VM Backup

How to Start?

First you need to create a Backup Plan. Go to Plan submenu of Backup menu in the VmBox configuration panel and click "Add new Backup Plan". you need to enter a Name and a Description about the Backup Plan you're going to add. Now you need to choose Backup Type and Execution Type.

Backup Types

Online Backup

Online Backup means that if you restore the Backup, the result will be a PoweredOn VM with all the processes and files open when the Backup was created. When the Create Backup Process starts, the VM will be suspended. Then the VM folder will be copied to another datastore with enough space. As soon as the copying process is finished the VM will be powered on again and all the processes and open files will stay open since the VM was suspended. The next step depends on whether a secondary destination is configured or not. The secondary destination is an FTP or SFTP server to which the Backup Folder will be uploaded after the copying process is finished successfully.
The Backup folder in this type is the VM folder containing the .vmx, .vmdk, .nvram, etc. you can simply register the VMX file if you want to restore the backup manually.

Cloned Backup

In Cloned Backups, the VM will be cloned to the primary Backup Destination, whether the VM is powered on or off. Then if there is a Secondary Destination configured, the cloned VM (Backup VM) will be exported as an OVF and will be uploaded to the FTP/SFTP server. In order to restore the Backup from the primary destination you can either clone the Backup VM or just migrate it and power it on. Restoring the Backup from the secondary destination is just downloading the OVF file and deploying it in the server.
The Backup folder in this type is just a normal VM stored in one of the datastores, registered as a VM, and marked as a template. These VMs are organized in their own VM's Backup folder and named by the backup created date. You can delete the old VM and mark the Backup VM as a virtual machine and choose it as the VM of the service if you want to restore it manually. The Backup folder in the FTP/SFTP server is a folder containing the OVF file and its required files. You can deploy this OVF on any server you want.

Fail-Safe Backup

Fail-Safe Backups are exactly like Cloned Backups, the only difference is that the VM will be shut down before cloning the VM. so the open files and processes will be closed and gracefully shut down to prevent any data loss. The restore is also just like Cloned Backup.

Execution Types

Manual

The Backups will be created by clicking a button in the panel. You can limit the minimum backup interval.

Periodic

You can defined an interval between each backup, the create backup process will start automatically.

Scheduled

In this execution type, you can schedule backups by choosing some special date and times in each day, week, month or year to create a backup.

Due-Date

A single backup will be created at a specified date and time.