Backup Jobs

Backup jobs are the core of DBackup. They connect a database source to a storage destination and define when and how backups should run.

Overview

A job defines:

• What to backup (source database)
• Where to store it (one or more destinations)
• When to run (schedule)
• How to process (compression, encryption)
• How long to keep (retention per destination)

Creating a Job

1. Navigate to Jobs in the sidebar
2. Click Create Job
3. Configure the job settings
4. Save

Basic Settings

Setting	Description
Name	Descriptive name (e.g., "Daily MySQL Backup")
Source	Database connection to backup
Destinations	One or more storage locations for backups (see Multi-Destination below)
Enabled	Toggle job on/off

Compression

Reduce backup size significantly:

Algorithm	Speed	Compression	Best For
None	Fastest	0%	Quick backups, already compressed
Gzip	Fast	60-70%	General use
Brotli	Slower	70-80%	Maximum compression

Encryption

Protect sensitive data:

1. Create an Encryption Profile first
2. Select the profile in job settings
3. Backups are encrypted with AES-256-GCM

Schedule

Automate backups with cron expressions. See Scheduling.

Retention

Automatically clean up old backups. Retention is configured per destination — each destination can have its own retention policy. See Retention Policies.

Notifications

Get alerts when backups complete:

1. Create a Notification first
2. Select notification in job settings
3. Choose trigger: Success, Failure, or Both

Multi-Destination

A job can upload to multiple storage destinations simultaneously — ideal for implementing the 3-2-1 backup rule.

Adding Destinations

1. In the job form, click Add Destination
2. Select a storage adapter from the dropdown
3. Repeat to add more destinations
4. Drag to reorder upload priority

Per-Destination Retention

Each destination has its own retention configuration:

• Expand a destination row to reveal the retention settings
• Choose None, Simple, or Smart (GFS) independently per destination
• Example: keep 30 daily backups locally, but only 12 monthly in S3

Upload Behavior

• The database dump runs once — the resulting file is uploaded to each destination sequentially
• Destinations are processed in priority order (top to bottom)
• If one destination fails, the others still continue
• The same storage adapter cannot be selected twice in one job

Partial Success

If some destinations succeed and others fail, the execution is marked as Partial (see Job Status).

Job Actions

Run Now

Execute the job immediately:

1. Click the ▶ Run button on the job
2. Monitor progress in real-time
3. View results in History

Enable/Disable

Toggle the job without deleting:

• Disabled jobs don't run on schedule
• Can still be triggered manually

Duplicate

Create a copy with same settings:

• Useful for similar backups
• Modify as needed after duplication

Delete

Remove the job permanently:

• Does not delete existing backups
• Schedule is removed

Job Status

Status	Description
🟢 Active	Enabled and scheduled
⚪ Disabled	Not running on schedule
🔵 Running	Currently executing
� Partial	Some destinations succeeded, others failed
�🔴 Failed	Last run failed

Execution Monitoring

Live Progress

During execution, view:

• Current step (Initialize → Dump → Upload → Complete)
• File size progress
• Live log output

Execution History

After completion:

1. Go to History
2. View all past executions
3. Check logs for details
4. See success/failure status

Best Practices

Naming Convention

Use descriptive names:

• prod-mysql-daily - Production MySQL, daily
• staging-postgres-hourly - Staging PostgreSQL, hourly
• mongodb-weekly-archive - MongoDB weekly archive

One Source Per Job

For clarity, create separate jobs for:

• Different databases
• Different retention requirements
• Different schedules

Test Before Scheduling

1. Create job with no schedule
2. Run manually
3. Verify backup in Storage Explorer
4. Test restore
5. Then enable schedule

Resource Considerations

• Schedule during low-traffic periods
• Avoid overlapping large backups
• Monitor system resources during backup

Concurrent Execution

By default, one backup runs at a time. Configure concurrency:

1. Go to Settings → System
2. Set Max Concurrent Jobs
3. Higher values = more parallel backups

Resource Usage

More concurrent jobs = higher CPU/memory/disk usage

Job Pipeline

When a job runs, it goes through these steps:

1. Initialize
   └── Fetch job config
   └── Decrypt credentials
   └── Validate source connection
   └── Resolve all destination adapters

2. Dump
   └── Execute database dump
   └── Apply compression (if enabled)
   └── Apply encryption (if enabled)

3. Upload (Fan-Out)
   └── For each destination (by priority):
       └── Transfer backup file
       └── Create metadata file
       └── Verify checksum (local storage)
   └── Evaluate results → Partial if mixed

4. Completion
   └── Cleanup temp files
   └── Record per-destination results
   └── Update execution status
   └── Send notifications

5. Retention (per destination)
   └── For each destination (successful uploads only):
       └── List existing backups
       └── Apply that destination's retention policy
       └── Delete expired backups

Troubleshooting

Job Stuck in "Running"

If a job shows running but isn't progressing:

1. Check History for the execution
2. View logs for errors
3. The server may have restarted mid-backup
4. Manually cancel if needed

Backup Too Slow

1. Enable compression (smaller transfer)
2. Schedule during off-peak hours
3. Check network between DBackup and destination
4. Consider faster storage

Out of Disk Space

Temp files are stored locally during processing:

1. Increase available disk space
2. Enable compression to reduce temp file size
3. Clean up old temp files: /tmp/dbackup-*

Next Steps

• Scheduling - Configure when jobs run
• Retention Policies - Automatic cleanup
• Encryption - Secure your backups