Valid for versions 76 through the latest version
Version:
76
Overview
System administrators can manage whether to create metadata for backups. Every time that cPanel & WHM creates a backup, it creates metadata for that backup. You can also manually generate backup metadata with the backups_create_metadata script. There are several settings that disable metadata creation. You may want to disable metadata creation for testing, before an upgrade, or if your server experiences performance issues.
- The
backups_create_metadatascript will generate metadata for all directories under the/home/usernamedirectory, except for the/mailand/.cpaneldirectories. - Backups and metadata must exist on the local disk before users can access the following interfaces in cPanel & WHM version 72 and later:
- cPanel’s File and Directory Restoration interface (cPanel >> Home >> Files >> File and Directory Restoration).
- WHM’s File and Directory Restoration interface (WHM >> Home >> Backups >> File and Directory Restoration).
Enable metadata creation
Every time that cPanel & WHM creates a backup, it creates metadata for that backup. The system stores that metadata as entries in a username.db database (where username represents the cPanel account’s username). Then, the system saves the database to the .meta directory under your configured backup directory. The metadata databases store the indexed information of their related backups. These smaller database entries provide a faster information-retrieval method than their source backup.
Metadata database tables
The following tables describe the fields of these smaller databases, the backup_paths table, the backups table, the file_changes table, the metadata table, and the seen_files table.
The backup_paths table
The backup_paths table lists the backup files’ paths.
| Field | Type | Description | Possible values | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
backup_path |
string | The backup files’s filepath, relative to the configured backup directory. | A string value. | /backup/2018-04-12/accounts |
backup_id |
integer | The backup file’s identification number. | A positive integer. This value references the backup_id value in the backupstable. | 1 |
The backups table
The backups table lists the backup files on the disk.
| Field | Type | Description | Possible values | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
backup_id |
integer | The backup file’s identification number. | An automatically-incrementing positive integer. | 1 |
timestamp |
timestamp | The backup files’s creation date in Universal Time Coordinated (UTC). | An integer. | 1523642274 |
does_exist |
Boolean | Whether the backup file exists. |
|
1 |
The file_changes table
The file_changes table lists backup file changes when any of the following actions occur:
- The first time the system backs up the file.
- The user modifies the file.
- The user removes the file.
| Field | Type | Description | Possible values | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
seen_files_id |
integer | The filepath’s identification number. | A positive integer. This value references the file_id value in the seen_files table. |
1 |
backup_id |
integer | The backup file’s identification number. | A positive integer. This value references the backup_id value in the backups table |
1 |
size |
integer | The backup file’s size, in bytes. |
|
660 |
mtime |
integer | The date when the user last modified the file, in UTC format. | An integer. | 1523642274 |
operation |
integer | The change type. |
|
0 |
type |
integer | The backup file’s type. |
|
0 |
The metadata table
This table stores metadata keys and values.
| Field | Type | Description | Possible values | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
key |
string | The metadata code type. | schema_version — The metadata schema’s type. |
schema_version |
value |
string | The metadata code’s version number. | A string value. | 3.1 |
The seen_files table
This table stores filenames.
| Field | Type | Description | Possible values | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
file_id |
integer | The file’s identification number. | An automatically-incrementing positive integer. | 1 |
path |
string | The file’s filepath, relative to the /home/username directory. |
A string value. | /public_html/ |
The master meta file
The .master.meta file stores relevant data about cPanel user backups that is not stored in the metadata database tables. This information, unlike the information in the tables, doesn’t change.
Every accounts directory inside the daily, weekly, and monthly backup directories contains a .master.meta file.
The backup directory structure
The system stores backups inside the /backup directory in one of three different formats: compressed, uncompressed, and incremental. Each format uses a different filename extension.
| Backup format | Filename extension | Example |
|---|---|---|
| compressed | .tar.gz |
username.tar.gz |
| uncompressed | .tar |
username.tar |
| incremental | None | username |
The system distinguishes each backup by its filepath, even if the system stores the backup information under the same name. The filepath includes the backup directory where the backup resides. The following example shows the layout and structure of a /backup directory.
This directory includes daily, monthly, and weekly compressed backups. You can distinguish each backup type by its complete filepath. This filepath is the file’s full path. The system stores the metadata for this path in the backup_paths table, under the backup_path field.
The system also stores metafiles in the /backup directory and distinguished by their filepath. The system stores metafiles inside the /backup directory as entries in a username.db database (where username represents the cPanel account’s username).
Disable metadata creation
You can manually disable metadata with WHM’s Backup Configuration interface (WHM >> Home >> Backup >> Backup Configuration). The following table shows which settings affect the management of metadata manually and the Backup Configuration interface. These settings function independently from one another.
- When you configure any of these settings to disable metadata creation, the following actions occur:
- The system disables cPanel’s File and Directory Restoration interface (cPanel >> Home >> Files >> File and Directory Restoration) and WHM’s File and Directory Restoration interface (WHM >> Home >> Backups >> File and Directory Restoration). The interfaces display a notification that explains why the feature is unavailable.
- You can disable metadata with the WHM API 1
backup_config_setfunction.
| Backup configuration file setting | Backup Configuration interface setting | Type | Description | Possible values |
|---|---|---|---|---|
DISABLE_METADATA |
None. You must manually configure this setting with the WHM API 1 backup_config_set function. |
string | Whether the Backup system creates metadata when a backup runs. |
|
BACKUPACCTS |
Backup Accounts | string | Whether the system includes cPanel user accounts in the backup.
Note:
System administrators can select which cPanel user accounts they wish to include in the backup through the Backup User Selection interface (WHM >> Home >> Backup >> Backup User Selection).
|
|
BACKUPENABLE |
Backup Status | string | Whether the WHM System Administrator wants backups enabled. |
|
BACKUPMOUNT |
Mount Backup Drive as Needed | Boolean | Whether the system mounts the backup directory as a mount point before a backups runs, then unmounts it when the run completes. |
|
KEEPLOCAL |
Retain backups in the default backup directory | Boolean | Whether the system retains backups in the default local backup directory. |
|
