December 12, 2024

It can be complicated to manually configure and run backups for Linux servers. Backup Bird is a useful cloud-based backup tool that can back up your servers quickly to different cloud storage providers with just a few clicks. It supports backing up data to FTP/ SFTP servers, Dropbox, Google Drive, and Amazon S3.

Backup Bird overview

Backup Bird caters to individuals as well as enterprises. The pricing plan for all of these can be found here.

Backup Bird pricing

There are three main steps to using it :

  • Add the server to be backed up using Backup Bird
  • Connect the required backup provider with Backup Bird.
  • Configure the schedule and run the backups

Prerequisites:

Backup Bird supports both: Windows and Linux servers. This article describes how to back up an Ubuntu Linux server to Dropbox and Google Drive using Backup Bird. The server has SSH and root access for configuring Backup Bird.

Creating a Backup Bird account and installing the backup agent:

To use Backup Bird, first, create an account from here and log in.

Backup Bird login

Then, click on Add Server from the dashboard.

add the required server to Backup Bird dashboard

As this example uses an Ubuntu server, the operating system would be Linux.

Choose the OS for the server to be backed up

Installing the Backup Bird Linux agent on the server:

For the backups to run, you would need to install the Backup Bird agent on the Linux server to be backed up.

setting up linux agent in Backup Bird

Copy-paste the URL of the Linux agent into the Terminal on the server. Type y to proceed.

installing Backup Bird Linux agent in Ubuntu server

Then, verify this installation by clicking on the test button. After the backup agent is installed, the server will now show up in the Backup Bird dashboard.

Servers added to Backup Bird

 

 

Then, you can configure the backup settings.

Configuring backup settings:

After the backup agent is installed, go to the Backup Bird dashboard. Then click on Configuration.

Backup Bird configuration

There are different options to choose from.

Files & Directories: Enter the absolute path of the files and directories that are to be backed up.

Databases: Add the databases if any to backup by clicking the Add new database button.

Providers: Backup Bird seamlessly integrates with most of the major cloud providers like Amazon S3, Dropbox, and Google Drive where you can backup your data. So this option is for adding them. Click on the Add new provider.

From the drop-down for providers, choose one.

list of supported cloud storage providers in Backup Bird

FTP: When FTP is chosen, you would need to enter the FTP server details and the login credentials.

FTP configuration in Backup Bird

Dropbox: Connecting Dropbox to Backup Bird would need a secure token. Click on the link to get the token.

Dropbox configuration in Backup Bird

Then, copy-paste the token link and click Ok.

Dropbox token for connecting to Backup Bird

 

Google Drive: For using Google Drive with Backup Bird, you would first need to enable authentication for it on the server.

Google Drive configuration for Backup Bird

So, open the Terminal on the server and run the following command:

 sudo backupbird –setup-gdrive

connecting Google Drive with Backup Bird

This generates an authentication link. Copy-paste this into the browser and allow Backup Bird access to Google Drive using the authorization code that is displayed in the authentication window.

Google Drive authentication for Backup Bird

Google Drive connected successfully with Backup Bird

If all goes well, you will see Google Drive successfully connected to Backup Bird.

Amazon S3: Choose the S3 details like Region, Bucket, Access key, and more to finish connecting it with Backup Bird.

Amazon S3 configuration for Backup Bird

Advanced options: Clicking on this will let you customize further backup settings like file exclusions, temporary backup path, custom prefixes, and suffixes for the generated backup and backup retention period.

Other backup settings

After the backup settings are saved, review them. Schedule when the backup will run by clicking the Schedule link.

Selecting a backup schedule

Set the backup days and times as needed. Click Save schedule to save these settings.

choosing when to run backups in Backup Bird

It is always a good practice to get all backup-related notifications. These can be set from the Notifications section.

configuring notifications in Backup Bird

Enable them for both – failed and successful backups.

Server settings: This section is for changing the server name and server IP if it is changed.

editing and removing servers from Backup Bird

You can also deactivate the server or delete it from here.

Running the backup:

To manually back up the server using Backup Bird, click on the Backup Now button.

manually run backups in Backup Bird

Click OK to confirm and proceed with it.

backup confirmation before starting

From the Overview section, Backup Bird neatly shows various graphs like resource usage, backup execution time, and an overview of the backup.

Backup stats in Backup Bird

Viewing backup logs:

The Dashboard also shows the last backup status.

Backup status from the dashboard

Click on the more option to view the backup logs.

Accessing server logs for backups

The logs will show the backup start time, duration, backup size, destination path where the server is backed up, and the files that are backed up.

Detailed backup logs in Backup Bird

In this example, the server was backed up to Dropbox and Google Drive. So logging into them would show the generated backup.

 

Ubuntu server backed up to Google Drive using Backup Bird

Overall, once you connect the desired providers and configure the backup settings, you can easily backup Linux servers to popular cloud storage services like Google Drive and Dropbox with Backup Bird through a few clicks. Do try it out.

Happy backing up.

By admin

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