Automating FTP Backups in Linux

This is a simple backup script for Linux dedicated servers to back up a specific directory and all of its sub-directories and save them in your backup FTP storage, organized by date.

Step 1

Download lftp using the command: yum install lftp (CentOS) or apt-get install lftp (Debian and Ubuntu)

Step 2

Have a directory in the root of the backup FTP named backup

Step 3

Modify the script below with your credentials and settings:

#!/bin/bash

### FTP login credentials below ###

FTPU=”FTP-Username”
FTPP=”FTP-Password”
FTPS=”FTP-IP-Address”

NOW=$(date +”%d-%m-%Y”)
### local directory to backup ###

FILE="/DIR-to-Backup"

### Login to remote server ###
### No need to edit any of the fields bellow ###
### Default DIR is backup ###

lftp -u $FTPU,$FTPP -e “cd backup;mkdir $NOW;cd $NOW;mirror -R $FILE /backup/$NOW;quit” $FTPS

Step 4

Save the script as backup.sh and run chmod +x ./backup.sh to make it an executable.

Step 5

Run the backup script by typing ./backup.sh

The script can be scheduled as a cron job for automated backups on a specific frequency.