How do I backup my server?
Quite a few customers have inquired about server backups. We are pleased to announce that this simple yet important feature has now been rolled out to our control panel for the majority of the games we host.
In the case of ARK, only the world is backed up/restorable because of the substantial size that the entire server installation consumes.
1. Take/Schedule a backup of your server.
Backups first need to be taken prior to restoring. We cannot restore a version of your server without a previous backup.
Backups can be triggered manually or via scheduled tasks (recurring).
First, login to your server control panel. Once there, navigate to your server and you will have a few options:
Click 'Backup Server' to launch an instant backup of your server in its current state. Your server will not be stopped and this can happen without interruption.
The 'Scheduled Tasks' option will contain the configurable backup options, as pictured below:
On the next page you'll be able to set the frequency of the backup and more:
Make sure the Start time/date is in the future or the task will never run. Sometime tomorrow morning or an hour from now is best. All time are Central US Standard Time.
Our suggestion is to set the 'Type' to Daily. The 'Repeat Task' option is not required, and can be set, but can be used if you know what you're doing.
Note: Only one version per date of backups will be stored. So, if you triggered a backup of your server yesterday, two hours ago, and just now, the new one would overwrite the one taken 2 hours ago, but yesterday's would still remain. A total of 7 days worth of backups all from the last week can be saved.
2. Restoring Backups
This portion is self-explanatory. Navigate to the 'Restore Server' menu option, select the date from the drop down, and click Run. The server will be stopped, files deleted, and the backup will be restored. There is no undoing this unless you have a different backup you wish to restore.
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As always, our team is happy to help if you encounter any issues with backups or need assistance with configuring them!
