How to DirectAdmin – Backup/Restore

You can create backups and restore your backup through the DirectAdmin portal. This guide walks you through how to create a backup of your account as well restore the backup in DirectAdmin for your Packetra hosting.

This article applies only to Packetra account holders. It assumes you already logged into DirectAdmin. Don’t have a hosting account yet? Check out our Shared Hosting or WordPress Hosting. Already have one? Log in to your portal. Click the DirectAdmin hosting service, then click the “Log in to DirectAdmin” button on the content page to follow the guide below.

Find the Advanced Features Section

First, open the Advanced Features dropdown in the Control Panel navigation. Select the Backup and Restore button. This way, you can both Create Backup as well as Restore it, remember that when restoring it goes into queue to be restored.

Create Backup

You select all domains or the specific domain you wish to create the backup for, you then select under Options everything you want to backup from website data, email data as well as other settings, by default everything is ticked. We then hit Backup, this will start backing up your data, this may take a few minutes depending on the complexity and size of your account.

A green creation message will appear on the bottom of the screen which will indicate the backup is being created and a message will be received when it’s completed.

Restore a Backup

If you click the Restore Backup button, given the backup has completed, you will see in the dropdown the option to restore you backup, from there you can select what data from the backup you are looking to restore, by default everything is ticked. When you are ready you will hit the Restore Backup button on the bottom of the page.

A green creation message will appear on the bottom of the screen which will indicate the backup is being restored, it will run in the background and eventually it will be completed.

Backup and Restore Success

That is it, now you understand how to create a backup as well as restore it. This is a perfect technique to back up your account before a major revision or changes that could end badly. This does not mean we don’t have you backed up because we do, we keep backups of all our shared hosting users.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a backup take?
It depends on your account. A small site finishes in a few minutes, while a large account with lots of files and email takes longer. You’ll get a message when it completes, so you don’t have to watch the screen.

What can I choose to back up or restore?
You control it in the Options section. You can include website data, email data, and other settings, or pick just the parts you need. By default everything is ticked, so leave it as is for a full backup.

Does Packetra keep its own backups too?
Yes. We keep backups of all our shared hosting accounts on our end. Your own backups are still worth making, though, especially right before a big change to your site.

Good to Know
Creating a backup before a major change is one of the smartest habits you can build. Say you’re about to update a theme, migrate content, or edit core files. Take a backup first, so you can roll back quickly if something breaks. Keep in mind that a restore goes into a queue and runs in the background, so it won’t finish the instant you click the button. For extra safety, download important backups off the server as well, since a local copy protects you even if you lose account access. Run into any issues? Open a support ticket through the client portal and our team will help you.