Deployed automated monthly backup solution for Proxmox VE host configurations using bash script and cron.monthly. Backs up critical system directories to centralized SMB share with 6-month retention. Ensures rapid disaster recovery without relying on VM-level backups for host configuration.

Proxmox VE provides excellent built-in backup solutions for VMs and containers, but host-level configuration is often overlooked. If a Proxmox host fails catastrophically, you need:

Without host-level backups, rebuilding a failed Proxmox node means manually reconfiguring everything from memory or outdated documentation.

A bash script runs monthly via cron.monthly, creating timestamped tar archives of critical directories and storing them on a network SMB share.

Script placed in /etc/cron.monthly/ runs automatically on the first of each month.

Format: {hostname}_{directory}_{timestamp}.tgz

proxmox01_etc_2025-01-28_11-06-13PM.tgz

proxmox01_root_2025-01-28_11-06-13PM.tgz

proxmox01_opt_2025-01-28_11-06-13PM.tgz

proxmox01_pve-cluster_2025-01-28_11-06-13PM.tgz

1. mount SMB share

add to /etc/fstab for persistence

verify: ls /mnt/pve/proxmox_hosts

2. install script

nano /etc/cron.monthly/proxmox_config_to_nas

chmod +x /etc/cron.monthly/proxmox_config_to_nas

3. test manually

/etc/cron.monthly/proxmox_config_to_nas

cat /var/log/proxmox_config_backup.log

4. verify cron

scripts in /etc/cron.monthly/ run automatically

fallback: add to crontab manually

Security: Use credentials file instead of plaintext password in fstab. Create /root/.smbcredentials with permissions 600.

Script uses $(hostname) to namespace backups automatically. Deploy the same script to all Proxmox servers without modification.

Fully automated host configuration backup solution running across multiple Proxmox nodes. Monthly backups provide 6 months of retention with automatic cleanup.

Need disaster recovery planning? We design backup strategies that work when you need them - host configs, VMs, databases - all automated and tested.