Pre-Migration Backup Checklist for VPSGrid

No guaranteed restore from VPSGrid

VPSGrid does not guarantee backup retention or restore of your guest OS data. You own pre-migration and ongoing backups.

Short answer

Before migrating to VPSGrid: export files and databases from source host with mysqldump --single-transaction, store backups offsite (3-2-1 rule), document DNS and cron, verify restore on staging or VPS IP, take final sync before DNS cutover, keep source host until validation completes.

Overview

Anyone moving to VPSGrid from shared hosting, cPanel, or another VPS who needs a defensible rollback point — required reading before Migrate WordPress from Shared Hosting to VPSGrid and Migrate from cPanel Shared Hosting to VPSGrid VPS.

VPSGrid sells unmanaged VPS with root or administrator access. Guest OS configuration, application data, backups, and patching inside the VM are your responsibility unless a separate product is documented. Review What Is an Unmanaged VPS at VPSGrid? and Security Responsibilities on Unmanaged VPS before expecting support to perform stack work.

US-Based VPS infrastructure

VPSGrid provides unmanaged Linux and Windows VPS on US-Based KVM infrastructure with NVMe storage and Proxmox virtualization. You manage the guest OS, applications, backups, and security. Current plan specifications appear at checkout on vpsgrid.net — articles do not publish fixed pricing.

3-2-1 backup rule (migration context)

3 copies of data (production + two backups)
2 different media (source server + offsite)
1 copy offsite — not only on VPSGrid destination disk

Full strategy: Backup Best Practices for VPS Owners. VPSGrid does not guarantee zero-downtime migration.

Checklist: files and code

Full document root archive or rsync mirror
User uploads and media directories
Custom configs (.env, wp-config.php, nginx snippets)
Version control export if applicable

Exclude cache from archives

Large tarballs run faster when excluding cache: --exclude=./cache --exclude=./tmp on WordPress or application cache paths.

tar -czvf site-backup-$(date +%F).tar.gz --exclude=./cache --exclude=./tmp -C /var/www example.com

What it does: Creates compressed tarball excluding common cache dirs.
Why it matters: Smaller archives transfer faster; less noise in restore tests.
Expected result: Archive size reasonable; tar completes without errors.
If it fails: Disk full on source — free space first via Disk Full on VPSGrid VPS: Diagnosis and Cleanup.

Checklist: databases

mysqldump -u user -p --single-transaction --routines --triggers appdb > appdb-$(date +%F).sql

What it does: Consistent InnoDB dump without long locks; includes routines.
Why it matters: Captures WordPress/WooCommerce DB state for restore on live sites.
Expected result: SQL file readable; wc -l shows substantial line count.
If it fails: Access denied — verify credentials; use root if permitted.

Checklist: DNS, cron, SSL

DNS zone screenshot or export
Cron job list from cPanel or crontab -l
SSL cert paths if reusing (prefer reissue on VPS with Let's Encrypt SSL with Certbot on VPSGrid)
Email forwarder/MX documentation

Verify

Restore tarball to test directory on VPSGrid
Import SQL to test database
Load site via hosts file or test vhost
Compare checksum: sha256sum backup files after transfer
Document cron jobs to recreate manually on VPS

Rollback guidance

If VPS migration fails, restore source host from pre-migration backups or revert DNS via DNS Cutover Checklist for VPSGrid Migration while keeping source active. Reinstalling VPSGrid OS wipes disk — How to Reinstall Your Operating System.

Security considerations

Encrypt backups containing customer data. Restrict offsite bucket permissions. Delete stale backups per retention policy.

Application-specific backup items

WordPress: export uploads, wp-content, and database. WooCommerce: include custom order tables and tax settings. Custom apps: export .env, queue configs, and Redis dumps if used. Document API keys stored in environment variables — they do not transfer in SQL alone.

Testing restore is non-optional

A backup you have never restored is a hope, not a backup. Schedule restore test to isolated directory on VPSGrid before decommissioning source. Verify login, checkout, or critical workflows on restored copy.

Retention and encryption

Define retention: daily incremental, weekly full, monthly archive. Encrypt backups at rest (GPG or S3 SSE) when they contain customer PII. Restrict offsite bucket IAM to backup user only.