HowTo: Proxmox Backup Server — incremental backup and restore

Proxmox Backup Server (PBS) does incremental, deduplicated backups of VMs and containers, with integrity verification and configurable retention. Step by step.

1. Install PBS

# pe un Debian dedicat: repo PBS + instalare
echo 'deb http://download.proxmox.com/debian/pbs bookworm pbs-no-subscription' \
  > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pbs.list
apt update && apt -y install proxmox-backup-server
# UI: https://IP-PBS:8007

2. Datastore

# datastore = locul unde stau backup-urile (dedup + incremental)
proxmox-backup-manager datastore create store1 /mnt/datastore/store1
proxmox-backup-manager datastore list

3. Add PBS to Proxmox VE

# pe nodul Proxmox VE: adauga PBS ca storage
# (Datacenter -> Storage -> Add -> Proxmox Backup Server)
# ai nevoie de: server, datastore 'store1', user, si FINGERPRINT-ul PBS:
proxmox-backup-manager cert info | grep Fingerprint

4. Backup job

# job de backup programat (GUI: Datacenter -> Backup -> Add)
# sau manual pt un VM (VMID 100) catre storage-ul PBS 'pbs':
vzdump 100 --storage pbs --mode snapshot

5. Restore

# listeaza si restaureaza
proxmox-backup-client snapshot list --repository user@pbs@IP:store1
# restore dintr-un snapshot (sau din GUI: Storage pbs -> Backups -> Restore)
qmrestore pbs:backup/vm/100/DATA 100

6. Retention + verify

# retentie + garbage collection (elibereaza spatiu)
proxmox-backup-manager prune-group store1 vm/100 \
  --keep-daily 7 --keep-weekly 4 --keep-monthly 6
proxmox-backup-manager garbage-collection start store1
# verificare integritate:
proxmox-backup-manager verify store1

Conclusion

You now have incremental, deduplicated and verified backups, separate from the cluster. We size it and set retention for you.