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The dependable pattern is a database-native dump, a timestamped and encrypted archive, an upload to storage outside the VPS, automatic retention, failure alerts, and scheduled restore tests. A cron job that merely creates a local file is not a complete backup system: disk loss, a compromised VPS, a bad upload, or an unusable dump can still leave you without a recovery path.
This guide shows how to build that workflow for PostgreSQL and MySQL, choose between logical dumps, filesystem or base backups, and continuous archiving, and verify that recovery actually works.
What a complete VPS backup system must do
Design the job around two targets: your recovery point objective (RPO), the amount of recent data you can afford to lose, and your recovery time objective (RTO), how quickly the service must return. The schedule, backup method, storage and restore process should all follow those targets.
- Create a consistent database backup. Use
pg_dumporpg_dumpallfor PostgreSQL, andmysqldumpfor MySQL. For large PostgreSQL systems that need point-in-time recovery (PITR), use a base backup with WAL archiving rather than relying only on periodic dumps. - Write a timestamped artifact. Include the database name and a UTC timestamp in the filename so operators can identify recovery points without opening the file.
- Protect and move it off the VPS. Compress where useful, encrypt the archive or repository, and upload it to separate object storage or another host. Keep at least one copy outside the VPS account or physical host.
- Apply retention. Keep enough daily, weekly and monthly recovery points for your business and prune older data automatically.
- Record and alert on every stage. A successful dump followed by a failed upload is a failed backup. Log dump, encryption, upload, verification, pruning and disk-space results separately.
- Prove recovery. Restore on a disposable database or host on a schedule. Check schemas, required rows, application credentials and service startup.
PostgreSQL’s version 17 backup documentation states that databases should be backed up regularly and describes SQL dumps, filesystem-level backups and continuous archiving as distinct approaches.
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Choose the backup method before writing automation
| Method | Best fit | Strengths | Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|
Logical dump (pg_dump or mysqldump) |
Most VPS databases and routine disaster recovery | Portable, straightforward to inspect and restore, independent of the original data-directory layout | Usually slower to restore for very large databases; periodic dumps alone do not provide continuous PITR |
| Filesystem or PostgreSQL base backup | Large datasets where restore time matters | Can reduce restore time compared with rebuilding a database from SQL | Requires database-specific consistency procedures, compatible storage handling and careful shutdown or snapshot coordination |
| Continuous archiving with PITR | Cases where recovery to a precise time is required | Combines a base backup with WAL archiving so you can recover to a selected point in time | More storage, monitoring and operational complexity than periodic dumps |
Use logical dumps as the baseline when portability and simple inspection matter. Add filesystem or base backups when the database is too large for your RTO, and add PostgreSQL WAL archiving when the acceptable data loss is smaller than your dump interval.
Prepare a least-privilege backup identity
Do not put a database password directly in a shell command or a process argument. Store credentials in a root-readable configuration file or a secret store, and use a separate database identity with only the privileges needed to read the database and required metadata.
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- Create
/usr/local/sbin/db-backup, owned byroot:rootand executable only by root, or run it as a dedicated backup service account. - Store the PostgreSQL connection information in a protected file such as
/root/.pgpasswith mode0600. For MySQL, use a protected option file such as/root/.my.cnfwith mode0600. - Keep encryption keys separate from the VPS and from the backup directory when possible. A stolen VPS should not automatically grant access to every off-site archive.
- Use encrypted transport to the remote destination and restrict the destination credentials to the bucket, repository or prefix used for backups.
- Put logs outside the backup directory. If a local disk is damaged or the directory is deleted, the evidence of failed jobs should survive elsewhere.
Build a PostgreSQL backup script
pg_dump backs up one database. Use pg_dumpall when you also need cluster-wide objects such as roles and tablespaces. A normal database dump does not replace a base backup plus WAL archiving for PITR.
Example script with locking and upload hand-off
The following pattern creates a compressed custom-format dump, prevents overlapping runs, and leaves the resulting file for your encrypted repository client. Adjust names, paths and repository variables to your environment.
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -Eeuo pipefail
umask 077
exec 9>/run/lock/postgres-backup.lock
flock -n 9 || { echo "backup already running" >&2; exit 1; }
DB_NAME="appdb"
OUT_DIR="/var/lib/db-backups/postgres"
STAMP="$(date -u +%Y%m%dT%H%M%SZ)"
FILE="$OUT_DIR/${DB_NAME}-${STAMP}.dump"
mkdir -p "$OUT_DIR"
pg_dump --format=custom --file="$FILE" "$DB_NAME"
test -s "$FILE"
# Hand the file to your encrypted off-site repository client here.
# Delete local copies only after the remote upload and verification succeed.
echo "created $FILE"The lock is important because two dumps can compete for CPU, disk bandwidth or the same temporary files. The non-zero exit from pg_dump, an empty output check or a failed upload must make the job fail so the scheduler can alert.
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Include roles and global objects when required
If a rebuild requires cluster roles or other global objects, run a separate pg_dumpall --globals-only and protect it like the database dump. Keep the global-object file paired with the corresponding recovery point. A database-only dump will not recreate everything needed by an installation that depends on those roles.
Build a MySQL backup script
For MySQL, mysqldump is the logical-dump equivalent. Choose options for the storage engine and workload, preserve routines when the application uses them, and ensure the dump is transactionally consistent for the tables being backed up.
