Using Object Storage for cPanel Backups

Object Storage is simply the easiest, most cost effective and secure backup solution for your data!

What are backups?

A backup is simply the procedure of making extra copies of your data in case the original data is lost or damaged. Liquid Web understands that your data is invaluable and so, we have provided a stable, secure and cost effective product called Object Storage which makes managing your cPanel backups much easier.

What is Object Storage?

Object storage is used for things like storing photos on Facebook, songs on Spotify, or files in online services such as Dropbox. Object Storage stores files inside of a resource that is known as a “bucket”. Inside of this bucket, there can be multiple folders which can store multiple files or other static information. In this case, we will be exploring using Object Storage for your cPanel backups.

We’ll start by reviewing the four main areas which highlight the advantages of this service for your cPanel backups:

• Simple Setup
• Ease of Use
• Performance
• Cost Savings

Setup Cloud Object Storage Service

Setting up Object Storage is extremely easy to accomplish through your account’s home page. Simply login to your Liquid Web account.

1. Click on Add and then click on Cloud Object Storage.
   
2. Next, click on the Create Object Store button
   
3. Lastly, copy the information (Access Key and Secret Key) of your new Object Storage.

   Warning:

   Keep this information safe by not sharing via email or any other unencrypted method. A malicious hacker could obtain your keys and use them without your knowledge.

You will want to store the following info for later use.

• Object Store Gateway: The domain used to access everything in your Object Store (objects.liquidweb.services).
• Access Key: A unique identifier that, when partnered with a Secret Key, allows access to your Object Store.
• Secret Key: A unique identifier that, when partnered with an Access Key, allows access to your Object Store.

Install Object Store Plugin

Step 1: You must first set up DragonDisk, a Cloud Storage Client, that will give you the ability to create the bucket necessary for the storage of cPanel backups.

Step 2: To install the Object Store plugin, log into your server as root via command line:
yum install lw-ObjStor4cPanel
It should look similar to this:

Step 3: After installing the lw-ObjStor4cPanel plugin, we will be editing a file with the text editor of your choice.  This file’s name will be unique to your instance so put in the path and tab out the rest of the file name, our whole file name is

(/var/cpanel/backups/LW_Object_Storage_UID_YIAn8sVjra1oOzx8ApdpL_O8.backup_destination).

vim /var/cpanel/backups/LW_Object_Storage[tab]

Within this file we will be editing one line, line 3, host.  Insert your bucket name here, below is what ours looks like. Don’t forget to save the file before exiting with :wq

Configure cPanel Backups

Once the plugin is installed, you can configure cPanel to run backups and place them in your Object Store bucket.

1. To configure the cPanel backup destination in WHM, you will go to the cPanel configuration screen in WHM. Type the word backup in the search bar in WHM and then select the Backup Configuration >> Additional Destinations option from the menu.  Select Edit within the LW Object Storage row.
   
2. To edit the LW Object Storage destination, you will need to edit the following details as shown in the picture below:
   • • Delete the Backup Directory
     • Remote Host will be your bucket name, in our previous tutorial we named ours superbucket
     • Remote Account Username is the Access Key.
     • Remote Password is your Secret Key.

   

3. Next, click “Save Destination”.
   
4. Now that your configuration is saved, you will need to Validate the destination. Click on the Validate link in the Object Storage listed in WHM. This will run a quick test to ensure the server can connect successfully to the Object Storage device.
   
5. Lastly, enable the destination; Click on the Enable link in the same line of your Object Storage in WHM.
   

Now that you have set up your backups to be pointed at and saved in your Liquid Web Cloud Object Storage, please review your daily, weekly, and monthly backup settings in cPanel to update the number of backups that are retained. This will help to keep your actual storage needs to be amended to renew and remove any unneeded backups.