If you’ve recently purchased Backup Manager or added it to your account, you may wonder how to use it most effectively. If you have a site at or near your file size limitations, here is some advice on how to optimize your Backup Manager settings.

This article looks specifically at optimizing backups to stay under the maximum size available. If you’re looking for answers to more general Backup Manager questions, here are our guides on How to Enable/Disable Backups Using the Backup Manager and How to Restore a Backup File/Folder Using the Backup Manager.

• What Are We Optimizing For?
• How to Adjust Your Backup Settings
• What Style of Backup?

What Are We Optimizing For?

By default, a Backup Manager subscription allows for account backups of up to 10 GB. If the amount of data on your account exceeds 10 GB, backup manager will not run regularly scheduled backups. In this situation, you must either delete files to bring the account under 10 GB, purchase more backup space in AMP, or adjust the files included in the backup. As long as the adjusted total is under your account limit, backups will still run.

How to Adjust Your Backup Settings

Here is a brief summary of how to adjust your Backup Manager settings:

1. Click on the Backup Manager icon in cPanel.
2. Click on the Backup Settings & Scheduling tab.
3. Expand Home Directory.
4. Under Data Included in Backup, select the desired configuration.
5. If applicable, choose which folder or folders to exclude or include.
6. Save this configuration by clicking the apply changes button.

What Style of Backup?

The Backup Manager configuration that you choose will vary depending on your account and what you prioritize. Below are summaries of the different configurations.

Choose ‘All Home Directory Folders’ While Account is Small

By default, enabling Backup Manager will backup all files on your account. Remember, these backups made with Backup Manager are stored on an external account; they will not affect your available storage space or the amount of space you can back up. As long as your account is reliably under your Backup Manager storage limit, stick with this option — just keep an eye on things! You don’t want to find out you ran out of space, and stopped taking backups, right when you needed one most.

Choose ‘Backup Selected Folders’ to only Backup Specific Essentials

This option allows you to choose exactly which folders to backup, excluding everything else. Because it’s easy to miss configuration files and other useful cPanel directories, only use this option if you know exactly what is and is not important to you and your sites. Only backing up individual folders can leave you in trouble if you create a new site and forget to adjust your backup specifications.

Use ‘Exclude Selected Folders’ to Save Space

If you know exactly what directories are ‘junk’, this is the option for you. This is a great way to exclude certain email accounts that are unusually full, or test sites that aren’t important or worth saving. This option ensures that newly added sites are backed up, so you are less likely to lose something by accident. Be care to only exclude folders if you know exactly what they contain. Both cPanel and WordPress can hide some configuration files in unexpected places!

The above strategies will help you keep your backups within your current limitations. As your site grows, though, you may find yourself needing more space to back up your site: no problem! You can always purchase additional Backup Manager storage blocks in AMP.

Backup Manager is available on a variety of plans, including shared hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated hosting!

In this guide, we will show you how to access the Backup Manager settings in Web Host Manager (WHM) then go over the available settings. Backup Manager is a great way to utilize InMotion’s backup system and secure the data of your VPS or Dedicated Server. Backups are stored on a separate server, you can choose what is backed up, and set a schedule. Purchase Backup Manager from AMP if you don’t have it yet or purchase additional storage blocks if necessary.

In this article: 

• Accessing Backup Manager
• Purchase Backup Space
• Backup Settings
• Perform a Restoration
• Storage Breakdown
• System Performance Tuning

Accessing Backup Manager

Follow these steps to access and manage the backup manager options in your WHM.

1. Log into WHM as the root user.
2. Type “backup” in the search box. 
3. Click the Backup Manager link under the Plugins section.

Now that you know how to find the Backup Manager WHM, we will go over the available options and settings you will find there.

Purchase Backup Space

1. On the Backup Manager Page click the Purchase Backup Space button. This will take you to AMP. 
2. Under the section titled Automated Backups you will see your account’s current usage. You can select a quantity to add storage in ten-gigabyte (10 GB) increments. Add enough slots so that your total backup space is greater than your current disk space.
   For instance, if you have twelve gigabytes (12 GB) of disk space used and have ten gigabytes (10 GB) of backup storage space you will need to select one (1) ten-gigabyte (10 GB) slot from the Quantity drop-down. This will bring your total available storage for backups to twenty gigabytes (20 GB). With twelve gigabytes (12 GB) of disk space used, this gives you about eight gigabytes (8 GB) for your site to grow! We recommend you monitor your disk space often, to ensure that you always have enough backup space available.
3. Click Add to Cart.
4. Click Continue to Cart to proceed to checkout.
5. Select your Payment Method or add one, if necessary, by clicking on Add New Payment Method.
6. Click the ORDER button to complete your purchase.

