Shared hosting and backups

Understanding Backups on Shared Hosting

As of January 2024, basic shared hosting plans for cPanel or DirectAdmin include the Jetbackup software. You can find Jetbackup as an option in your user-side control panel, allowing you to view or restore backups.

Standard Backup Schedule

The standard backup setup includes weekly backups with a retention of four backups (i.e., four weeks of backups are stored).

Boost Plan Upgrades

The Boost 2 and Boost 4 packages, which are upgrades available for an additional fee, offer an enhanced schedule. These plans include daily backups in addition to the weekly retention.

For further information on Boost plans, please see: https://www.interserver.net/webhosting/boost.html

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What Jetbackup Covers (And What It Excludes)

Jetbackup provides incremental backups that include your MySQL databases, email accounts, and site data.

Backup Exclusions

However, the following directories and file names are excluded from all backups. These are generally temporary files, caches, or other local backups that are not needed for core site operation:

• lscache/*
• *.jpa
• backup-*.tar.gz
• cpmove-*.tar.gz
• site-*.tar.gz
• .MirrorSearch
• */com_akeeba/backup/*
• */backupbuddy_backups/*
• */.wysiwygPro_*
• */core.[0-9]*
• public_html/cache/*
• tmp/*
• logs/*
• .cagefs
• .cagefs*
• .cpan
• .cpanel/caches
• .cpanel/datastore
• .cpcpan
• .sqmailattach
• .cpanel/*.sock
• access-logs/*
• */error_log
• public_ftp/*
• softaculous_backups/*
• */wp-content/uploads/wpcf7_captcha/*
• */wp-content/widget-cache/*
• */wp-content/cache/*
• */wptsc-cachedir/*
• */magick-*

Any files matching these names or located in these folders will not be backed up during any manual or automatic run. If you need to back up these specific files, a manual backup is required, and it must be stored offsite.

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Handling Manual and Temporary Backups

Full backups generated in cPanel (e.g., cpmove-*.tar.gz) and Softaculous backups stored in the softaculous_backups directory are considered temporary, expiring files. These backups will be removed automatically and should be downloaded and stored locally immediately after generation.

If you would like to prevent these backups from expiring or have them included in Jetbackup, you must:

• Rename manual cPanel backups to a format other than backup-*.tar.gz or cpmove-*.tar.gz.
• Copy Softaculous backups to a directory outside of the softaculous_backups folder.

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Important Policies and Recommendations

Please be aware that the default backup policy is weekly. If you believe your site requires backups more frequently, consider one of these options:

• Upgrading to a Boost 2, Boost 4, or Boost X plan, which includes daily backups.
• Running backups yourself using Jetbackup or another method and downloading them for offsite storage.

Backup Storage and Disclaimer

Jetbackup stores backups remotely, which prevents a server failure from affecting your backups. Remember, local backups stored on the same server are not true backups, as they will not survive a server failure.

While InterServer makes all efforts to check backup status, ensure they are running, and manage backup storage, potential errors in Jetbackup, cPanel, or related services (like a database) could prevent a full backup. Backups are not individually tested and are only verified upon a restore request or in a disaster recovery scenario.

For further information on using the Jetbackup interface, please see the official documentation: https://docs.jetbackup.com/v5.2/userpanel/dashboard.html