Can I Use FTP as an Off-Server Backup?
Note: It is against our Terms of Service to use our unlimited disk space packages to keep backups for off-site servers, as this would be considered to be file dumping.
It is both allowed and recommended to use FTP to generate your cPanel backups off the server. Setting up an external FTP server that your hosting package can upload backups to will help prevent recursively including previous backups in your future backups, prevent backups from increasing the size of your account (potentially disqualifying you from our automated backups), and even help control your inode usage.
To use FTP to generate an off-server backup:
You may find some links below that will redirect you to your cPanel and its features provided that the following conditions are met:
- You are logged into your Customer Portal. You can also log in after clicking the link.
- The hosting package you are attempting to access is either a Shared or Cloud.
- Log in to cPanel.
- Click the Backup icon in the Files section.
- Click Download a Full Website Backup.
- From the Backup Destination drop-down box select Remote FTP Server (Passive Mode Transfer).
- In the new text areas enter the following information:
- Email Address: The address you would like to be notified at when the backup completes.
- Remote Server: The address of the remote server.
- Remote User: The FTP username for the remote server.
- Remote Password: The FTP password.
- Port: The port address to access the remote server at.
- Remote Dir (or Directory): The directory you want to store the backup in on the remote server.
- Click Generate Backup.