Backup Settings

The Backup Settings tab is where you can enable and disable automatic file and database backups. Below is a description of the available settings.

Perform a Restoration

This tab is where you can restore files or databases that were backed up using Backup Manager. Below is a breakdown of the available options and how to use them.

Storage Breakdown

Here you can view how much space your backups are taking and also limit the amount of backup space cPanel users can use. Follow these steps to set cPanel user backup size limits.

Set cPanel Limits

1. Click the toggle next to the Limit Account Usage option. You will then see the additional options.
2. If you want to set a “Default limit for new accounts” enter a value in the box in Gigabytes.
3. Enter an address in the “Email to send Notifications” field if you want to be messaged when a backup limitation is reached.
4. You will see existing cPanel users listed. Enter a value in the “Backup Limit” field as needed. 
5. Click the toggle on the right to enable or disable email notifications.

System Performance Tuning

This tab lets you set load and bandwidth limitations when backups or restorations are being performed. You can also select peak hours, filter what information is logged, and set the directory for temporary files here.

High-Availability Cloud VPS subscriptions offer complete snapshots as an alternate way of making backups.

The cPanel Backup Manager feature allows you to automatically make backups of your account’s files. This includes your database files and the website files within your cPanel account. Backups are stored on separate physical hardware from your hosting account. This is done to provide a secure and safe backup away from your web hosting server. To start, you are given a 10 GB block of storage space for your backups. Additional storage blocks can be purchased in your Account Management Panel (AMP) interface. Follow the tutorial below to learn how to use the features of the Backup Manager.

• Finding the Backup Manager in cPanel
• Describing the Sections of the Backup Manager
• How to Restore a Backup
• Backup Settings
• Specifying Child Account Backup Storage

VPS hosting subscriptions offer complete snapshots as an alternate way of making backups.

How to Find the Backup Manager in cPanel

Finding the Backup Manager in the cPanel is a quick and easy task.

1. Log in to the cPanel.
2. Scroll down to the Files Section.
3. You will then see the icon for the Backup Manager as per the screenshot above. Click on Backup Manager to launch the application.

Understanding the Sections of the Backup Manager

The interface of the Backup Manager can be described in two sections. The first section starts with a description of the Backup Manager followed by two lines that display the storage space needed by your upcoming backup and the total space used by all of your backups. There is also a button that lets you purchase additional space. You can see this section highlighted below.

The second part of the Backup Manager interface is divided into three main tabs. This portion of the Backup Manager is where you perform website file backups, database backups, and restorations. The third tab is for child accounts that have been created within your cPanel. Child accounts are simply websites that you added through your cPanel account. You can see this section in the screenshot below.

We will step you through each section and give you the steps on how to restore your backups, make backups for your entire account, and specify storage space for your child accounts.

Restoring Backups

Restorations are divided into Backup Types:

• Home Directory – this area is where you can select website folders to be included in the restore.
• MySQL – this where you can select database backup files to be restored.

How to Restore Website Files

When you restore your website files you have the option to restore from a specific date, restore all files, or restore specific files that you select. You also have the option of selecting where the files will be restored and if you wish to receive an email notification when the restoration is complete. Follow these steps to restore a backup:

1. Click on the arrow next to Home Directory to expand the options for restoring files.
2. Click on the drop-down arrow next to the date in order to select a specific date to restore. Note that you would need to have multiple backups for this option to work.
3. Next, you need to select all the files option or select files to restore.
   
   
4. After you have selected what you want to restore, you will select where the restoration will occur. You can also elect to restore to a different location. You will need to provide that location, but it would still be within the same account.
   
   
   
   
   As per the warning in the first option, if you restore to the original location, it will overwrite and replace existing files that are different but keep files that are not found in the backup. This means that if a file name is the same in the backup, but with a different date (older or newer), then the file would be replaced. If the file name is not found in the backup, then it will remain.
5. Type in an email if you wish to receive an email notification. This is helpful if the backup is large as it may take some time.
6. Click on the Restore button to restore your backup.

