[feature req] Option to name backup files your self

[B3rt]

Hi,

We run a lot of DA server (several hundreds) and we receive a complaint of users about the backup option of directadmin. To create regular or daily backup you have to be really creative, it is not easy to manage.

Because the file name is on each backup always the same the change an older backup file is overwritten is realistic, therefore i would like to suggest an option to name backup files yourself.

I would like to have an option to name the user/admin backup file
Now it is always someting link:
user.admin.username.tar.gz or username.tar.gz

Nothing wrong but the problem is when making a backup to a specific folder it is overwritten. Now you have to create a new cron and in each cron specify an other destinbation folder.

An easy solution would be:
{checkbox} auto create back filename?

If checked just simply add a (unix)timestamp to the file name something like:
user.admin.username.123456789.tar.gz
123456789.username.tar.gz
user.admin.username.2012-07-17_130602.tar.gz
2012-07-17_130602.username.tar.gz
(you get the idea)

Add this checkbox in the menu where you start/create a backup, importend that it is in the cron backup option.

Ofcourse you could expand this option for complete custom file naming using templates such as {username} etc ex: {username}_{timestamp}_mytext
this would then be: user.admin.blablabla_ 2012-07-17_130602_mytext.tar.gz

By adding this option to DA to create own backup file names it makes (scheduled) backup files much easier and flexfibel to use.

A second option could be an option to auto delete backup files (made with cron and naming) when they are older then a specific date, this last is now easy to get when adding a timestamp in the name of the backup file...

I hope this could be added in a future release of directadmin.

 

[zEitEr]

Hello,

While you are waiting for an answer from John (by the way there is no guarantee that he would reply here though), you might want to take a look at this:

http://www.directadmin.com/features.php?id=951

Script to be run after each user tar.gz backup file is created, any format from any level.

/usr/local/directadmin/scripts/custom/user_backup_post.sh

variables:
username=joe
reseller=resellername
file=/path/to/the/user.tar.gz

So this might help you to achieve the desired.

 

[DirectAdmin Support]

Also, if you're using the Admin Level -> Admin Backup/Transfer tool, you can use this:
http://help.directadmin.com/item.php?id=146

to specify a different path for each backup cron.
This would allow you to have a different path for each cronjob..
Example:
/home/admin/admin_backups/Monday
/home/admin/admin_backups/Tuesday
etc..

and it would do a 7 day rotation.
Yes, the backups would overwrite the old ones, but there would still be 6 newer gz files than the file being overwritten, and it would need any deletion (prevent filling up your disk)

John

 

[B3rt]

Thx John but i know all this

The problem is not that it is not possible to make more backups but the problem is that it is not easy and certainly not logic for people (users) who normally not worka lot with hosting panels(DA) or servers in general.

We are (if i may say) a relative large hosting company here with a lot of DA users and these users have 8 of 10 times absolutely NO knowledge what so ever about a server or DA as hosting panel. We did a ask a lot of them what they would like to have improved or what they think about DA as panel.
A lot of users complained about the bad usage of backup, too complex, not easy/user friendly etc and they also have no real intrest to learn it.

To make it easy it would be great (and make the panel even more user friendly) if backup files could be named or a datestamp added.

So it is not a bug or a report it is not possible but more a report to make DA more user friendly which comes from our DA users.

I really hope this feature can be added in a future release, it would make our/my work a lot easier (and make DA even more user friendly)

Best regards,

Rob