Acronis Backup Plugin for DirectAdmin

Installation of Acronis Plugin on DirectAdmin Server

Overview

This article describes how to install and use the Acronis Backup plugin for DirectAdmin. The plugin integrates DirectAdmin with Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud, letting you:

• Back up an entire DirectAdmin server to cloud storage with disk-level backup
• Recover the entire server, including all hosted accounts and websites
• Perform granular recovery of individual user accounts, files, domains, databases, and mailboxes
• Enable self-service recovery so DirectAdmin account owners can recover their own data

Once installed and configured, the server is backed up on a predefined schedule, or on demand. Recovery is performed from the DirectAdmin admin interface, and from the end-user interface if self-service is enabled.

System Requirements

• DirectAdmin version 1.62.0 or later
• PHP version 7.4 or later
• MySQL 5.7 or later, or MariaDB 10.3.17 or later (remote database server backup/recovery is not supported)
• Supported operating systems: AlmaLinux 8/9, RHEL 7/8, Rocky Linux 8/9, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS/24.04 LTS. Debian is not supported.
• A backup agent must be installed on the same machine. If DirectAdmin is running inside a Virtuozzo container, the backup agent must be installed on the Virtuozzo host instead of the container (see "Agentless Backup for Virtuozzo Containers" below). Only Virtuozzo Server 7.5 containers are supported this way — Virtuozzo VMs are not supported.

Installing the Plugin

There are two ways to install the plugin.

Method 1: Through the DirectAdmin GUI

1. Log in to DirectAdmin as administrator.
2. Go to Menu > Extra Features > Plugin Manager.
3. Click Add Plugin and either paste this URL or upload the file directly: https://download.acronis.com/ci/directadmin/stable/acronis-directadmin-stable/acronisbackup.tar.gz
4. Enter your DirectAdmin password when prompted, select Install after upload, then click Install.

Method 2: From the command line

Log in to the server as root and run:

sh <(curl -L https://download.acronis.com/ci/directadmin/stable/install_acronis_directadmin.sh || wget -O - https://download.acronis.com/ci/directadmin/stable/install_acronis_directadmin.sh)

This downloads and runs the installation script.

Installing the Backup Agent

1. In DirectAdmin, go to Menu > Extra Features > Acronis Backup.
2. Specify the credentials of the Acronis Cyber Cloud account this machine should be assigned to. Use an account created within the customer group (Customer administrator, Unit administrator, or User) — do not use partner administrator credentials.
3. Optionally enable encryption for this machine's backups. Note: once a protection plan has been created, the encryption password cannot be changed — store it somewhere safe before continuing.
4. Follow the installation wizard. It checks whether the ports required for cloud communication are open; if any are closed, it lists the ports and hostnames that need to be opened — open them, close the wizard, and restart the installation.

Note: to register the agent with a one-time token instead of a login/password (useful if 2FA is enabled on the Acronis account), generate a registration token from Devices > All devices > Add > Registration token > Generate in the Cyber Protect console, then run ./Backup_Agent_for_Linux_x86_64.bin --token=%generated_token% --rain=%datacenter_address% on the server instead of the standard install command.

Required: Protection Plan Settings

For full and granular recovery to work correctly, the protection plan applied to this server must:

• Back up the entire server, or at minimum all volumes containing DirectAdmin/control panel data
• Contain no file or path exclusions (exclusions can also cause slowdowns or timeouts)
• Include the pre/post data-capture commands:
  • Before capture: /usr/lib/Acronis/BackupAndRecovery/webcpprecapture
  • After capture: /usr/lib/Acronis/BackupAndRecovery/webcppostcapture

Do not change these plan parameters once recovery is working correctly, and do not apply a different plan to this server that doesn't meet these requirements — either will break granular recovery.

Enabling Backup

1. Go to Menu > Extra Features > Acronis Backup > Dashboard.
2. Switch the Backup toggle to On or Off.

If no suitable protection plan exists yet, turning this on creates a default plan (backup once every 24 hours at 2 AM local server time). You can change the schedule and other parameters afterward in the Cyber Protect Cloud console, through the unattended-configuration script (below), or via the REST API.

