is Everything: Where Should You Save Your Backups?

Most control panels give you a few options for where to save your backup files. Not all of them are safe, though. Here is the breakdown of the three main levels:

• Backups to the Local Disk (Risky): This means saving your backups on the same hard drive where your website lives. This is dangerous. If your hard drive fails, you lose your website and your backups at the same time. It’s like keeping your only spare key inside the locked car.
• Backups to a Secondary Disk (Better): If your server has a second drive, saving backups there is a step up. It protects you if your primary drive dies. However, if your server is compromised by a hacker, they can usually access and delete the backups on that second drive just as easily as the live site.
• Backups to a Remote Location (Best Choice): This is the gold standard. By sending your data to a completely different physical location, it stays safe even if your server has a total hardware meltdown or a security breach. This is the only strategy we truly recommend for serious users.

The Best Tools for the Job

If you are using a control panel, we highly recommend JetBackup (which requires a commercial license). The main reason we suggest JetBackup is its incredibly fast incremental backup speed. Instead of copying every single file every time, it only copies the things that have changed. This saves your server’s resources and makes the backup process much more efficient.

To get the best results, we recommend pairing JetBackup with InterServer Remote Storage. By sending your “fast incremental” backups to our dedicated storage platform, you ensure your data is redundant, off-site, and ready for a quick restore whenever you need it.

How to Configure Your Backups

Depending on which control panel you use, setting up your remote destination is straightforward. You can follow the official documentation for each here:

• cPanel/WHM Users: Follow the cPanel Backup Configuration Guide.
• DirectAdmin Users: Follow the DirectAdmin Backup and Restore Guide.

Understanding Your Backup Policy

A good backup policy isn’t just about making one copy; it’s about how often you do it and how long you keep it. We recommend a “Daily” backup with at least a 7-day retention period. This gives you a week’s worth of “points in time” to roll back to if something goes wrong.

It’s also important to know what is already included with your account. You can check our breakdown of Backup Availability per Service to see what tools are available for your specific InterServer plan.

Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late

Hardware failures and security issues are a “when,” not an “if.” Take five minutes today to check your backup settings. Make sure your data is being sent to a remote location and that you’re using a fast, reliable tool like JetBackup. If you need help getting started or setting up your remote storage, our support team is always here to jump in!