How to do a remote FTP backup

An FTP backup is a form of transferring and securing your data using the File Transfer Protocol (or FTP for short) from your device or devices to a dedicated FTP server. FTP backups generally are conducted remotely with the FTP server located in a centralised data centre away from the user and their device(s), although a user may also have their dedicated server located on-site too but this does make their hardware and data susceptible to any natural disasters, such as fire, water or storm damage that may occur.

As a result of this, we advise that all backups created via this method should be done as a remote FTP backup to minimise the possibility of data loss due to acts of God as all companies who offer cloud based offsite a FTP backup service will have far more fail-safes against this form of damage. Using an offsite backup option will also reduce the chances of human error causing corruption to backed up information or damage to the FTP server itself as well.

The File Transfer Protocol is most commonly used for the creation and update of websites, with web developers connecting their web server using FTP to send updated versions of their web pages to the server. Websites and web applications can also be fully updated using FTP as well.

The Iperius backup software offers the ability to complete both of these tasks and tutorials on both options can be viewed here:

Download an entire website with Iperius Backup: https://www.iperiusbackup.net/en/download-an-entire-website-with-iperius-backup/

Update websites and web applications via FTP with Iperius Backup – https://www.iperiusbackup.net/en/update-websites-web-applications-via-ftp-iperius-backup/

There are several ways of creating a remote FTP backup with a number of commercial web hosting providers offer FTP server backup when you sign up for their web hosting service, creating your own system to complete manual transfers and automated systems being the final of the trio of options that can be used for this form of securing data.

Each of these have their own plus and minus points, but the web hosting option is most fraught with danger as although they may allow you to keep backup of your web hosting files, not all of these providers may allow you to keep backup of your local files. Also some of these service providers have been known to delete backups without prior indication that this may happen and, as such, the information on each web host’s policies must be verified with the service provider before you use their servers for FTP backups.

The most commonly used option to create an FTP backup that is ran manually is Filezilla and this is the industry standard go-to piece of software for the creation of remote FTP backup tasks. Filezilla runs on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux operating systems and a user friendly interface that allows easy tracking of stored FTP servers and associated connection data, details of local and remote directories and transfers currently in progress. Add to this the fact that Filezilla supports the SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) and FTPS (File Transfer Protocol Secure) protocols alongside FTP you can see why this is the most favoured open source and free option on the market to complete remote backups.

The final of the trio of methods for creating an FTP backup is the automated option and while this option is more expensive that the Filezilla way of creating the backup, there is much more to be offered from this thanks to the automation of the tasks and the fact that the license covers the ability to run multiple backups to more than one location at a time. There are a number of different pieces of software that can be purchased and downloaded but we are focusing on the Iperius backup software in this article.

This piece of software is one of the cheaper FTP softwares available on the market right now while it is also one of the most wide ranging and powerful with regards to creating FTP backups. As well as the previously listed abilities to download and update websites and web applications it can be easily be configured to create simultaneous FTP and SFTP remote backups while also allowing users to perform incremental backups following the initial remote backup. The Iperius backup software also supports zip compression and AES 256 bit encryption, granting in this way the maximum security level leaving users 100% secure in the knowledge that their data is perfectly safe under military grade encryption.

Details on all of this information can be read here – https://www.iperiusbackup.net/en/make-incremental-ftp-backup-upload-iperius/

Expanding on these abilities, the Iperius backup software allows SQL backup and FTP to be utilised at the same time to create a ZIP file of all the information contained in the SQL database while offering the same for WordPress websites also. All that is needed is to specify the database server address and login data, then select the database to be backed up and a destination folder where to download the exported file, while the only prerequisite needed is that ISP allows you to connect to the database server from a remote location.

Add to this the fact that the Iperius backup software allows users to create and configure unlimited FTP accounts to automatically upload files to remote FTP servers or download files and entire websites using FTP, FTPS and SFTP protocols. The possibility to create multiple accounts gives the software a great flexibility, also allowing to create different backup jobs that can be run in parallel mode.

The full tutorials on these two pieces of information can be viewed here.

SQL backup and FTP – https://www.iperiusbackup.net/en/backup-wordpress-site-database-iperius/

How to create an FTP account (FTPS/SFTP) in Iperius Backup – https://www.iperiusbackup.net/en/create-ftp-account-ftps-sftp-iperius-backup/

How to install and configure a FileZilla FTP server: https://www.iperiusbackup.net/en/filezilla-ftp-server-free-how-to-install-and-configure-it/

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