How To: Enable and Use the SiteWorx Backups Cron Plugin

The SiteWorx Backup Cron plugin sets up a cron job to automatically back up all of the SiteWorx accounts on the server.

Enabling the SiteWorx Backup Cron plugin creates a cronjob in the root crontab similar to the following:

[root@server ~]# crontab -l
SHELL=/bin/sh
PATH=/root
MAILTO=admin@hostname.com
0 2 * * * sh /home/interworx/plugins/siteworx-backups-cron/scripts/iwx-backup.sh 4 3 2 /backup 5
[root@server ~]#

Daily backups that are created by the SiteWorx Backup Cron will be stored in the directory that is specified in the plugin settings. Since they are not stored in the individual SiteWorx account default backup folder (/home/{unixuser}/{domain.com}/iworx-backup), backups created by this plugin will not be automatically viewable or restorable from within the SiteWorx or NodeWorx interfaces.

Backups that are created by the SiteWorx Backup Cron can be restored in two ways:

• Move the desired backup file to the SiteWorx account’s default backup folder (/home/{unixuser}/{domain.com}/iworx-backup), and then restore the backup from NodeWorx

• Use the CLI import tool for a single account backup

Contents

• How To: Enable and Use the SiteWorx Backups Cron Plugin

  • To Create the Destination Directory

  • To Manage the Plugin

  • Additional Options

  • Using a Custom Temp Directory

To Create the Destination Directory

1. Log in to the server at the CLI as root, either via SSH or from the terminal

2. At the CLI, create the destination partition and mount. Default expected location is /backup

   mkdir /backup
   

Note

It is recommended that the destination directory (/backup by default) be on a dedicated backup drive or partition. Placing it on the primary drive can quickly lead to service interruptions and potential data loss if the primary partition runs out of space.

To Manage the Plugin

1. Log into NodeWorx from the browser (https://ip.ad.dr.ess:2443/nodeworx)

2. In NodeWorx, navigate to NodeWorx > Plugins

   

3. Under Backup/Restore, click the Pencil Icon next to SiteWorx Backups Cron. This opens the SiteWorx Backup

   Cron setup form

   

4. Update the required fields:

   • Status: Enables or Disables the plugin

   • Backup Path: The destination partition

   • Keep Daily: The number of daily backups kept on the server

   • Keep Weekly: The number of weekly backups kept on the server

   • Keep Monthly: The number of monthly backups kept on the server

   • Minimum Available Disk Space: The minimum percentage of disk space that must be available in order for the SiteWorx backup cron to run

5. If the backups are to be stored on a remote server, select Yes from the Enable Remote SSHFS Mount dropdown. This will expand the form to provide additional required settings:

   

   • SSH or SCP User: The SSH or SCP username

   • SSH or SCP User Password: The SSH or SCP password for that user

   • SSH or SCP Host or IP: The hostname or IP of the remote server

   • SSH or SCP Port: The SSH or SCP port for the remote server

   • SSH Remote Backup Folder: The full path to the directory on the remote server where the backups will be stored. This folder must already exist. It will not be automatically created

   • Unmount: If Yes is selected the SSHFS remote folder will automatically be unmounted after the daily backup is complete

6. Click Save

Additional Options

Further customization may be set in /home/interworx/plugins/siteworx-backups-cron/scripts/iwx-backup.conf. Customizable settings include:

• Day to run Weekly backups

• Day to run Monthly backups

• Backup notification email

[root@server ~]# cat /home/interworx/plugins/siteworx-backups-cron/scripts/iwx-backup.conf
#!/bin/bash
# Conf changes to this file will not be lost in future updates.  New options will be appended to this conf file.
# Which Day to run Weekly Backups  (0..6); 0 is Sunday
DAY_WEEKLY="0"
# Which Day to run Monthly Backups  (1..31) 1 or 15 is best
DAY_MONTHLY="1"
#Backup Reporting - By default the current Server Admin Email is used, un-comment and set ADMIN_EMAIL if needed..
#ADMIN_EMAIL=""
[root@server ~]#

Note

The backup notification email defaults to the primary NodeWorx users email address. To override, uncomment ADMIN_EMAIL and add the desired email address to that line.

Using a Custom Temp Directory

Note

The ability to customize the SiteWorx Backup Cron Plugin temp directory was added in 8.1.10.

By default, the SiteWorx Backup Cron plugin creates a custom temp directory called /home/iwbktemp to use while creating the backups. This directory can be changed by editing the siteworx-backups-cron-tmpdir setting in ~iworx/iworx.ini.

1. Log in to the server at the CLI as root, either via SSH or from the terminal

2. At the CLI, using a text editor, open ~iworx/iworx.ini. The following example uses the Vim text editor:

   vim ~iworx/iworx.ini
   

3. Under the [plugins.dir] heading, edit the siteworx-backups-cron-tmpdir setting. By default, it is set to /home/iwbktmp. Example:

   [plugins.dir]
   siteworx-backups-cron-tmpdir="/home/iwbktmp"
   

4. Save the file and exit the text editor