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -Eeuo pipefail
umask 077
exec 9>/run/lock/mysql-backup.lock
flock -n 9 || { echo "backup already running" >&2; exit 1; }
DB_NAME="appdb"
OUT_DIR="/var/lib/db-backups/mysql"
STAMP="$(date -u +%Y%m%dT%H%M%SZ)"
FILE="$OUT_DIR/${DB_NAME}-${STAMP}.sql.gz"
mkdir -p "$OUT_DIR"
mysqldump --single-transaction --routines "$DB_NAME" | gzip -c > "$FILE"
test -s "$FILE"
echo "created $FILE"
# Upload and verify through the encrypted repository client.
# Remove the local file only after a confirmed remote copy.--single-transaction is appropriate for transactional tables, but it is not a universal consistency guarantee for every engine or workload. Confirm the result for your schema, and include routines if the application depends on stored procedures or functions. Before deleting the local file, verify that the compressed stream can be read and that the remote copy completed.
Encrypt and send backups off-site
Use an encrypted repository client
Restic provides encrypted repositories and supports S3, S3-compatible storage, SFTP, Azure Blob, Google Cloud Storage and other backends. The repository password or key must be protected separately from the VPS and the backup files.
Initialize a repository once, using credentials supplied through protected environment files or a secret manager rather than putting them in a command-line argument. Then add each completed dump and run the repository’s integrity and retention operations according to your policy. Keep the repository endpoint and credentials dedicated to backups so an application key cannot delete recovery points.
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Borg is another option. It provides deduplication, compression, authenticated encryption and repositories reachable over SSH. Its borg prune command supports daily, weekly and monthly keep rules, which are useful for retaining several recovery horizons without keeping every dump forever.
Do not confuse an upload with a backup
An object-storage listing or a successful snapshot command proves only that metadata was written. It does not prove that the archive is complete, decryptable or restorable. Make verification an explicit stage and alert when it fails.
Schedule the job with cron or systemd
Cron
After making the script executable, test it interactively as the same identity that will run it:
sudo install -o root -g root -m 700 db-backup /usr/local/sbin/db-backup
sudo /usr/local/sbin/db-backupA cron entry can run the script at a fixed UTC time. Redirect output to a log outside the backup directory and make sure a monitoring system receives failures:
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systemd timer
A timer makes the schedule and service status visible through systemd. Create /etc/systemd/system/db-backup.service:
[Unit]
Description=Database backup
[Service]
Type=oneshot
ExecStart=/usr/local/sbin/db-backupThen create /etc/systemd/system/db-backup.timer:
[Unit]
Description=Run database backup daily
[Timer]
OnCalendar=*-*-* 02:15:00 UTC
Persistent=true
[Install]
WantedBy=timers.target
Enable and run it:
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now db-backup.timer
systemctl list-timers db-backup.timer
sudo systemctl start db-backup.service
sudo journalctl -u db-backup.servicePersistent=true allows a missed calendar run to be started when the VPS returns. Confirm that this behavior fits your load and that a delayed run will not overlap a manually started job; the lock remains necessary.
Set retention without destroying your recovery window
Retention should reflect how far back users may need to recover, not merely how much disk is available. Keep several recent recovery points plus older daily, weekly and monthly points. Prune only after a newer copy has been uploaded and verified.
With Borg, express the policy through borg prune keep rules for daily, weekly and monthly archives. With Restic, configure its equivalent forget and prune operations and schedule them separately from the dump if pruning could make the backup job exceed its normal runtime. Monitor repository free space and alert before the destination refuses new archives.
Never let a cleanup command remove the only local copy before the off-site copy is confirmed. Also avoid storing logs inside a directory that retention or emergency cleanup can delete.
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Test restores on a schedule
A restore drill is the only reliable check that your backup can be used. Perform it on a disposable VPS, isolated host or temporary database, using the same off-site destination and credentials path as production.
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- Select a recovery point and download or mount it without modifying the original repository.
- Verify the archive can be decrypted, opened and decompressed. For a PostgreSQL custom-format dump, inspect it with
pg_restore --list; for a compressed MySQL dump, test the gzip stream before importing. - Restore into a fresh database instance. Recreate required roles or global objects from the paired PostgreSQL globals file when applicable.
- Check that expected schemas, tables and representative recent rows exist. Include a few records that are important to the application, not just an empty schema.
- Configure the application to use the restored database and confirm that credentials, migrations and permissions work.
- Start the restored service and exercise a read path and a write path in the isolated environment.
- Record elapsed restore time, missing prerequisites and any manual steps. Update the runbook and repeat after major database or application changes.
Restore tests should use the same off-site destination used in production. A successful backup listing, snapshot status or upload response is not evidence that the application can recover.
Monitor failures and common break points
- Dump fails: Check database connectivity, authentication, permissions, disk space and the command's exit status. Do not upload a partial file.
- Upload fails: Keep the local artifact until retry succeeds, then alert if the off-site copy is outside the RPO window.
- Backups overlap: Use
flockor an equivalent service lock and investigate jobs that run longer than their interval. - Repository fills: Review retention, compression and prune logs; do not solve the problem by deleting the newest verified recovery points blindly.
- Restore cannot open the file: Check encryption-key availability, repository integrity and whether the archive was truncated before upload.
- Restored service will not start: Compare roles, credentials, extensions, routines, configuration and application migrations with production.
- Local disk is lost: Recover logs and archives from the independent destination. This is why an off-site copy and separately protected keys are required.
When to move beyond nightly dumps
Periodic logical dumps are a sensible default when the database can be rebuilt within the RTO and losing data since the last dump is acceptable. Move to a PostgreSQL base backup plus WAL archiving when you need recovery to a precise time or when rebuilding a large dataset from SQL would take too long. Filesystem-level methods can also shorten restoration for large workloads, but only when consistency and storage compatibility are handled correctly.
Whichever method you choose, keep the operational controls unchanged: least-privilege credentials, encryption, off-site storage, locking, retention, alerting and regular restore drills.
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