Proxmox VE

How to Back Up Cluster - Complete Guide

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How to Back Up Cluster - Complete Guide

Question: How do I back up the entire Proxmox cluster?

Answer: Back up each component separately

What to Back Up

Components

  1. Configuration: /etc/pve/
  2. VMs: Individual backups
  3. Templates: /var/lib/vz/template/
  4. Certificates: /etc/pve/pve-*.pem

How to Back Up Configuration

Script

#!/bin/bash
# backup-cluster-config.sh
 
BACKUP_DIR="/mnt/backup/cluster"
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d)
 
mkdir -p $BACKUP_DIR/$DATE
 
# Backup /etc/pve (cluster configuration)
tar -czf $BACKUP_DIR/$DATE/pve-config.tar.gz /etc/pve/
 
# Backup certificates
tar -czf $BACKUP_DIR/$DATE/certs.tar.gz /etc/pve/pve-*.pem
 
# Backup user configuration
tar -czf $BACKUP_DIR/$DATE/users.tar.gz /etc/pve/user.cfg
 
echo "Cluster config backed up to $BACKUP_DIR/$DATE"

How to Restore Cluster Config

Step 1: Reinstall Proxmox

Follow standard installation

Step 2: Restore Config

# Extract configuration
tar -xzf /mnt/backup/pve-config.tar.gz -C /
 
# Rebuild cluster
pvecm create cluster-name

How to Back Up All VMs

Full VM Backup Script

#!/bin/bash
# backup-all-vms.sh
 
STORAGE=local
 
# Get all VMs
VM_LIST=$(qm list | grep running | awk '{print $1}')
CT_LIST=$(pct list | grep running | awk '{print $1}')
 
# Backup VMs
for VMID in $VM_LIST; do
    echo "Backing up VM $VMID"
    vzdump --mode suspend --vmid $VMID --storage $STORAGE --compress zstd
done
 
# Backup Containers
for CTID in $CT_LIST; do
    echo "Backing up Container $CTID"
    vzdump --mode suspend --vmid $CTID --storage $STORAGE --compress zstd
done

Keywords

cluster-backup configuration how-to disaster-recovery

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