Skip to main content

​
Protecting Your Data with Backups

Backups are complete snapshots of your server’s primary disk — a full copy of everything on it, from the operating system to your applications and data. If something goes wrong (a bad update, a corrupted database, an accidental rm -rf), a backup lets you rewind your server to the exact state it was in when the backup was taken. The FREAKHOSTING VPS Control Panel makes this straightforward with built-in backup tools and flexible scheduling.

Difficulty

Beginner

Time

5 Minutes

​
Understanding Backups

Before you create your first backup, here is what you need to know:

​
What Gets Backed Up

Backups capture your server’s primary disk only — that is Drive A, the one marked PRIMARY in the Storage tab. If you have additional storage volumes attached (Drive B, Drive C, etc.), those are not included in the backup. For secondary drives, you will need to use server-level backup tools like rsync or borgbackup.

​
Backup Slots — How Many Can I Keep?

Your VPS plan includes a set number of backup slots. Each slot holds one backup. With 1 backup slot (the most common configuration), you can keep exactly one backup at a time. When a new backup is created — whether manually or on schedule — it replaces the previous one. Think of it like a single save slot in a video game. You can save your progress whenever you want, but saving again overwrites your last save. If you need your current backup preserved before creating a new one, that is not possible with a single slot — the new backup always takes over.
Check your Backups tab to see how many slots your plan includes. The panel displays this as: “There are X slots for backups.” If you need more backup retention, contact support about plan upgrades that include additional slots.

​
Why Power Down Before a Backup?

The panel recommends shutting down your server before creating a backup, and for good reason. Imagine photocopying a document while someone is still writing on it — you might capture half-written sentences or miss content that was being added mid-copy. The same thing happens with a running server: databases might have transactions in progress, files might be partially written, and data held in memory has not been flushed to disk yet. Powering down ensures that all data is cleanly written to disk before the backup captures it. The result is a perfectly consistent snapshot that you can restore with confidence.
For production servers that cannot afford downtime, running backups while the server is on usually works fine for most workloads. The risk of inconsistency is small but real — particularly for busy databases. If you are running a database server, consider using the database’s own dump tool (like mysqldump or pg_dump) before the backup runs, so the database export is already safely on disk.

​
Real-World Scenario: Recovering from Disaster

Here is a situation that happens more often than you might think:
You are running a Minecraft server for your community. After a plugin update, the world database gets corrupted and the server will not start. Players are messaging you, and every minute of downtime feels like an hour.
With a backup in place, recovery takes minutes:
  1. Go to the Backups tab.
  2. Click Restore on your most recent backup (taken before the bad update).
  3. Confirm the restore, wait for it to complete.
  4. Your server reboots with everything exactly as it was before the plugin update — world data intact, players happy.
Without a backup? You are looking at hours of troubleshooting, potential data loss, and possibly rebuilding from scratch. Backups are your insurance policy. Set them up before you need them.

​
Scheduling Automatic Backups

1

Navigate to Your Server

Click on Servers in the top navigation bar, then click Manage next to the server you want to back up.
2

Open the Backups Tab

Click on the Backups tab in the server management navigation. You will see the backup heading, the slot information, and the recommendation to power down before backing up.
3

Click the Schedule Button

Click the Schedule button (with the calendar icon) to open the Backup Schedule configuration dialog. This is where you choose how often automatic backups run.
4

Choose a Schedule

Select your preferred backup frequency from the available options:
ScheduleWhat It Does
NoneNo automatic backups. You handle everything manually.
DailyA backup is created automatically every day. Best for servers with data that changes frequently.
WeeklyA backup is created automatically once per week. Good for servers with relatively stable data.
5

Click Update

Click the Update button to save your backup schedule. The system will now automatically create backups according to your chosen frequency. With a single backup slot, each scheduled backup will replace the previous one.

​
Creating a Manual Backup

If you need a backup right now — for example, before making a risky configuration change — you do not have to wait for the schedule:
1

Power Down (Recommended)

For the cleanest possible backup, shut down your server first using the power controls. This is optional but recommended for data-heavy workloads.
2

Open the Backups Tab

Navigate to your server and click the Backups tab.
3

Create Backup

Click the Backup button to start a backup immediately. The process will begin and you can monitor its progress in the Task Log at the bottom of the page.

​
Managing Existing Backups

Once backups have been created (either manually or automatically), they appear as entries on the Backups page. For each backup, you can:

Restore

Restore your server to the state captured in this backup. This overwrites the entire current contents of your server’s primary disk with the backup data.

Delete

Remove a backup to free up the backup slot. This is permanent — the backup data cannot be recovered once deleted. Useful if you want to manually trigger a fresh backup.

​
Restoring from a Backup

1

Locate the Backup

On the Backups tab, find the backup you want to restore from. Each backup shows when it was created and its current status.
2

Initiate the Restore

Click the Restore button for the desired backup.
3

Confirm the Restore

A confirmation dialog will warn you that restoring will overwrite your current server data. Read the warning carefully and confirm to proceed.
4

Wait for Completion

The restore process will begin. You can monitor progress in the Task Log at the bottom of the page. Your server may be automatically restarted during this process. Depending on the size of your disk, this can take anywhere from a few minutes to 30 minutes.

​
Backup Best Practices

Enable Automatic Backups

Set up at least weekly automatic backups so you always have a recovery point. Daily backups are strongly recommended for servers running databases, game servers, or any application with frequently changing data.

Power Down Before Backup

For maximum data integrity, shut down your server before a backup runs. While not always practical for production servers, it is the safest approach — especially for database-heavy workloads.

Enable Failure Notifications

Turn on Server Backup Failure notifications in your Account Profile settings. If a scheduled backup fails to complete, you want to know about it immediately — not discover it weeks later when you actually need that backup.

Backup Before Big Changes

About to update your OS, install a new application, or change a major configuration? Create a manual backup first. It takes a few minutes and gives you a guaranteed rollback point if something goes wrong.
The number of backup slots depends on your VPS plan. With 1 slot (the most common), only the most recent backup is retained — each new backup replaces the previous one. There is no way to keep multiple backups with a single slot. If you need more backup retention, contact support about plan upgrades with additional slots.
Backup duration depends on the size of your server’s disk and how much data it contains. A typical backup for a 50-100 GB disk completes within a few minutes to 30 minutes. You can continue using your server during the backup (though powering down first is recommended for consistency).
The built-in backup system covers your server’s primary disk only (Drive A). For additional drives or more granular backup needs, use server-level backup tools like rsync, borgbackup, or restic to back up specific directories to an external location.
The built-in backup system stores backups on FREAKHOSTING infrastructure for quick restoration. Backups are not available for direct download. For downloadable backups, use server-level tools to create archives (like tar or zip) and transfer them to your local machine or external cloud storage.
The restore process does not merge data — it is a complete overwrite. Your server’s primary disk will be replaced entirely with the backup contents. Any data created or modified after the backup was taken will be lost. If you need to preserve specific files, copy them off the server before restoring.

​
Need Extra Help?

If you encounter any issues, our support team is ready to assist:

​
Save on Your Hosting

Ready to get a new server? Use code KB20 at checkout for 20% off your first month!
Last Updated: March 2026 | VPS Support: Backup management simplified.