13. Snapshot 4.0

The Snapshot Pro Dashboard provides an overview of your scheduled backups, what third-party destinations are linked, and when your last backup was run. The dashboard has three modules:

Overview
Backups
Hosting Backups
Destinations

This chapter provides information about what is available in the Snapshot Dashboard section.

13.2.1 Overview

The Overview section is a quick way to see what settings and destinations are set up and active with your Snapshot backups. Available information in the Overview section includes:

Backups Available – Number of backups currently being stored in your cloud storage
Available Destinations – The number of connected backup locations. A full explanation of what destinations are and how to configure them can be found under the Destinations section of this guide.
Last Backup – Lists the date and time of your most recent successful backup
WPMU DEV Storage Space – Available WPMU DEV Storage Space included with your plan and how much storage has been used (upgrade plans for increased storage are available in the Addons section of your Account page). If you are running both Snapshot version 3 and version 4, this includes the total storage used across both versions.

13.2.2 Backups Overview

The Backup overview module is a quick way to see information about your latest backups. For more information about configuring Backups, visit the Backups chapter. The Backup Overview module shows:

Title – This is the date of a scheduled backup or the title you entered for an on-demand backup
Destination – Tells what storage solution is being used

Clicking the “View All” button redirects you to the Backups section where you can get more detailed information about all available backups.

Click the “Backup Now” button to trigger an on-demand once-off backup. In the Creating Backup modal that pops open, you will add a title or a note about the backup to help make your backup easier to identify. For more information about creating Backups, visit the Backups chapter.

If you would like to apply global file exclusion settings, check the box next to the “Apply global file exclusions set in the settings page.” For more information, see the Global Exclusions section in Backups Settings.

13.2.3 Hosting Backups Overview

The Hosting Backups widget gives you a brief overview of your latest hosting backups with the date, time and destination of each backup. Click the View All button to jump to the Hosting Backups tab to access and manage all of your hosting backups.

13.2.4 Destinations Overview

The Destinations Overview module lists all your connected cloud storage accounts where backups can be stored.

Active Destinations – Name of connected cloud storage destinations
Type – Note about where the backup is stored

Click the “View All” button to open the Destinations tab where you will be able to connect other destinations and get more information about your connected accounts.

Learn more about Destinations and configuration options in the Destinations chapter.

NOTE:

Snapshot 4.0 does not currently include additional destinations. AWS integration is coming soon. Earlier versions of Snapshot include additional destinations. These can run in parallel to Snapshot 4.0 until additional Destinations are added to version 4.0.

13.3 Backups

The Backups page has everything you need to view, manage, configure, run, restore, delete, and download Snapshot 4.0 backups. At the top of the screen is an overview showing the following information:

Backups available – Number of backups currently being stored in your cloud storage
Last backup – Lists the date and time of your most recent successful backup
Next scheduled backup – The date and time of next backup according to the schedule you set. If no schedule is set yet, this will indicate “Never“.
Backup schedule – The currently set backup schedule. If none is set yet, this will indicate “None“.

13.3.1 Backups Tab

Create a manual backup

The first time you visit the Backups tab, you’ll be greeted with a prompt to run a backup now if you haven’t already. Click the Backup Now button to get started. This first backup will be the base backup and is a full backup of your site. Any following backups will be incremental, regardless of whether they are manual or scheduled.

Enter a title for your manual backup and check the box to Apply global file exclusions if needed and if you have added any under the Settings tab, then click the Run Backup button.

The modal will close and you’ll see a progress bar indicating at which step the backup is currently at. Once that has completed, you’ll see your new manual backup in the list of Available Backups.

Create a backup schedule

If you have not yet set up a schedule for your backups, or wish to modify your existing backup schedule, click the Manage link in the Overview section next to Backup schedule.

This will open a modal just like the one you saw when you went through the Setup Wizard. The backup scheduler lets you choose to create a “Daily”, “Weekly”, or “Monthly” schedule. Choose the day, day of the week/month, and time you want backups to be scheduled. Click the Save Schedule button to finish.

