Creating a backup and the schedule

A backup is created on the Settings → Backups («Настройки → Резервные копии») tab and saved on a storage server — connect one first. The owner and the admin can see the tab. Only the installation owner can create backups — the account set up during installation in the first-run wizard.

What goes into a backup

A backup is always full and covers all workspaces of the installation. It includes:

• campaigns, users, settings and the postback send queue;
• statistics;
• uploaded (hosted) landing pages and offers;
• the click queue and the tracker state;
• server settings files with the installation keys, and the geo databases.

It does not include domain HTTPS certificates, storage server credentials or the backup encryption key.

When encryption is on — the key has been created and confirmed — the backup goes to the storage server encrypted, see Backup encryption. In an installation where the storage server was connected earlier and encryption is not yet on, backups are created without encryption.

Traffic pause

The snapshot is taken while the tracker is stopped. During the pause:

• campaign links, hosted landing pages and offers, and postback and lead intake respond with code 503 and the text Tracker maintenance in progress;
• outgoing postbacks are not sent; the queue resumes after the start;
• panel sections do not load data, but the progress of the operation is visible on the open tab.

How long the pause lasts depends on the amount of data.

Creating a backup manually

1. Open Settings → Backups.
2. In the Storage servers («Серверы хранения») block, click Create backup («Создать копию») in the row of the server you need.
3. In the Create backup («Создать резервную копию») window, check the encryption line: “The backup will be encrypted with key No. 3F9A-1C2B.” («Копия будет зашифрована ключом № 3F9A-1C2B.») or “The backup will be created without encryption.” («Копия будет создана без шифрования.»)
4. Select the I allow traffic intake to be stopped temporarily («Разрешаю временно остановить приём трафика») checkbox.
5. Click Create backup.

The Creating a backup («Создание копии») banner appears at the top of the tab with the current stage and the caption “Operation progress is available even while the database is stopped. You can leave this tab open.” («Ход операции доступен даже при остановленной базе. Можно оставить эту вкладку открытой.») If you close the tab, the operation continues on the server.

You do not need the key file to create a backup.

Operation stages

While encryption is off, the second-to-last stage is called Upload to the storage server («Загрузка на сервер хранения»): the backup files are transferred without encryption and verified by checksums.

An error at the Preparing stage does not stop traffic. After an error during the pause, the tracker starts back up by itself and opens traffic.

A backup counts as created only after the Done stage: an interrupted upload does not appear in the backup list.

Free space

A backup is first assembled on the tracker's disk and deleted from it after a successful upload. At the Preparing stage, the free space on this disk must be at least the size of the tracker data plus a 20 % margin plus another 2 GB. Otherwise the operation ends with the message “Not enough free space on the tracker server.” («Недостаточно свободного места на сервере трекера.»), and traffic is not stopped.

The encrypted file is not written to the tracker's disk, so it needs no extra space.

The data size and free space are shown in the Server disk space («Место на сервере») block — see Backup retention, pinning and cleanup.

Schedule

Each storage server has its own schedule. You turn it on when connecting the server, in the Backup server («Сервер для резервных копий») window, or later with the Schedule («Расписание») button in the server row.

1. In the server row, click Schedule. The “Backup schedule” («Расписание резервных копий») window opens.
2. Select the Create backups on a schedule («Создавать копии по расписанию») checkbox.
3. Choose the frequency in the How often («Как часто») field and fill in the fields below.
4. Check the “Next run” («Ближайшее время») line: it shows the next run in the selected time zone and in UTC.
5. Select the I allow traffic to be stopped on schedule («Разрешаю остановку трафика по расписанию») checkbox. Without it, the Save («Сохранить») button is inactive.
6. Click Save.

The server row then shows a caption like “Once a month on the 15th at 04:00 (Europe/Moscow) · next 15.10.2026, 04:00 · 15.10.2026, 01:00 UTC” («Раз в месяц 15-го числа в 04:00 (Europe/Moscow) · следующая 15.10.2026, 04:00 · 15.10.2026, 01:00 UTC»): the rule, the next run in the selected time zone, and the same run in UTC. A server without a schedule shows “Manual creation” («Ручное создание»).

Schedule rules:

• The 29th, 30th or 31st in a month that has no such day means the last day of the month.
• The time is set in the selected time zone. If that time does not exist on a clock-change day, the backup is created at the first moment after it on that day. If the time occurs twice, the backup is created once.
• A scheduled backup stops traffic just like a manual one.
• There is at most one scheduled run per date. Changing the time, or turning the schedule off and on, does not start a second backup for the same date.
• One operation runs at a time. If several storage servers are scheduled for the same time, or a scheduled backup for one server is still running when another server's time comes, the backups are created one after another, each with its own traffic pause. A backup waits for other scheduled backups to finish for no more than 3 hours from its time; after that the run is skipped.
• The schedule is changed without disconnecting the server and without entering the password or SSH key again.
• Saving the settings of a schedule that is off does not turn it on: under the fields there is the line “The schedule is off. Changing the settings does not turn it on.” («Расписание выключено. Изменение настроек само его не включает.»)
• A schedule that was previously set as a whole hour in UTC keeps its time, and its time zone is UTC.

