Using OVHcloud VPS as a Dedicated Backup Server

Create Object Storage

Create storage user

1. Log in to OVHcloud Control Panel
2. Navigate to Public Cloud → Storage & Backup → Object Storage → Users
3. Click Create User
4. Enter description and click Create
5. Download and store credentials securely

Create storage container

1. Navigate to Public Cloud → Storage & Backup → Object Storage
2. Click Create an Object Storage container
3. Configure:
   • Name: plakar-backups
   • Container API: S3-compatible API
   • User: Select the user created above
   • Deployment: Choose 3-AZ (high availability) or 1-AZ (cost efficient)
   • Region: Select location closest to your servers
4. Click Create

Reference: OVHcloud S3 Object Storage documentation

Provision Backup VPS

Order VPS

1. Go to Bare Metal Cloud → Dedicated and Virtual Servers → Virtual Private Servers
2. Click Order → Configure your VPS
3. Select configuration:
   • Model: VPS-1 (2 vCores, 8 GB RAM, 75GB Storage) or larger
   • Region: Same as Object Storage
   • Image: Ubuntu 25.04
4. Complete order

Initial connection

Connect using credentials from delivery email:

ssh ubuntu@your_vps_ip

Change the temporary password when prompted, then reconnect.

Reference: OVHcloud VPS Getting Started guide

Install Plakar

SSH to the backup VPS and install Plakar:

ssh ubuntu@your-vps-ip

Follow the Plakar Installation Guide

Configure Object Storage

Install S3 integration

$ plakar pkg add s3

Add storage connector

$ plakar store add ovhcloud-s3-backups \
  location=s3://<S3_ENDPOINT>/<BUCKET_NAME> \
  access_key=<YOUR_ACCESS_KEY_ID> \
  secret_access_key=<YOUR_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY> \
  use_tls=true \
  passphrase='<YOUR_SECURE_PASSPHRASE>'

Replace:

• <S3_ENDPOINT>: e.g., s3.eu-west-par.io.cloud.ovh.net
• <BUCKET_NAME>: e.g., plakar-backups
• <YOUR_ACCESS_KEY_ID> and <YOUR_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY>: From Step 1
• <YOUR_SECURE_PASSPHRASE>: Strong passphrase for encryption

Initialize Kloset Store

$ plakar at "@ovhcloud-s3-backups" create

Configure SSH Access

Install SFTP integration

$ plakar pkg add sftp

Generate SSH keys

$ ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_plakar -C "plakar@backup"

Press Enter for no passphrase.

Copy keys to source servers

$ ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_plakar.pub user@source-server-1
$ ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_plakar.pub user@source-server-2

Test access:

$ ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_plakar user@source-server-1 'echo "Success"'

Create SSH aliases

$ cat >> ~/.ssh/config << 'EOF'
Host source-1
  HostName source-server-1.example.com
  User backupuser
  Port 22
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_plakar

Host source-2
  HostName source-server-2.example.com
  User backupuser
  Port 22
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_plakar
EOF

Test:

$ ssh source-1 'echo "Alias works"'

Configure Backup Sources

Add source connectors for each server:

$ plakar source add web-server-1 sftp://source-1/var/www
$ plakar source add web-server-2 sftp://source-2/var/www

Verify:

$ plakar source show

Test Backup

Run a manual backup to verify configuration:

# Single source
$ plakar at "@ovhcloud-s3-backups" backup "@web-server-1"

# Multiple sources
$ plakar at "@ovhcloud-s3-backups" backup "@web-server-1" "@web-server-2"

List snapshots:

$ plakar at "@ovhcloud-s3-backups" ls

Schedule Automatic Backups

Plakar has no built-in scheduler. Use a systemd timer to run plakar backup every day.

Create backup service

$ cat << 'EOF' | sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/plakar-backup.service > /dev/null
[Unit]
Description=Plakar backup of web servers
Wants=network-online.target
After=network-online.target

[Service]
Type=oneshot
User=ubuntu
WorkingDirectory=/home/ubuntu
ExecStart=/usr/bin/plakar at "@ovhcloud-s3-backups" backup -check "@web-server-1"
ExecStart=/usr/bin/plakar at "@ovhcloud-s3-backups" backup -check "@web-server-2"
EOF

Each ExecStart line creates one snapshot per source server. -check verifies the snapshot right after it is written. The store passphrase comes from the store configuration, so no prompt is needed.

Create backup timer

$ cat << 'EOF' | sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/plakar-backup.timer > /dev/null
[Unit]
Description=Run the Plakar backup daily

[Timer]
OnCalendar=daily
Persistent=true

[Install]
WantedBy=timers.target
EOF

Persistent=true runs a missed backup as soon as the VPS is back up. See Scheduling Backups for cron and other scheduling options.

Configure Systemd Services

Enable the backup timer

$ sudo systemctl daemon-reload
$ sudo systemctl enable --now plakar-backup.timer

Check the next run and trigger a first backup:

$ systemctl list-timers plakar-backup.timer
$ sudo systemctl start plakar-backup.service

Access Web UI

Option 1: Custom token (recommended)

Update the UI service with a custom token:

$ cat << 'EOF' | sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/plakar-ui.service > /dev/null
[Unit]
Description=Plakar Web UI
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
Environment="PLAKAR_UI_TOKEN=your-secure-token-here"
ExecStart=/usr/bin/plakar at "@ovhcloud-s3-backups" ui -listen :8080
Restart=always
User=ubuntu
WorkingDirectory=/home/ubuntu

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF

Reload and restart:

$ sudo systemctl daemon-reload
$ sudo systemctl restart plakar-ui

Access: http://your-vps-ip:8080?plakar_token=your-secure-token-here

Option 2: Auto-generated token

Retrieve the token from logs:

$ sudo journalctl -u plakar-ui -n 100 --no-pager | grep -i token

Look for:

launching webUI at http://:8080?plakar_token=d9fccdbd-77a3-41a0-8657-24d77a6d00ac

Access: http://your-vps-ip:8080 with the token from the URL.