Backups Explained

(note: This article applies to shared hosting customers. If you are a VPS customer, please see this article instead)

A Small Orange has a backup system in place. Your server creates a backup package each night that contains your entire home directory, all your databases, all your email accounts (including email stored on the server), any forwarders you have set up, and all the Cpanel configuration files related to your account on the server.

This backup package allows the server to completely restore the account as it existed at the time of the backup. Each account is backed up nightly, and each day's backup file is overwritten by the next day's file. A Small Orange will not usually have a backup file older than 24 hours.

While ASO does backup your accounts, keep in mind they are not guaranteed! The backup system is a complex system, and sometimes a backup file may be several days old or may not be backed up at all. Think of Murphy's Law∞: if your backup can go wrong, it will (and you won't find out until accidentally delete a crucial file).

For best protection, you should perform your own backups in addition to the backup service provided by ASO.
There are several options for backups, some of which are presented below:


Backing Up Your Entire Account
Backing Up Your Site Files
Backing Up Your Database





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