To go back to manual creation, clear the Create backups on a schedule checkbox in the “Backup schedule” window and click Save.

Skipped and failed backups

A scheduled backup starts at its time. If a scheduled backup for another storage server is running at that time, the backup starts right after it, but no later than 3 hours after its own time.

A run is skipped if:

• the backup service was restarting or the server was off;
• another operation of the tab was running, for example a manual backup, a check or a restore. A scheduled backup waits for it to finish for no more than 2 minutes;
• scheduled backups for other storage servers did not finish within 3 hours of the set time.

In the Operation history («История операций») block, such a record has the result “Scheduled run skipped: the service was restarting or busy. The time of the next attempt is shown in the schedule.” («Запуск по расписанию пропущен: служба перезапускалась или была занята. Время следующей попытки показано в расписании.») The backup does not start later, so that the traffic pause does not fall at other hours.

A backup that started but ended with an error or was interrupted by a server restart is retried the same way: the next day at the same time, within six days after the usual schedule date.

If a skip is detected late — for example, the server was off for a week — the six days are counted from when the service came back. The first attempt falls on the nearest selected time of day.

While retries are going on, the server row says “backup retry” («повтор копии») instead of “next” («следующая»).

• A manual backup does not cancel the retries.
• Changing the rule — the frequency, day, set of months, time or time zone — cancels the remaining retries: the next backup is created according to the new rule.
• Saving the same rule, or turning the schedule off and on, keeps the retries.

Check

1. Wait until the banner shows the Done stage and the text “Operation completed.” («Операция завершена.»)
2. Click Backups and restore («Копии и восстановление») in the server row.
3. Find the new backup in the Backups · server name («Копии · название сервера») block: it is first in the list, with the date, size and the labels “backup of this installation” («копия этой установки») and “encrypted” («зашифрована»).

All runs, including scheduled backups and skipped runs, are recorded in the Operation history block at the bottom of the tab: the time, the operation, the storage server and the result. A created backup has the result “Done · encrypted” («Готово · зашифрована») or “Done · not encrypted” («Готово · без шифрования»).

Checking the backup files is described on the Backup verification and in-place restore page.

If something went wrong

Backups are available only to the installation owner («Резервные копии доступны только владельцу установки»)

You are logged in with an account other than the installation owner's, or in “Log in as” mode. Log in with the owner login set during installation.

Not all tracker services are running. Check the server state («Не все службы трекера запущены. Проверьте состояние сервера.»)

One of the tracker services is stopped. Traffic was not stopped. Check the containers on the server — see Where to check the installation state — and create the backup again.

The encryption key on the server was not found or is damaged. The backup was not created; nothing was sent without encryption. Open “Backup encryption” and replace the key («Ключ шифрования на сервере не найден или повреждён. Копия не создана; без шифрования ничего не отправлялось. Откройте «Шифрование копий» и замените ключ.»)

The tracker cannot encrypt the backup. Traffic was not stopped. In this case the Create backup window shows the line “The encryption key on the server is damaged. Backups are not being created. Replace the key.” («Ключ шифрования на сервере повреждён. Копии не создаются. Замените ключ.»), and the Create backup button is inactive. Replace the key — see If the key on the server is damaged.

Scheduled run skipped: the service was restarting or busy. The time of the next attempt is shown in the schedule

The backup did not start at its time — see Skipped and failed backups. To avoid waiting for the next attempt, create a backup manually.

The schedule was turned off: check the time, time zone and frequency («Расписание отключено: проверьте время, часовой пояс и частоту.»)

When the backup service started, the saved schedule could not be calculated, and the tracker turned it off. Click Schedule in the server row, check the fields and turn the schedule on again.

Other messages about an unfinished backup

The operation was not completed. Check access to the storage and the server state («Операция не завершена. Проверьте доступ к хранилищу и состояние сервера.»)

This is how any other error is shown, including a failure to connect to the storage server. Click Backups and restore: the message “Could not read the backups on the server” («Не удалось прочитать копии на сервере») means the tracker cannot connect to the storage server or open the backup folder. Restore access and create the backup again.

If the snapshot was taken but the upload failed, it stays on the tracker's disk without encryption: a row with the “Protected” («Защищена») state appears in the Local restore backups («Локальные копии восстановления») block. The next backup to the same storage server that reaches its snapshot replaces it — see Local restore backups.

Automatic rollback was not completed. Server administrator help is needed; new operations are blocked («Автоматический возврат не завершён. Нужна помощь администратора сервера; новые операции заблокированы.»)

The tracker could not start by itself after the snapshot. Traffic stays paused, and new operations on the tab are unavailable. This cannot be fixed from the panel: the server administrator needs to restore the services — see Where to check the installation state.