How to Restore a Database Backup

1. Click on the arrow next to MySQL in order to begin restoring a database.
2. To restore from a specific date, click on the drop-down arrow to choose a different backup. You would need to have multiple backups in order for this option to work.
3. Click on the drop-down arrow in order to select a specific database to backup. The Backup Manager backs up all of the databases created within the cPanel account. If you have several databases, then you will need to specify one to restore.
4. Select where your database will be restored (dump path). You will be able to create a folder by typing a name in the blank field. Note that your restored database is being sent to your account location.
   
   
5. The Restore Method allows you to select one of the following options:
   
   – Dump backup to the dump path that you specified previously
   – Dump current database and overwrite the database on your MySQL server
   – Overwrite the database without getting a dump of your database
   
6. Type in an email address to get a notification when the restore is complete.
7. Click on the Restore button to restore your database backup.

Backup Settings

When you click on the Backup Settings & Scheduling tab you will see Home Directory and MySQL. Each option can be expanded by clicking on the arrow. The Home Directory gives you the option to configure and schedule the backups for your website files.

Home Directory Settings for Backup

After the schedule settings, you will see a section labeled Data Included in Backup. Here you can select the files to include in your backup. You have the option to select all folders in the home directory, backup selected folders, or exclude selected folders. You can then select the folders using checkboxes in the window as per the screenshot below.

Once you have the settings set the way you want them, click on the Apply button to save your changes.

MySQL Settings for Database Backup

The settings for making database backups can be seen by clicking on the arrow next to MySQL.

Child Accounts

cPanel accounts can include child accounts that can be part of the overall account backups. There may be instances when each child account needs to have limits imposed on their backups. The options provided with Child Accounts allow you to set the backup limits for each account as well as email notifications.

You can disable backups for a specific child account by setting the backup limit to 0.

Once you have the limits set for your child accounts, click on Apply Backup Limits to save your changes.

For more information, please see our Backup Manager Optimization Guide in our Backup Manager Product Guide.

In this guide, you will learn how to purchase the automated Backup Manager for cPanel Hosting Accounts in the AMP Marketplace.

• Benefits of Backup Manager
• Purchase Backup Manager

IMPORTANT: This article pertains to the management of the Automated Backups that are stored remotely. For more information and details regarding cPanel backups, please be sure to check out our guides: How to Perform a Full Backup in cPanel and Restoring a Backup.

Benefits of Backup Manager

Keeping your website up and running requires some basic maintenance. One of the best things you can do for your website is to take consistent, regular backups. If something goes wrong, having a secure backup means that some of the biggest problems can be fixed in just a few clicks! You won’t have to spend a week recovering from a malicious attack or trying to piece together lost product orders if you have reliable backups to help you out.

InMotion Hosting’s automated Backup Manager integrates seamlessly with our Shared hosting, WordPress Hosting, and fast VPS hosting hosting plans. Once set up, the Backup Manager will make a comprehensive backup of your cPanel account every few days. Restoration is simple and built in to the Backup Manager.

The Backup Manager stores its backups on external servers. That way, if something happens to your account or server, the data is stored somewhere unaffected by the issue! By default, the Backup Manager can backup cPanel accounts up to 10GB in size. If you plan to have numerous high quality images on your site, or expect to manage multiple sites on one account, you may run out of space.

If you have, or plan to have, a larger account, you can purchase additional backup storage space up to 7TB in 10GB increments until you reach 50GB, then by 50GB increments.

Note: Per our updated Terms of Service regarding backups and the Backup Manager Product as of December 2022:
Customer is solely responsible for making backup copies of any customer content. Company offers customers with optional fee-based automated backup solutions with hosting packages with the option to purchase storage blocks ranging from 10 gigabytes to multiple terabytes in size (collectively, “Backup Manager Product”). The Backup Manager Product provides regular automated data backups for accounts equal to or less than the base package customer’s product plan. […] Company will maintain backups of selected customer content only if customer subscribes to the Backup Manager Product.

Purchase Backup Manager

The steps below will guide you through the process of purchasing Backup Manager from the AMP Marketplace.

