Automatically backing up configuration files

Webmin allows you to set up a schedule it will follow to create backups of system configuration files automatically. You can use this option to keep a rolling archive of configuration changes made on your system.

Getting ready

In this recipe, we will create backup files with names containing the current date. We need to enable this feature, so before starting, navigate to Webmin | Backup Configuration Files | Module Config and answer Yes to the question, Do strftime substitution of backup destinations?.

How to do it...

Perform the following steps to automatically back up the configuration files:

1. Create a directory to store local backups in the root directory, for example, /backups.

   Tip

   Make sure that your backup directory is stored on a partition with enough disk space so you don't accidentally fill up your entire disk. Placing /backups on a separate partition or in /var/backups may be a good idea.

   You should also protect the backup location from prying...