Install and configure JetBackup 5 on a cPanel & WHM server (root)

JetBackup 5 is the backup system MdmHost uses on its hosting servers. If you run your own cPanel & WHM server, you can use it too: it makes incremental backups of every account to a remote destination and lets your customers restore files, databases and email themselves from cPanel. This guide covers a solid basic setup.

Before you start

• Root access to the server and WHM.
• A JetBackup 5 licence for the server (purchased from JetApps or a licence reseller).
• A remote backup destination, never the same disk as the accounts: another server reachable by SSH/SFTP, or S3-compatible object storage.

Install JetBackup 5

1. Connect as root over SSH.
2. Install the JetApps repository and JetBackup following the official JetBackup documentation for your OS; on AlmaLinux with cPanel it is typically:
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   bash <(curl -LSs https://repo.jetlicense.com/static/install)

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   jetapps --install jetbackup5-cpanel stable

3. Open WHM → Plugins → JetBackup 5. The licence activates automatically when it matches the server IP.

Add a destination

1. In JetBackup 5 go to Destinations → Create New Destination.
2. Choose the type, e.g. SSH (rsync over SSH, supports incremental backups) or S3 Compatible.
3. For SSH, enter the host, port, username, a private key and the remote path such as /backup/server1.
4. Click Save. JetBackup validates the connection; fix any error before continuing.

Create a backup job

1. Go to Backup Jobs → Create New Backup Job.
2. Backup Type: Accounts. Contains: Full Account Backup (home directory, databases, email, DNS, cron, SSL, account config).
3. Destination: the destination you created.
4. Selected Accounts: all accounts, optionally excluding some.
5. Schedules: create a Daily schedule (e.g. starting 02:00) with a retention such as 14 backups. Add a weekly or monthly schedule for longer history if space allows.
6. Optional: exclude cache folders (e.g. */cache/*, */lscache/*) in Excludes to save space.
7. Save, then click Run Now once to make the first full copy.

Let users restore from cPanel

• In Settings → Permissions (or per package in Packages), allow users to see and restore file, database, email, DNS and cron backups, and to download backups.
• Include JetBackup 5 in the feature list so it appears in cPanel; users then follow guides such as restore files from JetBackup 5.
• Resellers can restore their customers' accounts from WHM; see reseller restores.

Monitor backups

• Check Dashboard and Logs daily at first: failed accounts are usually over quota, locked databases or destination space problems.
• Set up Notifications by email for failures.
• Test a restore of a sample account every month. A backup you never tested is not a backup.

Troubleshooting

• Licence not active: the licence IP differs from the server IP or outbound HTTPS is blocked.
• Destination validation fails: wrong key permissions, firewall on the remote server, or wrong path.
• Jobs run very long: first runs are full copies; later incremental runs are much faster. Spread schedules to avoid busy hours.

Next steps

• What users can restore
• Restore accounts in WHM