Turning the toggle Off disables the execution of all hosting control panel protection plans currently assigned to this server; turning it back On re-enables them (or creates a default plan if none exist).

Running a Backup on Demand

Dashboard > Run now.

Unattended / Scripted Configuration

For automated deployments, instead of configuring through the GUI, edit:

/usr/local/directadmin/plugins/acronisbackup/python/lib/python3.8/site-packages/acronis_backup_srv/bash_scripts/configurator.ini

Required parameters: acronis_cyber_cloud_login, acronis_cyber_cloud_password, enable_backup, run_backup. Optional parameters cover encryption, retention policy, backup schedule, retry behavior, and alert thresholds.

Then apply the configuration by running:

/usr/local/directadmin/plugins/acronisbackup/python/lib/python3.8/site-packages/acronis_backup_srv/bash_scripts/configurator.sh

Enabling Self-Service Recovery for DirectAdmin Users

1. Go to Menu > Account Manager > Manage User Packages.
2. Select a package and click Modify.
3. Check the Acronis Backup feature/checkbox.
4. Optionally set a limit on how many recovery points end users can see and use.
5. Click Save.

Only users on a package with this enabled will be able to recover their own data.

Recovery — Administrator

From Menu > Extra Features > Acronis Backup > Backups tab, select a recovery point, then:

• Recover the entire server: click Recover entire server and confirm. All changes made after that backup will be lost. This is available to DirectAdmin administrators only — if DirectAdmin itself is unavailable due to a server failure, recover instead using the Acronis Cyber Protect console or Acronis bootable media.

• Download or recover a user account: Users tab > select the account > Download (optionally skip databases and/or the home directory) or Recover.
• Download or recover files: Files tab > browse and select > Download or Recover.
• Download or recover domains: Domains tab > select > Download or Recover.
• Download or recover databases: Databases tab > select > Download, or Recover (with the option to add a suffix so the database is restored as a new copy instead of overwriting the original).
• Download or recover mailboxes: Mailboxes tab > select > Download or Recover.

Recovery — End User (Self-Service)

Once self-service is enabled for their package, DirectAdmin users can, from their own interface:

• Export their own account (optionally skipping databases and/or the home directory)
• Recover their own account
• Download their own files and mailboxes
• View their own Recovery Operations log

Recovered or exported items for end users are placed at /usr/local/directadmin/plugins/acronisbackup/restored_data and kept there for 7 days before automatic cleanup. Temporary working files live in /usr/local/directadmin/plugins/acronisbackup/srv/tmp.

Advanced Configuration

Custom MySQL data directory: if MySQL data isn't in its default location, set data_folder_path under the [mysql] section of /usr/local/directadmin/plugins/acronisbackup/srv/config.ini.

MySQL freeze options (for consistent database backups), set in /var/lib/Acronis/AgentCommData/capture-dataconfig.sh: MYSQL_FREEZE, MYSQL_FREEZE_TIMEOUT, MYSQL_FREEZE_SNAPSHOT_TIMEOUT, MYSQL_FREEZE_ONLY_MYISAM.

Collecting Logs

Log files are stored under /usr/local/directadmin/plugins/acronisbackup/log/ and /usr/local/directadmin/plugins/acronisbackup/srv/log/. As administrator, you can also download them directly from Dashboard > Download log.

Updating the Plugin

Automatic: Plugin Manager > find Acronis Backup > Update > confirm your password.

Manual: repeat the installation steps above; DirectAdmin replaces the existing version automatically.

Warning: do not downgrade to an older plugin version — this can cause inconsistencies between the plugin code and its internal database, potentially disrupting the backup service.

Uninstalling the Plugin

Plugin Manager > click the + next to Acronis Backup > Delete.

This removes the plugin and the protection agent, and unregisters the device from the console. The protection plan itself is preserved unless you remove it separately.