Backup & recovery
Back up the database and configuration, and restore from backups.
Overview
Backup & recovery protects your Xcellerate RMM data against hardware failures, accidental deletions, and ransomware. The built-in backup engine creates compressed snapshots of the database, configuration files, custom scripts, and uploaded packages — and stores them locally, on a network share, or in cloud storage (S3-compatible).
Backups can run on a schedule (daily, weekly) or be triggered manually. Restoring a backup brings the server back to the exact state it was in at the time of the snapshot.
Key concepts
- Full backup — a complete snapshot of the database, configuration, scripts, and uploaded packages. Takes longer but provides a complete restore point.
- Incremental backup — captures only the data that changed since the last full or incremental backup. Faster and smaller, but requires the full backup to restore.
- Backup destination — where backup files are stored: local disk, a UNC/SMB network share, or an S3-compatible object store (AWS S3, MinIO, etc.).
- Retention policy — how many backups to keep before older ones are automatically deleted. Prevents storage from growing indefinitely.
- Restore — the process of replacing the current database and configuration with a backup snapshot. Requires a server restart.
Step-by-step walkthrough
Configure a backup destination
Go to Administration → Backup → Settings. Choose a destination: local path (e.g. /backups), network share (e.g. \\nas\rmm-backups), or S3 bucket (enter bucket name, region, and credentials). Click Test connection to verify.
Set up a backup schedule
On the same page, enable Scheduled backups. Choose frequency (daily at 02:00 is a good default), select full or incremental, and set retention (e.g. keep the last 30 daily backups).
Run a manual backup
Click Backup now on the Backup page. Choose full or incremental. The backup runs in the background — you can continue using the platform. A notification appears when it completes.
Verify backup integrity
In the backup history list, each entry shows a checksum and a Verify button. Click it to run an integrity check that confirms the backup file is complete and not corrupted.
Restore from a backup
Click the backup you want to restore and select Restore. Confirm the action (it will overwrite the current database). The server restarts automatically after the restore completes. All data returns to the state at the time of the backup.
Tips & best practices
- Always store backups on a different physical device than the server — local-only backups do not protect against disk failure.
- Use a combination of daily incrementals and weekly full backups for the best balance of speed and recoverability.
- Test your restore process at least once a quarter. A backup you have never restored is a backup you cannot trust.
- Enable backup notifications (email alert on success/failure) so you know immediately if a scheduled backup fails.
- For cloud-hosted deployments, use S3-compatible storage with versioning enabled for an extra layer of protection.
- Document your backup and restore procedure in your team's runbook — during an emergency is not the time to figure it out.