A proper backup and disaster recovery solution is an absolute necessity for anyone running a website. Whether it’s something going wrong with a server/infrastructure provider or a change on the application level that takes your site down, you need to be ready to handle it fast.
Fortunately, setting a backup solution that’s actually usable and reliable doesn’t have to be a hassle. So, in this guide, we’re going to walk you through how you can set up website backups with RunCloud Backup – a built-in backup solution designed to bring you peace of mind without slowing down your sites.
An Introduction to RunCloud Backups
Most backup solutions run at the application level, such as in the form of a plugin if you’re using a CMS like WordPress which is great in theory because it’s very easy to set up. Unfortunately, some solutions like this can significantly slow down your websites and tend not to be reliable for large sites.
With RunCloud Backups – both backups & restores are performed at the server level which means you’re not relying on any compatibility or size limitations not getting in the way. In fact, we also continue to closely monitor user feedback on backups ensuring their efficiency and reliability across the board on the hundreds of thousands of web applications that rely on RunCloud.
RunCloud Backup Features
- Incremental Backup
- Backup WordPress site (both Web App & Database)
- Folder/File exclusion
- Database Table exclusion
- Backup Frequency (30 minutes – 1 week)
- Schedule Backup
- On-demand Backup
- Download Backup
How To Backup Web Applications (The Easiest Way)
1. Log In To Your RunCloud Dashboard
The first step is to log into your RunCloud account. If you don’t have a RunCloud account we’ll recommend you to create one:
2. Create Your First Backup
Then, simply navigate to the RunCloud Backup page in your dashboard using the navigation where you’ll see the following (if this is your first time creating a backup with RunCloud).
To get started, simply click Backup your first site.
3. Configure Your Backup’s Settings
You’ll then be able to configure your backup’s settings, this is where you set the following:
- Backup Plan – Backup Basic or Backup Pro
- Backup Method: Web Application, Database, or Both
Note: We highly recommend backing up both your web application and database if you use WordPress as the database is crucial for your website to work. - Select your web application
- Select your database
- Name this backup
- Choose your backup frequency
- Choose your backup retention (how long do you want to store backup files?)
- Configure notifications for successful & failed backups
All RunCloud users get 5GB of storage included with their existing plans that can be used with RunCloud’s free backup service. However, if you feel that you’d benefit from advanced functionality such as custom file exclusion, on-demand backups, flexible backup retention & more – you can upgrade to RunCloud Backup Pro starting at just $1 USD per month for up to 50GB of storage.
Restoring Your Backups – Disaster Recovery
If you can’t rely on actually being able to use your backups when it comes to disaster recovery – then there’s not much point in having them there in the first place. You need a solid restore process in place so that if a server or site ever needs to be restored, you know how to get it back up & running in no-time.
This couldn’t be easier than it is with RunCloud Backups. Simply navigate to your backup instance and then view your Backup files. From this list of all backups – choose which one you wish to restore and then click Restore this backup:
You’ll then be able to select how you wish to restore this backup. What server you wish to restore it to, whether you wish to rollback the existing site or create a new site from the backup & more…
And once you’ve made your selection, simply click Restore this Site and that’s it! 👏
RunCloud Backups – Frequently Asked Questions
Can I only restore database or web application files?
If you chose only to backup files, then files that were backed up will be restored. If you chose only to backup the database, then only the database will be restored. And if you backup both web application and database, both will be restored. You cannot restore one or the other.
What happens to my backups after my trial?
Before your trial is up, you will need to select which sites you want to move over to Backup Basic. Any sites on Backup Pro will be deleted unless you purchase a Backup Pro plan. You will notified three times to migrate your data and choose a plan: 1 week, 3 days, and 1 day.
What if I delete my web application?
We do not delete any of your data unless requested to do so. Therefore, if you have backups and you delete your web application, the backups will be saved and can still be restored to an existing website or a test site (Pro).
Are all my files backed up?
All files are backed up as incremental backups meaning your first backup will be a full backup and each backup afterwards will be incremental backups, which mean that only files that have changed will be backed up. If you selected to retain backups for a week, then once the full backup is deleted, another full backup will be made, and after that, each backup will be incremental.
Our backup service is smart enough to understand the difference between a full backup and incremental backups, so you need not worry. This new service was designed like this to maximize the amount of space before files are deleted.
What happens if I reach my backup limit?
Once you have reached the maximum limit of your plan, your backups will be paused until space is cleared or you upgrade your plan.
Conclusion – RunCloud Backup, A Built-In Backup Solution You Can Actually Rely On
While we highly recommend & it’s widely accepted that having a backup solution like RunCloud’s built-in Backup service in place – for more advanced sites with multiple people making changes to your codebase, we highly recommend using version control with GitHub for Continuous Integration and Deployment.
And with RunCloud working in the background to ensure backups are taken on the server level, you don’t have to worry about having a reference point to restore to – no matter what happens. For instance, if you were one of the millions affected, our free solution that couldn’t be easier to get started with could have saved your data from being lost in OVH’s data center fire in France.
The last thing you want to deal with is data loss on a service your customers rely on in production. And at RunCloud, we’re driven to make it easier for you to run your business giving you everything you need to manage your servers. If you have absolutely any questions, comments, or suggestions – feel free to leave a comment below! 💬
