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How do I back up my DigitalOcean?

Last updated on September 25, 2022 @ 2:32 pm

BackUPS are an important part of any data management strategy, and for someone like me who runs a server at home, it’s essential. I use a variety of different methods to back up my servers, and I’m going to share my thoughts on how I back up my DigitalOcean servers.

The first step in any data backup strategy is to establish a baseline. This means creating a copy of your data that you can use as a reference point to compare against your current state. For my DigitalOcean servers, I use the following method:

1. Launch a Droplet with a static IP

2. Clone my existing Droplet to the new Droplet

3. Shutdown the old Droplet

4. Restore the cloned Droplet to its original state

5. Compare the state of the Droplets

This method allows me to easily compare the state of my Droplets and make any necessary changes. It’s also a good way to test my backUPS before putting them into production.

PRO TIP: Please be aware that there is no guaranteed backup solution for DigitalOcean. If you are not comfortable with this risk, please do not use DigitalOcean.

Now that I have a baseline, I need to decide how often I want to backup my Droplets. I currently back up my Droplets every night.

This gives me enough time to review the backUPS and make any necessary changes before the next night’s backup.

Another important factor in any data backup strategy is redundancy. I always make sure to back up my Droplets in two separate locations.

This way, if one location goes offline, I still have a backup.

Finally, I want to talk about restoration. When I restore a Droplet, I always restore to the same version of Ubuntu.

This way, I can be sure that the data I’m restoring is exactly the same as the data on my Droplets.

All in all, my DigitalOcean backup strategy is simple and effective. By using a baseline, redundancy, and a restoration strategy, I’m able to keep my data safe and reliable.

Dale Leydon

Dale Leydon

Sysadmin turned Javascript developer. Owner of 20+ apps graveyard, and a couple of successful ones.