Database Backups

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Supported Databases

• PostgreSQL (using pg_dump)
• MySQL (using mysqldump)
• MariaDB (using mariadb-dump)
• MongoDB (using mongodump)
• Compose services (using tar archives)

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Creating a Backup Configuration

1. Navigate to your database service
2. Go to the “Backups” tab
3. Click “Create Backup”
4. Configure the backup settings

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Basic Configuration

• Schedule - Cron expression for backup frequency
• Enabled - Whether the backup is active
• Destination - Where to store backups (S3, local, etc.)
• Backups to Keep - Number of recent backups to retain

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Cron Schedule Examples

# Every day at 2 AM
0 2 * * *

# Every 6 hours
0 */6 * * *

# Every Sunday at midnight
0 0 * * 0

# Every weekday at 3 AM
0 3 * * 1-5

# Every hour
0 * * * *

# Twice a day (2 AM and 2 PM)
0 2,14 * * *

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Backup Destinations

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S3-Compatible Storage

• Bucket - S3 bucket name
• Region - S3 region
• Access Key - S3 access key ID
• Secret Key - S3 secret access key
• Endpoint - Custom endpoint for S3-compatible services

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Configuration

rclone copy /backup/file.sql :s3:bucket/path/

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Backup Process

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PostgreSQL Backups

pg_dump -U username -d database > backup.sql

• All database schemas
• Tables and data
• Indexes
• Constraints
• Views and functions

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MySQL/MariaDB Backups

mysqldump -u username -p database > backup.sql

• All database tables
• Data and schema
• Triggers and procedures
• Views

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MongoDB Backups

mongodump --uri="mongodb://user:pass@host/?authSource=admin" --out=/backup

• All collections
• Documents (BSON format)
• Indexes

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Compose Backups

• Docker volumes
• Configuration files
• Application data

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Manual Backups

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Via UI

1. Navigate to your database
2. Go to the “Backups” tab
3. Click “Run Backup Now”

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Via API

POST /api/backup/manualBackupPostgres
{
  "backupId": "your-backup-id"
}

POST /api/backup/manualBackupMySql
{
  "backupId": "your-backup-id"
}

POST /api/backup/manualBackupMariadb
{
  "backupId": "your-backup-id"
}

POST /api/backup/manualBackupMongo
{
  "backupId": "your-backup-id"
}

POST /api/backup/manualBackupCompose
{
  "backupId": "your-backup-id"
}

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Retention Policy

• Set the “Backups to Keep” value (e.g., 7 for one week)
• Old backups are automatically deleted after each successful backup
• Keeps only the most recent N backups

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Restoring Backups

1. Navigate to your database
2. Go to the “Backups” tab
3. Find the backup file you want to restore
4. Click “Restore”
5. Confirm the restoration

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Restore Process

# Download backup from S3
rclone copy :s3:bucket/backup.sql /tmp/

# Restore to database
psql -U username -d database < /tmp/backup.sql

# Download backup from S3
rclone copy :s3:bucket/backup.sql /tmp/

# Restore to database
mysql -u username -p database < /tmp/backup.sql

# Download backup from S3
rclone copy :s3:bucket/backup/ /tmp/backup/

# Restore to database
mongorestore --uri="mongodb://user:pass@host/?authSource=admin" /tmp/backup/

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Backup Monitoring

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Check Backup Status

1. Dokploy UI - View backup history and status
2. Logs - Check logs for backup execution details
3. Storage - Verify files in your backup destination

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Backup Notifications

• Email notifications
• Webhook notifications
• Slack/Discord integrations

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Best Practices

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1. Regular Testing

# Test restore in a separate database
1. Create a test database
2. Restore backup to test database
3. Verify data integrity
4. Delete test database

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2. Multiple Destinations

• Primary: S3 bucket
• Secondary: Different region or provider
• Tertiary: Local storage for recent backups

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3. Encryption

# Encrypt backup before upload
openssl enc -aes-256-cbc -in backup.sql -out backup.sql.enc

# Decrypt before restore
openssl enc -d -aes-256-cbc -in backup.sql.enc -out backup.sql

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4. Backup Verification

• Check file size (should not be zero)
• Verify file format (valid SQL, BSON, etc.)
• Test restore periodically

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5. Documentation

• Backup schedule
• Retention policy
• Restore procedures
• Emergency contacts

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Troubleshooting

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Backup Failed

# PostgreSQL
psql -U username -d database -c "SELECT 1"

# MySQL
mysql -u username -p database -e "SELECT 1"

# MongoDB
mongosh --uri="mongodb://user:pass@host" --eval "db.version()"

df -h
docker system df

# Test S3 connection
rclone ls :s3:bucket/

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Backup Too Large

# PostgreSQL with compression
pg_dump database | gzip > backup.sql.gz

# MySQL with compression
mysqldump database | gzip > backup.sql.gz

# Split backup into smaller files
split -b 1G backup.sql backup.sql.part-

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Restore Failed

# Verify SQL file
head -n 10 backup.sql
tail -n 10 backup.sql

# Check for errors
grep -i error backup.sql

# PostgreSQL
psql -U username -d database -f backup.sql -v ON_ERROR_STOP=1

# MySQL
mysql -u username -p database --verbose < backup.sql

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Advanced Configuration

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Custom Backup Scripts

#!/bin/bash
# Custom PostgreSQL backup with pre/post hooks

# Pre-backup hook
echo "Starting backup at $(date)"

# Backup
pg_dump -U username -d database > backup.sql

# Compress
gzip backup.sql

# Upload to S3
rclone copy backup.sql.gz :s3:bucket/backups/

# Post-backup hook
echo "Backup completed at $(date)"

# Cleanup
rm backup.sql.gz

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Incremental Backups

# PostgreSQL WAL archiving
archive_mode = on
archive_command = 'rclone copy %p :s3:bucket/wal/%f'

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Point-in-Time Recovery

1. Enable WAL archiving
2. Take regular base backups
3. Archive WAL files
4. Restore to specific point in time

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Backup Costs

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Storage Costs

• S3 Standard: ~$0.023/GB/month
• S3 Infrequent Access: ~$0.0125/GB/month
• S3 Glacier: ~$0.004/GB/month

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Bandwidth Costs

• Upload: Usually free
• Download: ~$0.09/GB

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Optimization

1. Compression - Reduce storage by 70-90%
2. Lifecycle Policies - Move old backups to cheaper storage
3. Deduplication - Remove duplicate data
4. Incremental Backups - Backup only changes

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Next Steps