Welcome to the NZRT Wiki Podcast. Today we’re looking at Backups.

Backups are the safety net for everything NZRT runs online — WordPress, Dolibarr, Nextcloud, and the full cPanel hosting account. In this episode, you’ll get a clear picture of where backups live, how often they run, and exactly what to do if you ever need to restore something.

Let’s start with where backups are stored. There are five main backup types at NZRT. WordPress archives live in a folder called wordpress-backups on the web server, managed by cPanel and JetBackup. Full cPanel account backups are handled automatically through JetBackup as well. Database dumps are bundled right in with those cPanel backups, so you don’t have to worry about databases being missed. Nextcloud data has its own dedicated folder on the server under the cloud dot nzrtnetwork dot com directory, managed by both Nextcloud and cPanel. And Dolibarr data sits in its own folder under erp dot nzrtnetwork dot com, covered by cPanel plus some manual steps.

If you ever need to access the WordPress backups directly, you can do that over a secure WebDAV connection — think of it like a network drive that maps straight to the server’s wordpress-backups folder, over an encrypted connection on port 2078.

Now let’s talk about what’s actually inside a WordPress backup. Each archive contains three main things: all the WordPress files — that includes your theme, plugins, and uploaded media in the wp-content folder — a full dump of the MySQL database, and the two critical configuration files, htaccess and wp-config dot php. So a full restore is genuinely possible from a single backup archive.

Those backups are generated by a few different tools. JetBackup is the primary one — it’s a cPanel plugin that runs automated scheduled backups without you having to do anything. The cPanel Backup Wizard is there for on-demand full account backups when you want one manually. And if a WordPress backup plugin like UpdraftPlus is installed on the site, that adds another layer of coverage on top.

So how often do backups run? There are five items in the schedule. WordPress files and the database are backed up daily, with seven days of copies kept. Dolibarr is the same — daily, seven days retention. Nextcloud is also daily with seven days kept. The full cPanel account backup runs weekly and keeps four weeks of copies. And offsite backups — where you download everything to Nextcloud or a local drive — are recommended monthly, keeping three months of copies. That monthly offsite step is the one most likely to get skipped, so it’s worth putting a calendar reminder on it.

Now, if the worst happens and you need to restore something, here’s how each service works.

For WordPress, you start by opening the wordpress-backups folder over that WebDAV connection and finding the archive with the right date. From there you can either use JetBackup’s built-in restore function, which is the easiest path, or do it manually by extracting the archive into the website’s root folder and importing the database through phpMyAdmin. If the database credentials have changed since the backup was made, you’ll also need to update wp-config dot php with the new details.

For Dolibarr, the steps are similar. Restore the files from JetBackup into the Dolibarr server folder, import the database through phpMyAdmin, and then check the configuration file inside the conf folder to make sure all the settings still point to the right places.

For Nextcloud, restore the files from JetBackup into the Nextcloud server folder and import the database — but there’s one extra step you can’t skip. You’ll need to run a command via SSH or the cPanel Terminal that switches Nextcloud out of maintenance mode. Essentially it tells Nextcloud that the maintenance window is over and it’s safe to go live again. It’s easy to forget, so make a note of it now.

Finally, there’s a maintenance checklist that keeps the whole system healthy over time. First, confirm that JetBackup is active and the schedule is properly configured. Second, run a test restore every quarter — don’t assume backups are working, actually verify it. Third, download an offsite copy of all services every month to Nextcloud or a local drive. Fourth, record the date of your last successful restore test somewhere in the wiki so there’s a clear audit trail. And fifth, check that the wordpress-backups folder is not publicly accessible — the htaccess file should be blocking outside access, but it’s worth confirming.

Backups only matter if they’re tested and accessible when you actually need them. The automated systems here are solid, but the human checklist steps — those quarterly restore tests and monthly offsite copies — are where most teams fall short. Keep those in your calendar and you’ll be in good shape.

That’s it for this episode of the NZRT Wiki Podcast. Thanks for listening.