VPS backup

[allu62]

I still haven't looked to solve my "Hestia down" problem, but a first step is made: I've made a backup of the /home directory (using tar) and exported my databases (using phpMyAdmin). New things learned 🙂

The question that remains is if there is any need respectively any sense to back up other directories? Is there any important data (such as configuration files), that I would or could need in the case I'd have to reinstall the whole, outside the home directory? Would a "real" sysadmin back up another directory or part of it?

Thanks for any suggestion. A nice day to everyone!

 

[Haradion]

It depends on how the system is configured, but it's pretty common to back up the contents of /etc, at least any configuration files in there that have been manually customized. It can get a little tricky to keep track of what stuff in /etc has been customized and what was the default configuration, though.

Sometimes, stuff under /var/lib can be backed up directly, but that often holds database files that really should be backed up using the database's own tools, as it's hard to get a clean snapshot by just copying the files with the database running. Specifically with Hestia, it's probably best to use its own backup tools (as Kairion linked to in the other thread), but that'd involve getting Hestia to start in the first place.

Speaking of which, the port numbers are different, but there's a section of the FAQ that looks like it describes a similar issue to what you were experiencing. You might at least compare the Nginx configuration in /etc with anything that shows up in /usr/local/hestia/install/deb/.

[allu62]

Thanks. I backed up /etc (seems to contain the ssh config) and the entire /var. Not to restore, but to have it, if (in the case of a necessary OS reinstallation) I should need some files located there...

Concerning Hestia and Nginx, I hope that I'll find the courage to do what I have to do during the next weeks.

Concerning the backup of a Linux server and the use of the "tar" command, if there are other people who run a VPS without being a "real" sysadmin and who are not sure how to proceed, the new tutorial on my website, describing in detail what I did to bakup /home and my MaraiDB databases, might perhaps be helpful...