Available Backups

Once you have at least one backup completed, you’ll see a list of all your available backups with the most recent one at the top. You can create a new incremental manual backup at any time by clicking the Backup Now button at top-right.

Like the Backups section on the overview page, the Title is set as the date of a scheduled backup or your custom title for once-off manual backups. The Destination is what cloud service your backup was pushed to. Frequency notes if the backup is a Daily, Weekly, or Monthly backup, or a manual backup, as indicated with the label None.

Click on a specific backup to open more information and actions. Additional information includes:

Current Schedule – Clicking on the schedule opens the schedule modal for you to change the frequency, day, and time your backup runs.
Global Exclusions – A list of any global exclusions applied to your backup at the time of the specific backup. Get more details about setting and understanding Global Exclusions in the Settings chapter of this document.
Date – When the selected backup ran.
Size – This notes the size of the selected backup.

Additional actions per available backup

There are four action buttons along the bottom of the details section for any backup:

Delete
Restore
View Logs
Download

Delete

Click the Trash icon to delete the most recent backup, or you can delete all the backups on your site from the Backup > Settings tab.

Because backups are incremental, you must delete them one at a time, beginning with the most recent backup, or delete them all. Members can store a maximum of 30 manual and 30 scheduled backups, for a total of 60 backups. More information can be found in the Backups Settings documentation below.

Restore

Click the Restore (semi-circle with an arrow) icon to open the Restore Backup modal.

The Restore Backup modal indicates the directory where the backup will be restored. Click the “Restore” button to restore to the selected backup. Keep the page open until the process has finished.

During the restoration, a progress indicator will let you know where the restore is at, and which steps have already been taken.

There are 5 steps in restoring your site:

Backup exported
Download backup
Restore files
Restore database
Finalize restoration

NOTE:

The restore process will overwrite the database and restore all files contained in the backup, but it will not delete any files uploaded to the site after the backup was made. So any plugins, themes, media, etc, added to the site after the backup was made will still be there once the restore completes. Please keep this in mind and know that you would need to delete those files manually before or after the restore if you don’t want them anymore.

This process could take a few minutes for small sites and up to a few hours for larger sites. A notification will appear at the top of your screen when the restoration is complete, and will include a link to view the site.

NOTE:

To protect your site during the Restore process, if an error occurs while a backup is being exported or downloaded, the restoration will pause, cancel the restoration process, and leave your site as is. If the errors persist, use the Logs to locate the issue or contact your support team.

Restore backup when there is no access to the site

If your website is down for whatever reason, you may want to restore it to a previous backup. However, not having access to your website means that the above procedure of restoring your website does not apply. Thankfully, Snapshot v4 allows you to restore backups via the Hub 2.0 as well, not just through the plugin. This restoration process is laid out in the WPMU DEV Restore Website documents.

Note: The snapshot-installer.php file downloaded from the Hub 1.0 is different from the snapshot-installer.php file downloaded from the Hub 2.0. The file from Hub 1.0 will only work with Snapshot v3 backups and the file from the Hub 2.0 will only work with Snapshot v4 backups, so it is important to keep track of which pair you are using.

View Logs Button

Clicking the View logs button opens the backup log in the Logs tab. Get more information about the logs tab in the Logs section of this document.

Download

Clicking the Download link will prepare an export version of the selected backup for download and email a link that allows you to download the backup. The link expires in 7-days, but the backup will be stored for 30-days.

13.3.2 Logs Tab

Clicking the Logs tab opens a history of all the backups for the site. You can use these to debug issues and see what’s happening behind the scenes with each backup.

The Available Logs section is an overview of all backups with the most recent backup at the top. Backup information includes the Date and Destination.

Clicking a backup will open the full log for that backup. Sort the information from your log with:

All – Display the entire report
Warning – Only display warnings and errors
Errors – Only display errors

Click the “View Backup” button to jump to the backup on your Backup list. Click the “Download” button to download your log file to your computer. Log info includes each action and when it was actioned.

