Additional options for sending backups rather than FTP?

[Nonapeptide]

I have Plesk 10.3.1 on CentOS 5. I'm trying to manage backups using Server Management >> Tools & Utilities >> Backup Manager.

I'm trying to get backups off the server as soon as they're done. I'm appalled that FTP is the only protocol offered as an off-server repository. I can't risk the plaintext nature of FTP's authentication or data stream, so I'm looking at alternatives.

Is there a plugin or module of some kind that makes the Backup Manager offer SCP or SFTP as a remote repository?

I suppose the only other option would be to make a VPN connection to the remote repository before using FTP.

 

[Nonapeptide]

So far it's looking like I've got three options:

1) Use a third party tool like 4PSA's Total Backup
Pros: Incremental backups and can backup to a remote host over SSH.
Cons: Added cost. Added vendor in the mix.

2) Mount a remote filesystem using SSHFS and backup to that with pleskbackup.
Pros: It's secure and simple. Plesk gets to backup like it prefers which makes restoration easier.
Cons: I'm backing up the entire server every time, which is multiple gigabytes. That eats up my monthly bandwidth.

3) Forgo Plesk's own backup tool and use rsync over SSH
Pros: I can make incremental backups and conserve bandwidth.
Cons: Restoration is now complicated since Plesk isn't involved.

I'll probably give #2 a try, but if bandwidth becomes an issue, I might have to go with #1. #3 seems to be just plain silly.

 

[IsraëlF]

Is there any other third party tools that can be used for secure ftp backup ?

 

[Nonapeptide]

Is there any other third party tools that can be used for secure ftp backup ?

What's not right about the 4PSA product? Without knowing what you're not satisfied with it's hard to make a recommendation. 4PSA says their backups are secure but it doesn't say how. SFTP is a component of the SSH service provided by sshd, so if you have an SSH connection to another PC you can connect via SFTP and move the backup to that server.

 

[IsraëlF]

What's not right about the 4PSA product? Without knowing what you're not satisfied with it's hard to make a recommendation. 4PSA says their backups are secure but it doesn't say how. SFTP is a component of the SSH service provided by sshd, so if you have an SSH connection to another PC you can connect via SFTP and move the backup to that server.

I understand what you mean... well I don't think there is something wrong with this solution and I may give it a try later. I was just wondering if there was existing cheaper solutions. I host crm applications and it's important for me to have daily backup. I may simply create a script to backup databases via sftp as well ... But just curious about the different alternatives available to us.

Thanks