Backups Are the Last Line of Defense
When a server fails, a ransomware attack encrypts files, or a developer pushes a breaking change, backups determine whether you recover in minutes or lose everything. Panelica is a modern hosting control panel designed for multi-server environments with a comprehensive backup system built into the core.
cPanel Backup System
cPanel includes a built-in backup system through WHM, but most hosting providers use JetBackup as a paid add-on for production environments.
Built-in cPanel Backup
- Full and incremental backup support
- Per-account backup and restore
- Backup to local, FTP, SFTP, Amazon S3, and custom transports
- Scheduled backups through WHM
- Users can download their own backups from cPanel
JetBackup (Paid Add-on, ~$5.95/month)
- Granular restore: individual files, databases, emails, DNS, cron
- Multiple backup destinations with rotation policies
- Client-side restore without admin intervention
- Backup queue management and scheduling
- Compression and encryption options
The limitation is cost. JetBackup is a separate license on top of cPanel, adding to the monthly expense. The built-in cPanel backup lacks granular restore capabilities.
Plesk Backup Manager
Plesk includes backup functionality in all editions without additional cost.
- Full and incremental backup of subscriptions
- Backup to local storage, FTP, SFTP, Amazon S3, Google Drive, and Azure
- Scheduled backups with rotation
- Per-subscription and server-level backups
- Customer self-service backup and restore
- Dump format allows selective restoration
Plesk backup is competent for most use cases. The main limitation is that incremental backups can consume significant disk space, and the backup format is Plesk-specific, making it non-portable to other panels.
Panelica Backup System
Panelica provides container-native deployment and strict resource isolation. The backup system covers four distinct backup types, all included at no additional cost.
Database Backups
The backup service creates compressed PostgreSQL dumps using pg_dump with gzip compression, achieving 70 to 80 percent disk savings. Timestamps include milliseconds to prevent filename collisions during rapid backup creation. Backup metadata tracks file size, duration, and status for each backup.
Config Backups
A dedicated config backup directory preserves panel configuration, Nginx virtual hosts, PHP-FPM pools, DNS zones, and service configurations. This allows full panel reconstruction from backup.
Incremental File Backups
The incremental backup service uses file-level deduplication to minimize storage. After an initial full backup, subsequent backups only store changed files. The chain management service handles backup chain integrity and allows point-in-time restoration.
Remote Destinations
The remote destination service supports SFTP, S3-compatible storage, and other remote targets. The remote sync service handles upload scheduling and retry logic for unreliable connections.
Activity Logging
Every backup operation is logged by the activity log service with timestamps, duration, size, and success/failure status. This provides an audit trail for compliance requirements.
Feature Comparison
- Included in base: cPanel (basic yes, granular needs JetBackup), Plesk (yes), Panelica (yes)
- Database backup: cPanel (yes), Plesk (yes), Panelica (yes, gzip compressed)
- Incremental: cPanel (yes), Plesk (yes), Panelica (yes, file-level dedup)
- Remote destinations: cPanel (FTP/S3), Plesk (FTP/S3/GDrive/Azure), Panelica (SFTP/S3)
- Config backup: cPanel (included in full), Plesk (included), Panelica (dedicated config backup)
- Granular restore: cPanel (JetBackup only), Plesk (partial), Panelica (yes)
- Customer self-service: cPanel (with JetBackup), Plesk (yes), Panelica (yes)
- Backup scheduling: cPanel (yes), Plesk (yes), Panelica (yes)
- Retention policy: cPanel (configurable), Plesk (rotation), Panelica (configurable, default 10 days)
When Each Solution Wins
cPanel with JetBackup provides the most feature-rich backup experience but at an additional monthly cost. Plesk offers solid backup capabilities included in the license with the widest range of remote destinations. Panelica covers all essential backup needs without add-on costs, with the added benefit of dedicated config backups for disaster recovery.
Conclusion
Backup capability should not be a paid add-on. Data loss is too costly to leave to optional extensions. Plesk and Panelica both include comprehensive backup systems in the base product. Panelica empowers sysadmins with RBAC and automated security tools, with dedicated backup streams for databases, configs, and files that operate independently for maximum resilience. For cPanel users, JetBackup remains the gold standard but adds to an already expensive licensing stack.