13.3.3 Settings Tab

The Backups Settings tab allows you to set exclusions and view the number of backups your site will save.

Global File Exclusions

This setting allows you to choose specific files or folders you want to exclude from your once-off and scheduled backups. Enter the relative path to the file or folder you would like to exclude from your backup and press enter to add an exclusion; for example: /wp-content/custom-folder/ or /file.php.

You can currently only add one exclusion at a time. You can remove any of the added exclusions by clicking the [X] icon next to your list of added exclusions.

Storage Limit

Backups on WPMU DEV’s cloud storage will keep the most recent 30 backups of manual and scheduled backups each before removing the older ones. Currently, this limit cannot be changed.

NOTE: This is not to be confused with how long backups are retained. Remember, you won’t necessarily create one new backup per day. Backups are retained for 50 days with Snapshot v4, meaning that you could hit your storage limit of 30 backups before you hit your time limit of 50 days. For example, if you create one new manual backup every day for 31 days, the first manual backup you created would be replaced on the 31st day and therefore would not have been retained for the full 50 days that are available. The difference between the storage limit and the retention time for backups is an important distinction to make.

Where Snapshot v4 really shines is in the fact that you can store up to 30 manual backups and 30 scheduled backups (60 in total) for up to 50 days. This means that more backups are stored for longer and it is largely due to the fact that v4 uses incremental backups as opposed to full backups like in Snapshot v3. More information on incremental backups and why v4 is more efficient can be found in Incremental backups.

Storage region

You can select which storage region you prefer for all your backups:

United States – This region is recommended for better performance.
Europe – This region is EU data protection directive compliant.

IMPORTANT:

If you switch to a new region, your existing backups will be deleted, and any new backups will be stored in the newly selected region.

Delete Backups

Delete is a one-click option to remove all backups. Clicking the Delete button will open a modal where you will need to confirm your action by clicking Delete. Click cancel or the close modal icon [X] to close without Deleting remote backups.

13.3.4 Notifications Tab

When enabled, the Notifications module will send you an email notification if either a manual or scheduled backup fails. This can be enabled by clicking on the Send an email when backup fails toggle.

By default, your admin email will appear as a recipient but all emails can easily be added or removed. If you remove all recipients, we’ll automatically turn off the notifications. Remember to Save Changes to keep your changes.

13.4 Hosting Backups

Link to chapter 4

(only for WPMU DEV hosted sites)

If your site is not hosted with WPMU DEV, this module will not be visible for you. The Hosting Backups feature allows you to view and manage the backups created on hosting.

13.4.1 Hosted Backups

Link to chapter 4

This is where you will find a list of all your backups created on hosting, as well as Automate backups.

If you want to download a hosting backup straight from Snapshot v4, click the Download button and a backup link will be processed and sent to your email address. Please note that the time taken for the backup link to be processed and sent to you varies depending on the size of the site.

At the moment, backups cannot be created or restored through the plugin but this is something that will be incorporated in future releases. For the time being, you can click the Manage button for a quick link to the Hub, where you can fully manage all of your hosting backups.

13.4.2 Hosting Backups Settings

Link to chapter 4

WPMU DEV hosting backups will be removed after 30 days and currently, this limit cannot be changed.

13.5 Destinations

Link to chapter 5

A destination is a location where Snapshot backups are stored.

NOTE:

At launch, Snapshot 4.0 only supports backups to WPMU DEV secure cloud storage. AWS support is coming soon.

At the top of the Destinations screen, is an Overview module with:

Number of destinations
Last backup destination
Available WPMU DEV storage space

Below is the Destinations module with a list of connected destinations. Hub connected sites are automatically connected to WPMU DEV cloud storage and do not require any additional setup to connect. The Hosting Backups module is only accessible by WPMU DEV Hosting and does not require any further configuration.

