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What’s up, guys! Welcome back to another blog. Today, we’re diving into something that I think every homelab or dev environment builder eventually runs into—backups.
I’ll be honest, this came out of a self-inflicted problem. I needed to upgrade the drives on my dev server, and while I could just wipe out everything and rebuilt from scratch, that felt like wasted time. Instead, I saw the perfect chance to bring Proxmox Backup Server (PBS) into the mix and test it out.
So in this post, we’re going to walk through the why and the how. First, I’ll show you the big picture—what PBS is, why it’s worth your time, and how it fits into your environment. Then, at the end, you’ll find a Command Reference Guide with all the practical steps so you can jump right in when you’re ready.
Why Backups Matter (And Why I Finally Set Them Up)
If you’re like me, when you’re deep in building out an environment, backups often feel like something you’ll “get to later.” But hardware upgrades have a funny way of forcing the issue. I needed a way to save my VMs and containers before swapping out drives, and that’s where PBS came in.
The idea is simple:
- Spin up a lightweight box dedicated to backups.
- Connect it to my main server.
- Back everything up before touching the hardware.
- Restore once the upgrade is done.
Nothing fancy—just a reliable safety net. And honestly, that’s all a good backup system needs to be.
What is Proxmox Backup Server?
PBS is a dedicated backup solution built to work seamlessly with Proxmox VE. Instead of relying on manual exports or snapshots, it gives you a structured system for fast, reliable, space-efficient backups.
Here’s why I think it’s worth using:
- Incremental backups – after the first run, it only saves changes.
- Deduplication – duplicate data is stored once, saving a ton of space.
- Client-side encryption – data gets encrypted before it even leaves your machine.
- Integrity verification – built-in checks make sure backups are usable.
- File-level support – you can back up entire VMs/containers or even specific folders.
- Remote sync & replication – send backups to another server or offsite.
- Tape backup support – for those who want true long-term archiving.
And best of all? It’s enterprise-grade, open source, and free. Can’t complain about that.
Walking Through PBS
PBS feels familiar if you’ve used Proxmox VE—it shares the same clean interface and logical structure. Here’s what stood out to me as I explored:
- Dashboard: a snapshot of CPU, RAM, disk usage, uptime, and datastore health.
- Configuration: where you set time zone, DNS, and network basics.
- Access Control: manage users, 2FA, and API tokens.
- Remotes & S3 Endpoints: connect to offsite servers or cloud storage.
- Certificates: handle SSL (default self-signed or Let’s Encrypt).
- Notifications: email alerts for failed/successful jobs.
- Administration: updates, logs, tasks, and system status.
- Storage & Disks: manage drives, partitions, SMART checks, and datastores.
- Datastores: the heart of PBS—where your backups live, with pruning and verification tools built in.
Once you get your bearings, it’s pretty straightforward.
The Setup Flow
Here’s the journey I took:
- Install PBS on a spare machine. Nothing fancy needed—just enough CPU, RAM, and disk space for my backups.
- Pick a filesystem for your backup drive. I kept it simple with EXT4/XFS since I'm not running a huge RAID setup and didn’t want ZFS’s RAM overhead.
- Create a datastore – the storage location where all your backups will live.
- Connect PBS to Proxmox VE – add it as a backup target under Datacenter → Storage.
- Run a test backup – grab a VM or container and push it to PBS.
- Confirm you can restore – because backups aren’t real until you’ve tested a restore (This will be done on the next video).
That’s it. From there, you can get fancy with pruning rules, namespaces for organization, or offsite replication. Check out the Proxmox Backup Server Prune Simulator(Click) if you want to run some test on clean up.
Lessons Learned
One thing that struck me is how tightly integrated PBS is with Proxmox VE. It’s not bolted on—it feels like a natural extension. Backups are quick, restores are flexible, and it doesn’t lock you to a specific disk or storage type.
The other big takeaway? Don’t wait until you have a hardware issue to think about backups. They’re easy enough to set up that there’s no excuse not to have at least a basic system running.
Command Reference Guide 
Install Proxmox Backup Server
Install Proxmox Backup Server
- Download PBS ISO from the official site.
- Create a bootable USB.
- Boot your machine and run the installer.
- Select disk, filesystem (EXT4/XFS recommended for simple setups), IP, and hostname.
Update PBS After Install
- apt update
- apt upgrade -y
Create a Datastore
- Go to Administration → Disks.
- Wipe/format a disk.
- Go to Datastore → Add.
- Choose Directory, XFS/EXT4, give it a name, and create.
Connect PBS to Proxmox VE
- In Datacenter → Storage → Add → Proxmox Backup Server:
- Enter server IP
- Enter username & password (root@pam by default)
- Paste PBS fingerprint (found under Datastore → Summary → Show Connection Info)
- Select datastore and namespace
Run a Backup
- On any VM/CT:
- Go to a VM → Backup → Backup Now
- Select PBS datastore (The one on the PBS)
- Run the job
That’s it for this round. Backup is no longer just “something I’ll do later”—it’s in place, tested, and ready. And that means I can move forward with confidence into the hardware upgrade. Stay geeking, stay curious, and I’ll catch you in the next one. Peace