When you purchase additional backup storage space, the total charge will include a prorated amount for each month until your next web hosting subscription’s renewal date. This way your Web Hosting and Backup Manager subscriptions’ renewal dates align for one convenient renewal payment based on the term you selected for your hosting plan.

Remember, the automated Backup Manager is only available on cPanel hosting accounts like our Shared Hosting!

1. Login to your AMP.
2. Click on the Marketplace tab.
   
3. Click on the Automated Backups icon.
   
4. Under the section titled Automated Backups, there will be a dropdown that allows you to select a cPanel account if you have multiple plans on this AMP. Select the account that you wish to add Backup Manager to.
   
5. An alert box will inform you of the selected account’s data usage. The Backup Manager tool will backup up to 10GB of data. If you have or plan to have a larger account, consider purchasing additional storage.
   
6. Confirm the price and click Add to Cart.
   
7. Click Continue to Cart to proceed to checkout.
8. Select your Payment Method or add one, if necessary, by clicking on Add New Payment Method.
9. Click the ORDER button to complete your purchase.

NOTE: If you are a reseller with multiple child cPanel accounts you can maintain the backup space even further. Learn more by checking out our guide on How to Assign Backup Space to Child Accounts Using the Backup Manager.

• Understanding the alert
• Examples of alerts
• How to resolve backup storage full

In this article, you can learn about the Backup Manager’s Exceeded Storage Space Alerts. You can also learn how to address the alert by maintaining your available backup storage or purchasing more backup slots.

Understanding the Alerts

Keeping website backups is crucial to ensuring the stability and security of your website data. Protecting your website data is critical in today’s world of breaches and hacks. Our servers are patched regularly to maintain optimal security. Unfortunately, sometimes the programs running your website may become susceptible to intrusion and disrupt your data’s integrity. With the Backup Manager, you could restore the lost/corrupted data quickly and easily right from cPanel.

“People say you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. Truth is, you knew what you had, you just never thought you’d lose it.”

You also never know when disaster will strike. If for some reason your account goes over the limited backup space, your data will no longer be able to be backed up. Because of the importance of backups, we have designed several alerts to notify you, if that happens. It is vital to take action immediately if you notice any of the Backup Manager Exceeded Storage Space Alerts.

Examples of Alerts

We are dedicated to ensuring your success, which is why we have designed multiple Backup Manager alerts. 

This cPanel alert (illustrated above) indicates that your account has exceeded the available space for backups. The button labeled Purchase Backup Space will direct you to log into AMP to visit the Marketplace. There, you can purchase as many ten-gigabyte (10GB) slots as you need.

This AMP alert (illustrated above) indicates that the backup storage is full for the cPanel account exampl3. It also advises to purchase additional backup slots for more space or to manage that account’s disk space on the server.

NOTE: If you are a reseller, it’s important to know that the alert is indicating the cPanel account that is running out of space. Keep in mind, you can select which child account(s) you would like backed up from the main reseller’s cPanel account.

This email alert (illustrated above) is sent to notify you that your account has exceeded the backup space limit. It also provides multiple suggestions for correcting the issue.

Regardless of which alert you see, read on to learn what corrective action is best to take, depending on your circumstances.

How to Resolve Backup Storage Full

So you filled up your backup storage slots, don’t fret, there are a few options for fixing this. However, resolving this issue sooner than later is important, so that your backups will continue to run. Read on to learn how to address this issue.

Purchase More Storage Slots

Your first ten-gigabyte (10 GB) storage slot is included in your Backup Manager Plugin Subscription. Need more? Then get some, by following the instructions in our guide How to Add Storage for Data Backups using the AMP Marketplace. Below is the full Backup Manager pricing Breakdown.

NOTE: Only $2.50/month gets you 10 GB of storage and only $1.50 per additional 10 GB. At checkout, the total charge will include a prorated amount for each month until your next web hosting subscription's renewal date. This way your Web Hosting and Backup Manager subscriptions' renewal dates align for one convenient renewal payment based on the term you selected for your hosting plan. Additional storage can be added directly from your Account Management Panel.

Select Folders to Include/Exclude

If you do not need all your data backed up, then you can select which folders you would like to include or exclude from the backup. Follow the steps below to guide you.