The Destinations module lists:

Name – Name of the destination, provider, or location where the backup will be stored.
Directory – This is where the backups are being stored. WPMU DEV cloud storage does not allow you to change directories.
User – This is the email address or account or username associated with the destination.
Backups – This is the number of backups currently being stored on your account.

13.6 Settings

Link to chapter 6

The Settings screen is where you will find your Snapshot API Key, Site ID, options to manage what happens to content if Snapshot is deleted, and gives you the ability to reset your plugin settings.

13.6.1 General

Link to chapter 6

The General tab is basic information about your Snapshot connection, including your Snapshot API Key that connects to your cloud storage and your website ID.

Snapshot API Key

This unique key is used to connect Snapshot on your site with WPMU DEV cloud storage. Click the copy button to copy the Snapshot API key to your clipboard if needed.

Site ID

This is your website’s WPMU DEV ID. Click the copy button to copy the Snapshot API key to your clipboard if needed.

13.6.2 Data & Settings

Link to chapter 6

The Data & Settings tab is where you manage how Snapshot stores and handles information created by the plugin.

Uninstall

The Uninstall module allows you to configure what you do with backups when Snapshot is uninstalled. You can choose to either Keep or Remove backups.

Be sure and click the “Save Changes” button after making changes.

Reset Settings

Use the Reset button in the Reset Settings module to roll back to default Snapshot settings.

NOTE:

The Reset Settings option will instantly reset all settings back to their defaults, and remove any destinations you have active. It will not delete existing backups though.

13.7 Special Notes about Snapshot 4.0

Link to chapter 7

For Snapshot 4.0 to work, your site needs to be connected to the Hub via WPMU DEV Dashboard.
Version 4 requires your website to be publicly accessible on the internet. Snapshot version 4 will not have a backup to local feature. This is by design, and there is not a plan to add this feature.
Third-party destinations (i.e. Dropbox, Google Drive) are planned but not part of 4.0. This is still in the development phase, and multiple approaches are being investigated. More information about this will be available when it comes closer to a release.
Partial backups (i.e. your theme only) are planned for a later release.
Snapshot begins iterating files at the WP root. Everything at that level and beyond, is iterated and included in the backup. Example: If your website has an abc/public_html/wp-config.php, an abc/public_html/exampleA path will be included in the backup. An abc/exampleB file path will not be included the backup.
Snapshot will backup any file added to your filesystem no matter how it was added – whether uploaded through the WP admin page, FTP/SFTP, SSH, or another method. If a file exists on the server, it will be iterated and included in the backup.
Snapshot does not currently have support for websites on a host using the Windows operating system.
PHP version requirement: 7.0 or above.

13.8 Incremental backups

Link to chapter 8

Snapshot cloud backups are incremental. This means the only time Snapshot iterates over all files and db tables is the very first backup (unless a site is changed drastically between backups). The first backup in each site (manual or scheduled) is a full-site backup. We call that the base backup. Note that if an existing backup schedule is modified, a new base backup will be taken. All later backups — both scheduled and manual — are incremental backups, and understanding what that means is important.

In simplest terms, an incremental backup copies and stores only data that has been changed since the last backup. When you look at your backup list and see multiple backups created during the past several days, you are not looking at multiple copies of your full site, but rather the incremental changes that have been backed up since the last full backup.

Incremental backups are superior to traditional backups in a number of ways; perhaps most importantly, they are small and fast. This allows you to backup your site more frequently.

Example: A 500MB site was backed up last night and today you added 5MB of data. You want to protect the new data, but why backup the entire site when 99% of its data hasn’t changed? An incremental backup only includes the new data, will have the smallest possible impact on your storage capacity, has a lower impact on server load, and is much faster.

When a backup is restored or downloaded, these incremental backups are merged with the full backup (base backup) to produce an up-to-date copy of the site. You can download the exported up-to-date backup from the Backups page and also from the Hub.

