Backups taking way too long

[AlexCl]

Hello,

I'm running a server with the following specs:
Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU X3440 @ 2.53GHz
16 GB Ram
2x1.5TB 7.200 RPM HDDs SW Raid1 + 1 x 60 GB SSD for MySQL
Cloudlinux + Cpanel

At the moment the accounts use about 300 GB of space on the server. I have daily backups running through Cpanel's new system. The backups are also saved on a remote FTP account, hosted in the same DC ( it's an extra option from the DC itself ).

My problem is that the backup takes very very long and during that time the load ( which usually is around 0.5-0.7 ) goes up to 7-8, making everything move really slow. It also takes from 1 AM until 10 AM to complete, so it's quite a long time. What can I do to speed it up ? Rsync is not really an option since we can only move data using FTP to the remote backup server.

I had hoped that the new backup system would imporve things, but so far it hasn't.

Thanks.

 

[cPanelMichael]

Hello

300G is a significant amount of data to backup. Have you considered modifying the "Backup Type" in "WHM Home » Backup » Backup Configuration"? You can try switching to "Uncompressed". This option saves all of your information, and is faster than compressed, but it takes up more disk space.

Thank you.

 

[AlexCl]

Hi Michael,

I've actually done that and it takes the same. If it does this at this amount, how will be when I will have over 1 TB of data?

What else can I do ?

 

[cPanelMichael]

You could enable "Incremental" backups if your intention was to only backup the accounts locally. However, "Incremental" backups are not supported if you plan to use a remote destination. Beyond that, you could enable the "Use Pigz" option under the "Compression" tab in:

"WHM Home » Server Configuration » Tweak Settings"

Per it's description, this option enables the use of a gzip-compatible program capable of utilizing multiple CPU cores simultaneously. This may help speed up the backup generation time.

Thank you.

 

[AlexCl]

Hi Michael,

I've done that as well I was actually looking forward to Cpanel implementing pigz, but so far I've seen no real improvement. Backups take roguhly the same time.

Incremental is not an option, as I need to have offsite backups. Do you have any other suggestion ?

Thank you.

 

[cPanelMichael]

There are no additional options available that will speed up the backup process outside of upgrading your CPU. You may want to look into third-party backup solutions such as R1Soft if the native backup functionality is not suitable.

Thank you.