--- title: "Turn on CDP Backup for a node" description: "Turn on CDP Backup for an existing node, choose its schedule, compression, encryption, and excluded paths, and take the first backup." content_type: "how-to" product: "cdp-backup" platform: "MyAccount" url: "/myaccount/cdp-backup/how-to/turn-on-cdp-backup/" topic: ["set-up"] relationships: {"requires":["/myaccount/node/how-to/create-a-node/"]} --- # Turn on CDP Backup for a node Once CDP Backup is on, it backs up every file and folder on the node on a schedule and keeps the results as recovery points on E2E's backup servers. Turning it on also starts the first backup. To turn backup on while you create a node instead, check **Enable Backup.** on the create-node form; see [Enable backups on a node](/myaccount/node/how-to/enable-backups-on-a-node/). ## Before you begin - The node is running. If it is powered off or stopped, start it first. - A security group on the node has an inbound rule that allows TCP port 1167, with **Any Network** as the source. E2E's backup servers connect to the backup agent on the node on this port, from different private addresses in each region. See [Security Group](/myaccount/security-group/). - The node's own firewall, if it runs one, allows inbound TCP port 1167 too. MyAccount checks only the security group. See [Allow port 1167 in the node's firewall](/myaccount/cdp-backup/troubleshooting/cdp-backup/#allow-port-1167-in-the-nodes-firewall). - The node has no VPC, or is in a VPC made with an E2E-provided range. The backup server and the node must talk over E2E's own network. Attaching a custom-range VPC later, or detaching the VPC the backup uses, deletes the node's backup and its recovery points. The security group rule can also be one that allows **All** or **All TCP** traffic, or a **Custom TCP** rule whose ports list 1167. In the rule's port list, **CDP Backup** is the entry for port 1167. A range of ports, such as 1000-2000, is not enough, even when 1167 falls inside it. Kubernetes nodes, and nodes on some operating system versions in some regions, show **Backup Unsupported** and are not backed up; see [Troubleshooting CDP Backup](/myaccount/cdp-backup/troubleshooting/cdp-backup/#the-cdp-backup-is-not-supported-for-this-node). Each node you back up adds a monthly licence to your bill, and its backup storage is charged at the month's peak size in GB. For the rates, see [E2E's pricing page](https://www.e2enetworks.com/pricing). ## Open the backup settings 1. In MyAccount, open **CDP Backups**. If none of your nodes is backed up yet, click **Get Started**. Find the node in **Manage CDP Backups**. Nodes run by a load balancer or by Auto Scaling are not listed there. 2. Open the node's **Actions** menu and click **Activate Backup**. **Backup Schedule Configuration** opens. If none of the node's security groups opens port 1167, you see **CDP Backup Cannot Be Enabled** instead. Click **Go to Security Group**, add the rule, and start again. You can also open the same dialog from the link on the node's **CDP Backup Details** tab that turns backup on, or from **Activate** in the **Backup** column in **Compute > Nodes**. ## Choose the schedule In **Select backup schedule mode**, choose a plan. **Regular Plan** is selected for you. A plan sets how often a backup runs and how many recovery points it keeps at each level: | Plan | Backs up every | Recent | Daily | Weekly | Monthly | Yearly | | --------------------------------------- | -------------- | ------ | ----- | ------ | ------- | ------ | | **Regular Plan** | 6 hours | 12 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 0 | | **High Frequency - Long term backups** | 4 hours | 12 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 2 | | **Low Frequency - Long term backups** | 10 hours | 4 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 2 | | **High Frequency - Short term backups** | 4 hours | 12 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 0 | | **Low Frequency - Short term backups** | 10 hours | 4 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 0 | | **Long Term Extended Daily Backups** | 6 hours | 4 | 60 | 8 | 12 | 2 | **Regular Plan** suits most nodes: it keeps two weeks of daily recovery points and two months of monthly ones. Choose a long-term plan to keep 12 monthly and two yearly recovery points. Choose a short-term plan when you need only the last 12 weeks. In either kind, a High Frequency plan backs up every four hours and a Low Frequency plan every 10 hours. Choose **Long Term Extended Daily Backups** to keep 60 days of daily recovery points. The dialog shows the same numbers for the plan you pick. The yearly count is set now, when you turn backup on. Moving to another plan later with **Change Schedule** updates the recent, daily, weekly, and monthly counts, and the yearly count stays as it