Why are my system backups not being transported to my additional backup destination?

Question

Why are my cPanel system backups not being automatically transported to my additional backup destination when backups are run?

What do I need to do to get them automatically back up to my additional destination?

Answer

cPanel system backups are not transferred to additional backup destinations by default for security reasons.

To have system backups be included in backup transfers to a remote destination, you will need to change the additional destination's configuration settings to allow system backups to be transferred to it.

Here are a few methods you can use to do this.

Interface Method:

1. Navigate to Backup Configuration in WHM
2. Click on the Additional Destinations tab then click 'Edit' next to the remote destination you are using
3. Check the 'Transfer System Backups to this Destination' box and then save your changes by clicking the 'Save Destination' button at the bottom of the screen.

Manual Configuration Method:

1. Find the additional destination's configuration file in /var/cpanel/backups
2. Open the configuration file with a text editor of your choice and add the following line: upload_system_backup: 1
3. Save the file.

API Method:

1. Use thebackup_destination_list function to retrieve the ID of the additional destination to which you wish to send system backups.

2. Use the WHM API 1 backup_destination_set function and include the following parameters and values:

   • id — The ID that the backup_destination_list function returned.

   • upload_system_backup — 1

You can read more about system backups in our documentation:

System Backups