16.5 Scheduled backups

Administration → Backup → Scheduled backups writes encrypted backups to the data volume (backups/ directory) on a schedule.

Backup → Scheduled backups, backup key and stored backups.

16.5.1 Schedule

Field What it does Default / allowed values
Configuration — daily (switch) Daily configuration backup (all sections). Off
at Hour, in the configured time zone. 02:00
keep … copies Number of configuration backups retained; older ones are deleted. 14 (1–365)
Full — weekly (switch) Weekly full backup. Off
on Weekday. Sunday
at Hour. 03:00
keep … copies Number of full backups retained. 4 (1–52)

Buttons: Save schedule (enabled when something changed), Back up configuration now, Back up full now. Below: Last configuration backup, Last full backup, and Last error when the last run failed.

Behaviour:

  • The scheduler checks every 10 minutes. A run missed because the server was off is taken about 2 minutes after the server is back; later runs keep their normal time. No run starts during a restore.
  • Each run writes backup_created or backup_failed. Failures and overdue runs appear in the System health panel and raise a Service health alert.
  • Saving the schedule writes backup_schedule_changed.

16.5.2 Backup key

Scheduled backups are encrypted with a server-held key (file backup-key, mode 0600).

Situation What happens
No key yet Status: No key yet. Generate key now, turning a schedule on, or the first Back up … now creates the key — after asking for your password — and shows it once.
Key shown Copy it (Copy) and store it with your disaster-recovery documents, then click I have stored it. It is never shown again.
Rotate key… Generates a new key for future backups (asks for your password). Existing files stay encrypted with the old key — keep the old key too.

The key is also inside every full backup. It can also be created on the host with sudo adactl backup key create. Events: backup_key_created, backup_key_rotated.

16.5.3 Backups on the server

The table lists every scheduled backup: File, Type (Full / Configuration), Size, Created, and actions ⤓ (download) and ✕ (delete, with confirmation; logged as backup_deleted). To restore a scheduled file, download it and use the Configuration or Full backup sub-tab with the backup key as passphrase.