1. Log into your cPanel account.
2. Navigate to the Backup Manager, by clicking on the icon under the Files heading.
3. Click on the Backup Settings tab.
4. Click on the arrow to expand the Home Directory section.
5. Under Data Included in Backup, you will see a few options. Refer to the table below for more details about each option you can select:
   

   Option:	Description:
   All Data	Select this option to backup all the folders located in your home directory (i.e., /home/exampl3/).
   Backup Selected Folders	Select this option to backup only the folders you select from your home directory.
   Exclude Selected Folders	Select this option to backup all data except the folders you select from your home directory.

6. Select an option and a basic file manager will be displayed. You can review the folders in your account and select which ones to include or exclude in your backup(s).

   NOTICE: As you make selections, the Total Selected indicator will show you how much available disk space your selections will take up.

7. Click on the Apply Changes button to save your changes.

Select Accounts

If you are a reseller you can select which accounts will be backed up. Simply follow the steps outlined in our guide How to Assign Backup Space to Child Accounts Using the Backup Manager.

Remove Files

Don’t need EVERYTHING? Here are some suggestions for what can be removed.

• Backups – Once you create and download a cPanel, you can go ahead and delete the backup file(s) from the server. Be sure you save it to your computer before removing it.
• Email Accounts – If you are no longer using an email account, you can remove it entirely. If you are still using the account, then simply delete any unnecessary emails. This can help reduce the amount of disk space your account uses because emails are stored in your home directory under the /mail/ directory.
• File Manager Trash – If you have deleted things and are still seeing a high disk space, you may need to empty the trash. This can be done through File Manager. Simply follow the instructions in our guide: How to Permanently Delete Trash in File Manager.

Now, you should be more familiar with the Backup Manager’s Exceeded Storage Space Alerts and how you can purchase more backup storage slots or maintain your disk space. Be sure to check your backups regularly to protect yourself from disaster. Go to our Backups and Restorations page for more articles and options for backing up your files or restoring them.

For example, if you have 10GB available and one child account is using up all 10 GB, there will not be any storage space left for other child accounts to create backups.

To help stop one child account from taking up all the space, you have the ability to apply limits for each account. This allows your other accounts to have room for backups. Follow along to learn how to view the backup usage of child accounts. Then, we’ll show you how to increase the backup limit for a child account.

In this article:

• View Backup Usage
• Increase Backup Limit

Viewing Backup Usage

The first step is viewing how much space each child account is using. This will help you make a judgment of how much space should be allocated to each one.

1. Log into cPanel for the primary Reseller account.
2. Click the Backup Manager link in the Files section.
   
3. Click the Child Accounts tab.
   
4. You will see all of your child accounts listed. In the Current Backup Usage section, view how much disk space each account is using.
   

Increasing Backup Limit

Now that you know how much space each account is using, we will show you how to increase the backup limit. For example, if one account is maxing out 5GB and another is only using 1GB, you can increase the available space for the larger account.

1. Click the Backup Manager link in cPanel if you are not already there.
2. Click the Child Accounts tab.
3. Next to the child account, you will see the current Backup Limit. Use the arrows to increase the Backup Limit or enter a new value.
   
   
   Keep in mind that the total amount of space allocated between all child accounts cannot exceed the Backup Limit of the parent account. If necessary, you can purchase additional storage for Data Backups from the AMP Marketplace.
4. Click the Apply Backup Limits button to save your new backup limit. You are finished when you see a green “applied” message.
   

Now, you know how to view backup usage and increase the backup limit for Reseller accounts. If you are not already an InMotion customer you can sign up on our Reseller Hosting page.

• Learn how to cancel your Backup Manager subscription
• Cancellation of Backup Manager must occur before your trial period ends
• Cancellation is a simple, quick process from your Account Management Panel (AMP)

With the new Backup Manager, you can manage the date and time schedule of your automated backup service by setting the backups to run daily, weekly, or even at a specific time. Once the backup is completed your data backup will be remotely stored at a secure InMotion Hosting location. This protects your backups from unplanned server issues.

Not only are you able to create full backups, but you can create separate partial backups as well. For example, you can backup a single database or specific folders and files that are updated often.

You can always perform a full or partial restoration of files and databases with just a click. To opt-out or cancel this service, you must do so before your trial period ends in order to avoid being charged for the ongoing service.

