How to use A2 CDP Backups

This article describes how to access and use A2 CDP (Continuous Data Protection) Backups, powered by R1Soft. The A2 CDP Server Backup Manager enables you to view backups and restore your files and MySQL databases.

About A2 CDP Backups

A2 CDP (Continuous Data Protection) Backups, powered by R1Soft, provides an easy and effective way to back up and restore files and MySQL databases on a managed dedicated server.

When the A2 CDP Backups feature is enabled for your account, you do not need to take any additional action. It begins generating backups of your server automatically.

A2 CDP Backups stores enough backups to cover the past month. There is a backup for each of the most recent seven days, and a backup for each of the previous three weeks, for a total of ten backups.

If a problem occurs on your site, or you need to restore data for some reason, the Server Backup Manager enables you to access your backups using a convenient web interface.

Accessing the Server Backup Manager

The Server Backup Manager is integrated with cPanel, which makes it easy to log in. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Log in to cPanel.
   If your server has WebHost Manager (WHM) installed, you must log in directly to cPanel. If you log in to cPanel through WHM and then try to access the Server Backup Manager, you receive an Authentication Failed error message.
2. In the Files section of the cPanel home screen, click R1Soft Restore Backups:

   

3. You are automatically logged in to the Server Backup Manager:
   

   

4. The Server Backup Manager displays a list of available backups, which are called recovery points. For each recovery point, there are icons for the following operations:
   

   • The Browse () icon enables you to manage file backups. For more information, see the Managing file backups procedure below.
   • The Browse Databases () icon enables you to manage database backups. For more information, see the Managing database backups procedure below.
   • The Download () icon enables you to download the entire backup file. For more information, see the Downloading backup files procedure below.
   • The Send to Agent () icon is currently unused.

Managing file backups

To manage your file backups, follow these steps:

1. From the Server Backup Manager home page, locate the recovery point that you want to access, and then click the  icon. The Browse Recovery Point window appears.
2. To restore all of your files at once, select the check box next to the home directory, and then click Restore Selected.
   The Server Backup Manager backs up your entire server, but as a cPanel user, you can only see your home directory.
3. To view the contents of your home directory, double-click home. A file listing appears:

   

4. You can do any of the following operations:
   

   • To open a directory, double-click the directory name.
   • To move back up a directory, click the Up () icon.
   • To restore a specific file (or multiple files), select the check box next to the filename (or filenames), and then click Restore Selected.
   • To download a specific file (or multiple files), select the check box next to the filename (or filenames), and then click Download Selected.

Managing database backups

With A2 CDP Backups, your MySQL databases are easy to back up and restore. To do this, follow these steps:

1. From the Server Backup Manager home page, locate the recovery point that you want to access, and then click the  icon. The Browse Databases window appears.
2. Click the + icon next to Databases. A list of your databases appears:

   

   You can continue clicking the + icon to show the database tables.
3. To restore a specific database (or multiple databases), select the check box next to the database name (or names), and then click Restore Selected.

Downloading recovery points

As described in the preceding Managing file backups procedure, you can download specific files from a recovery point. However, you can also download the entire recovery point that contains your home directory. To do this, follow these steps:

1. From the Server Backup Manager home page, locate the recovery point that you want to download, and then click the  icon. The Download stored files dialog box appears:
2. In the Introduction section, click Next.
3. In the File Type section, select the compressed file format you want to use, and then click Next.
   Normally, if your local computer runs Microsoft Windows, you want to download the file as a .zip file. If your local computer runs Linux or Apple Mac OS X, you want to download the file as a .tar.gz file (this is a tar file compressed with gzip).
4. In the Download Filename section, select the filename you want to use for the download, and then click Next.
   • To let A2 CDP Backups generate the filename, click Use Generated Filename. A2 CDP Backups uses your username and the recovery point's date and time to generate the filename.
   • To specify your own custom filename, click Specify Filename, and then type the filename you want to use in the Filename text box.
5. In the Summary section, review the options you selected, and then click Download.

6. Select a location on your local computer to save the file.
   

   If you have a lot of files in your home directory, it may take some time to download the entire file.

More Information

For more information about the Server Backup Manager, please visit http://wiki.r1soft.com/display/ServerBackup/Server+Backup+Manager.