is. If you want yearly recovery points, choose a plan that keeps them now. **Backup Time (IST)** shows the hours the plan runs at. The plan sets the hours, and the minute past the hour is picked for you. The start time can vary with how many backups the backup server is running. **Backup Now: Immediately run a backup for this node** is always checked: the first backup runs right away instead of at the first scheduled time. It copies all the node's data, and takes longer than the backups after it. For what each recovery point holds and how older ones are merged, see [Recovery points and retention](/myaccount/cdp-backup/concepts/recovery-points-and-retention/). ## Choose compression In **Compression Type**, choose how backup data is compressed before it is stored: - **ZLib** is the default. With it you also choose a **Compression Level**: **Low** (the default), **Medium**, or **High**. A higher level makes backups smaller, and each backup slower. - **QuickLZ** has no level to choose. Start with **ZLib** at **Low**. You can change compression later with **Change Schedule**. ## (Optional) Encrypt the backups To encrypt the node's backups, check **Do you want to apply encryption?** and enter the same passphrase in **Encryption Passphrase** and **Confirm Passphrase**. The passphrase must be 8 to 50 characters, with at least one digit, one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, and one special character. E2E keeps no copy of the passphrase. You must enter it every time you browse or restore these backups. If you lose it, nobody can restore them for you. Save it in a password manager before you continue. You can choose encryption only here, when you turn backup on. Turning backup off deletes every recovery point the node has. To add or remove encryption later, or to change the passphrase, turn backup off and on again. See [Backup encryption](/myaccount/cdp-backup/concepts/backup-encryption/). ## (Optional) Leave paths out of the backup By default, every file and folder on the node is backed up. To leave some out, type their paths in **Exclude folder/file**, separated by commas, for example `/var/log,/tmp`. Each path must be absolute: `/var/log` on Linux, not `log`, and `C:\Windows\Temp` on Windows, not `Temp`. Leaving out a folder leaves out everything inside it. The field refuses `/` on its own and any path containing `//`. To keep backups smaller, leave out logs, caches, and temporary files. ## Turn backup on Click **Activate**. "Your backups will begin shortly." confirms it, and E2E emails the account owner that CDP Backup is activated for the node. ## Check that the first backup finished In **Manage CDP Backups**, the node's **Backup Status** reads **In-Progress** while the first backup runs. It changes to **Available** once the first recovery point exists. E2E then emails the account owner, with project members in copy. How long this takes depends on how much data the node holds. Click **Refresh** to see the latest status. Once the status reads **Available**, the node's **Backup Recovery Points**, **Backup Task History**, **Restore Task History**, and **Backup Usage Report** tabs appear. On the **CDP Backup Details** tab, **Next Backup Scheduled Run** shows when the next backup runs, and **Last Recovery Points Created On** shows when the latest recovery point was made. The tab also shows **Backup Status**, **Backup Size**, **MySQL Database Backup Status** (**SQL Database Backup Status** on Windows), **Backup Schedule Time (IST)**, **Backup Schedule Mode**, **Compression Type**, and **Compression Level**. A FortiGate firewall node has no **CDP Backup Details** tab. The **Backup Status** in **Manage CDP Backups** tells you where a node's backup stands: | Backup Status | What it means | | ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | **Not Activated** | Backup is off. | | **In-Progress** | Backup is on, and the first backup has not finished. | | **Available** | Backups run on schedule, and recovery points exist. | | **Backup Failed** | The last backup failed. The node's **CDP Backup Details** tab shows why. | | **Powered Off** | The node is powered off. No backups are taken until it runs again. | | **Stopped** | The node is stopped. No backups are taken until it runs again. | | **Archived** | The node was deleted and its backups were kept. | | **Backup Unsupported** | The node cannot be backed up. | The node is now backed up on schedule. To bring back a file, see [Restore files from a recovery point](/myaccount/cdp-backup/how-to/restore-files-from-a-recovery-point/). If the node runs MySQL or SQL Server, see [Back up a database on a node](/myaccount/cdp-backup/how-to/back-up-a-database-on-a-node/). If backup does not turn on, or the status reads **Backup Failed**, see [Troubleshooting CDP Backup](/myaccount/cdp-backup/troubleshooting/cdp-backup/).