Backup Configuration

Learning Focus

By the end of this lesson you will know exactly what to backup, how to create reliable backups, and how to restore them after a failed change or upgrade.

What to Backup

Item	Path	Why
Server config	/usr/local/lsws/conf/	Main server and vhost configuration
Virtual host configs	/usr/local/lsws/conf/vhosts/	Per-site settings
SSL certificates	/etc/ssl/private/, /etc/ssl/certs/	Certificate and key files
WebAdmin password	/usr/local/lsws/admin/conf/	Admin credentials
PHP config	/usr/local/lsws/lsphp*/etc/php/*/lsphp/php.ini	Custom PHP settings
Application files	/var/www/	Site code, uploads, themes
Rewrite rules	.htaccess files in doc roots	URL routing rules

Quick Backup Script

backup-ols.sh

#!/bin/bash
# OpenLiteSpeed configuration backup script

BACKUP_DIR="/root/backups/ols-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)"
mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR"

# 1) Server configuration
sudo cp -r /usr/local/lsws/conf "$BACKUP_DIR/conf"

# 2) Admin configuration
sudo cp -r /usr/local/lsws/admin/conf "$BACKUP_DIR/admin-conf"

# 3) SSL certificates
sudo cp -r /etc/ssl/private "$BACKUP_DIR/ssl-private" 2>/dev/null
sudo cp -r /etc/ssl/certs "$BACKUP_DIR/ssl-certs" 2>/dev/null

# 4) PHP configuration
for phpdir in /usr/local/lsws/lsphp*/etc; do
  if [ -d "$phpdir" ]; then
    phpver=$(echo "$phpdir" | grep -oP 'lsphp\K[0-9]+')
    sudo cp -r "$phpdir" "$BACKUP_DIR/php$phpver-etc"
  fi
done

# 5) Create a compressed archive
tar -czf "$BACKUP_DIR.tar.gz" -C "$(dirname $BACKUP_DIR)" "$(basename $BACKUP_DIR)"
rm -rf "$BACKUP_DIR"

echo "Backup saved to: $BACKUP_DIR.tar.gz"
echo "Backup size: $(du -h $BACKUP_DIR.tar.gz | cut -f1)"

Make It Executable

chmod +x backup-ols.sh
sudo ./backup-ols.sh

Restore Process

# 1) Extract the backup
tar -xzf /root/backups/ols-20260310-143000.tar.gz -C /tmp/

# 2) Stop the server
sudo systemctl stop lsws

# 3) Restore config files
sudo cp -r /tmp/ols-20260310-143000/conf/* /usr/local/lsws/conf/

# 4) Restore SSL if needed
sudo cp -r /tmp/ols-20260310-143000/ssl-private/* /etc/ssl/private/
sudo chmod 600 /etc/ssl/private/*

# 5) Start the server
sudo systemctl start lsws

# 6) Verify
tail -20 /usr/local/lsws/logs/error.log
curl -I http://localhost

Backup Schedule Recommendation

Frequency	What to Backup	When
Before every change	Config directory	Before any WebAdmin or file edit
Before upgrades	Config + SSL + PHP	Before apt upgrade or dnf upgrade
Weekly	Full backup script	Automated via cron
Monthly	Off-site copy	Copy to remote storage or backup service

Automate with Cron

# Run backup every Sunday at 2 AM
echo "0 2 * * 0 root /root/scripts/backup-ols.sh" | sudo tee /etc/cron.d/ols-backup

warning

Backups only protect you if they are tested. Periodically verify you can restore from a backup by doing a test restore on a non-production server.

Key Takeaways

• Always backup before changes — config, SSL, and PHP settings.
• Use a scripted backup so it is repeatable and consistent.
• Keep backups off the server for disaster recovery.
• Test your restore process — an untested backup is not a real backup.