As noted above, Snapshot has a 30-day backup rotation schedule and a 50-day time to expiry. When the oldest backup is removed from our storage, Snapshot automatically converts the next oldest backup to the new base backup. No action is required on your part.

13.9 FAQ

Link to chapter 9

What will happen to my current backups?

Managed backups

Upgrading to Snapshot 4.0 will have no impact on the managed backups we automatically create for our members. However, upgrading to Snapshot 4.0 will impact any additional backups members may have created with previous versions of Snapshot, as noted below.

Snapshot backups

Snapshot 4.0 is not simply an update of the current version, but an entirely new and improved plugin, so installing 4.0 will not replace a previous version currently active on a site. In fact, both versions can be active on the same site at the same time, with the following caveats:

Snapshot 4.0 cannot be used to restore backups created with a previous version and vice versa.
Snapshot backups stored locally–on your site’s WPMU DEV server–are not deleted when 4.0 is installed, but are deleted and unrecoverable when v3 is uninstalled. If a site has no locally-stored Snapshot backups, v3 will be automatically uninstalled when v4 is activated. If local Snapshot backups do exist, members will be given the option to leave v3 installed and active.
For the time being, v3 will continue to work independently of v4.0, but at some point in the future, this may cease to be true.
Snapshots created with v3 then uploaded to a third-party provider or downloaded to your computer cannot be uploaded and restored with v4.0. Once v3 has been uninstalled, these backups can only be restored manually. See our Manual Restore Instructions for guidance.

Are destinations still available?

Destinations are not available with the initial Snapshot 4.0 release, although third-party destinations will be added in subsequent releases. Backups that have been uploaded to third party providers will not be affected by installing v4.0 and should still be available in those third-party accounts. However, backups created with previous versions cannot be restored with v4.0. Once v3 has been uninstalled, these backups can only be restored manually. See our Manual Restore Instructions for guidance.

Does Snapshot 4.0 support partial backups?

The initial release of Snapshot 4.0 does not support partial backups, although this feature is slated for a future release.

Does Snapshot 4.0 support subsite backups?

The initial release of Snapshot 4.0 does not support subsite backups, although this feature will be considered for future releases.

Do I have to update to PHP 7.0 or higher?

Yes. Snapshot 4.0 requires PHP 7.0 or higher. If you are running an earlier version of PHP and do not wish to update to 7.0 or higher, you should not upgrade to Snapshot 4.0.

Does Snapshot 4.0 support white-label?

The initial release of Snapshot 4.0 does not support WPMU DEV Dashboard’s white-label feature. But don’t worry, our team has made this feature a top priority, and it’s slated for the next release.

Can I download backups directly?

Yes, after you click “Download” we’ll send you a secure download link via email to your WPMU DEV account email address.

Can I change the email where backups are sent?

Snapshot 4.0 does not currently support the option to change the email account your backups will be sent to – but rest assured this feature is coming in a future release.

Is Snapshot 4.0 compatible with WordPress multisite?

Yes! Snapshot 4.0 is completely compatible with WordPress multisite installations, so you can be sure your entire network is covered.

Can I store my backups locally?

Snapshot 4.0 does not currently store backup files on a local server. We instead upload the files to a secure data center located in a region of your choice.

Where are my backups specifically stored?

Snapshot 4.0 lets you choose between two data centers located in the United States (east N. Virginia) or in Europe (Ireland).

Can I use Snapshot 4.0 to migrate my site?

Snapshot 4.0 was specifically created to be a backup plugin. For site migration we’d highly recommend checking out our Shipper Pro plugin.

How are my Snapshot backups secured?

The WPMU DEV Cloud Backups are protected by server-side encryption. When a backup file is saved, it is encrypted at the object level and decrypted for you when you access it through the Hub or via the plugin’s back end.

13.10 Troubleshoot

Our awesome support team is always on call, should you need any help. However, sometimes it is helpful to troubleshoot issues yourself first. This is a list of known troubleshooting cases and their appropriate responses to help you along. If you require any assistance, visit our 24/7 live support page.