Backup Manager Pricing

Here is a breakdown of the backup manager price and additional storage space.

NOTE: Only $2.50/month gets you 10 GB of storage and only $1.50 per additional 10 GB. At checkout, the total charge will include a prorated amount for each month until your next web hosting subscription's renewal date. This way your Web Hosting and Backup Manager subscriptions' renewal dates align for one convenient renewal payment based on the term you selected for your hosting plan. Additional storage can be added directly from your Account Management Panel.

Opt-Out or Cancel the Backup Manager Service

1. Log into AMP.
2. Click Billing at the top.
3. Click the red X to the right of Backup Manager.
   

   NOTICE: You are forwarded to a confirmation page.

   
   
4. Click the Submit button.

IMPORTANT: Once the cancellation is complete, the Backup Manager option located in cPanel will only include cPanel Backup and Backup Wizard options.

To learn how to cancel your hosting account please check out How Do I Cancel My Hosting Account?

How to Enable/Disable Backups

1. Log into cPanel.
2. Click on the Backup Manager icon.
3. Click the Backup Settings & Scheduling tab.
   NOTICE: Under the Backup Type column, there are typically 2 options: Home Directory and MySQL. You can configure the backup settings for each type by clicking on the triangle to expand the settings.
   NOTE: The Home Directory Backup Type includes all the files that exist in the cPanel user’s home directory. The MySQL Backup Type includes the databases created by the cPanel user. Each backup type should be configured based on your needs, however, the total disk space of all backup types combined may not exceed the 10GB default limit. Additional backup storage blocks can be purchased from the AMP Marketplace.
4. Click on the expand/collapse triangle next to the Backup Type you would like to adjust the settings for.
5. Click on the Enable or Disable Backups toggle button.
   NOTE: The toggle button will either display inactive (disable backups) or active (enable backups) and the text will change to display the selected setting (Disabled/Enabled).
   IMPORTANT: Once Disabled, your “Backups Available” that are 30 days old or older will eventually be deleted. If you would like to keep your available backups, then before disabling, we recommend restoring them to an alternate folder and then downloading the file(s).
6. Click the Apply Changes button to save your new settings.

Congratulations! Now, you know how to enable/disable the Home Directory and MySQL backups using the Backup Manager plugin.

Note: The Backup Manager is a different tool than cPanel Backup and Backup Wizard.

Restore a Database

1. Log into cPanel.
2. Click on Backup Manager.
3. Click on MySQL (or PgSQL).
4. Select a Restore From Date.
5. Select a Database.
6. Select the Restore to a different folder or Dump current database to path above and overwrite current database with the backup .
7. Type the name of a directory you would like to use as the Dump Path.
   

   Warning: Ensure the folder doesn’t already exist to prevent data loss.

8. Select the option Dump backup to path above.
9. Click Restore.

You can request more disk space for Backup Manager from the Account Management Panel (AMP) Marketplace. WordPress users should check out our recommended WordPress backup plugins.

Remember, backups are but a layer to overall web security. For enhanced overall website security, consider the following:

• Security plugin(s) for your content management system (CMS) – WordPress, Matomo, etc.
• Up-to-date PHP version
• Enable features to strengthen overall email authentication
• Consider using Monarx for greater security

Although we no longer offer a free automated backup service, Shared Hosting customers – including WordPress and Reseller hosting – may purchase our automated Backup Manager in Account Management Panel (AMP).

This operates as a server-level website backup tool and ensures your WordPress backup – or other website backup tools – won’t be a single point of failure.

Below we’ll cover how to purchase Backup Manager in AMP.

Note: Per our updated Terms of Service regarding backups and the Backup Manager Product as of May 2019:
While InMotion Hosting maintains the previously stated backups for clients choosing to subscribe to Backup Manager, InMotion Hosting assumes no liability as to the availability or completeness of client data backups. Each client is expected and encouraged to maintain backup copies of their own data.

Purchase Backup Manager

1. Log into AMP.
2. Click MarketPlace at the top.
3. Click Automated Backups.
   

   
4. Read the terms and click Add to Cart.
   

   
5. Confirm your payment details, agree to the Terms of Service, then click Submit.

Learn more within our Backup Manager Education Channel, or check out how to optimize Backup Manager.