Proxmox Backup Server: Automatic VM Backups

Proxmox Backup Server (PBS) stores deduplicated, incremental backups of your VMs and containers. Connect it to Proxmox VE and schedule nightly jobs.

1. Install PBS

Download the Proxmox Backup Server ISO from proxmox.com/downloads and install it on a separate machine or VM with its own disk. Web UI: https://PBS-IP:8007.

https://PBS-IP:8007

2. Create a datastore

Administration > Storage / Disks: initialize a disk, then Datastore > Add Datastore.

Datastore > Add Datastore

3. Connect Proxmox VE

In Proxmox VE: Datacenter > Storage > Add > Proxmox Backup Server. Enter the server, datastore, user and the fingerprint shown on the PBS dashboard.

Datacenter > Storage > Add > Proxmox Backup Server

4. Schedule backups

Datacenter > Backup > Add: pick the PBS storage, the VMs and a nightly time.

Datacenter > Backup > Add  (daily 02:00)

5. Test a restore

Restore one VM to a new ID to prove the backup works.

FAQ

Can PBS run on the same Proxmox host?

It can, but keep backups on a different physical disk or machine, or one failure takes out both.

Why PBS instead of vzdump to a share?

PBS deduplicates and only sends changed blocks, so nightly backups are fast and small.