How to Edit Your wp-config and .htaccess Files

Many of the solutions to the issues mentioned in this section will require you to access your wp-config or .htaccess file. If you are new to making adjustments to these files, we recommend reading Editing Your WordPress wp-config File and Editing Your .htaccess File for more information.

13.10.1 Backup Failed

Possible Issue – Out of Storage

If you receive the snapshot_failed_storage_limit message, you may be out of storage on the WPMU DEV Cloud. In these cases, try to free up some space for the new backup or consider upgrading your WPMU DEV Cloud storage.

Possible Issue – File Error

Another possible issue for a failed backup is the snapshot_failed_FetchFileslist error. To fix this, follow these steps:

Step 1: Add define('SNAPSHOT4_FILELIST_LOG_VERBOSE', true); to the wp-config.php file right above the *That's all, stop editing! Happy publishing* line.

Step 2: Run a manual backup and exclude the reported file.

You may also need to increase the memory limit and execution time to these values:

max_execution_time = 1000
memory_limit = 1024M

This can be added to your php.ini.

Adjusting PHP Limits

Sometimes the standard WordPress configuration doesn’t meet the standards required by your site. With a few tweaks, you could aid some of the errors that you may be experiencing. Read our blog on how to Increase the Maximum Upload and PHP Memory Limit for more information.

Possible Issue – Large File

If you receive the snapshot_failed_SiteNotRespondedZipstreamError error, follow these steps:

Step 1: Add define('SNAPSHOT4_FILE_ZIPSTREAM_LOG_VERBOSE', true); to the wp-config.php file right above the *That's all, stop editing! Happy publishing* line.

Step 2: Run a manual backup and exclude the large file.

Or you can also try to increase the memory limit and execution time to these values:

max_execution_time = 1000
memory_limit = 1024M

This can be added to your php.ini.

Possible Issue – Resource Limit

If your backup fails with the snapshot_failed_SiteNotRespondedError error, it could be because you have reached your resources limit. The solution to this is to increase the memory limit and execution time, as seen below:

max_execution_time = 1000
memory_limit = 1024M

This can be added to your php.ini.

13.10.2 Backup Stuck

Possible Issue – IP Not Whitelisted

If you experience your backup being stuck at 0% with no log, it could be because our IP is not whitelisted on your site. This can be addressed by adding our IP’s to your whitelist:

34.196.51.17
18.204.159.253

Alternatively, if you are a member on our hosting, there could be a large queue and your backup will process ASAP.

Possible Issue – Number of Files Too Large

If your backup is getting stuck at 14%, it could be related to having too many large files. These are often cached files and backup files from 3rd party plugins. To fix this, use your preferred FTP client to find your cache folder. Add this folder URL to your Global file exclusions field in the Snapshot Pro>Backups>Settings tab. Once this has been added, you can rerun the manual backup.

Easily Manage Your Files

Did you know that our hosting tools include a quick-access File Manager, straight from the Hub? No need for 3rd party FTP clients, just open the File Manager and start editing.

Possible Issue – Zipstream Stuck

Backups that get stuck at 29% could be because of the zipstream getting stuck for small chunks of a large number of files. This can be helped by using your preferred FTP client to find your cache folder. Add this folder URL to your Global file exclusions field in the Snapshot Pro>Backups>Settings tab. Once this has been added, you can rerun the manual backup.

Possible Issue – Large Files

Another reason that a backup may get stuck is because of large files. In this case, you can follow these steps:
Step 1: Add define( 'SNAPSHOT4_CHUNKED_ZIPSTREAMING_LARGE', true ); to the wp-config.php file right above the *That's all, stop editing! Happy publishing* line.
Step 2: Run the backup again

13.10.3 Backup Email Not Received

Possible Issue – WordPress Failed to Send Email

When the download backup email is not received, it is likely because your WordPress setup failed to send the email. This can usually be solved by installing and setting up an SMTP plugin.

13.10.4 API Connection Not Established