If you manage hosting servers running WHM/cPanel, you already know the built-in backup system has serious limitations — no per-file restore, slow full-account dumps, and no support for modern cloud destinations. JetBackup WHM cPanel setup solves every one of these pain points with granular restore, multiple backup destinations, and a polished interface that hosting operations teams actually enjoy using. This guide walks you through the complete installation, configuration, and best practices so you can get JetBackup running in production today.
What Is JetBackup and Why Hosting Providers Choose It Over cPanel Backups
JetBackup is a commercial backup plugin for WHM/cPanel that replaces — or runs alongside — the native cPanel backup system. Developed by Aviator Systems, it is the most widely adopted third-party backup solution in the cPanel ecosystem, with tens of thousands of installations on shared, reseller, and dedicated hosting servers.
Key advantages over native cPanel backups:
- Granular restore: Restore individual files, databases, email accounts, or DNS zones without extracting a full account archive.
- Multiple destinations: Back up simultaneously to Amazon S3, Google Drive, FTP, SFTP, Backblaze B2, Wasabi, and any S3-compatible provider.
- End-user self-service: Account holders can trigger their own restores from cPanel without opening a support ticket.
- Incremental backups: Only changed data is transferred after the first full backup, dramatically reducing storage costs and transfer time.
- Scheduled job flexibility: Run different backup jobs on different schedules — hourly database snapshots, nightly home directory backups, weekly full-account archives.
- Retention policies: Keep a configurable number of snapshots per account, automatically pruning old copies.
For hosting companies managing dozens to thousands of cPanel accounts, the operational difference is significant. A single JetBackup restore takes seconds to minutes; a native cPanel restore from a compressed archive can take hours on large accounts.
JetBackup Prerequisites: WHM Version, License & Server Requirements
Before running the installer, verify your environment meets these requirements:
- WHM/cPanel version: 88 or higher (JetBackup 5.x). Run
cat /usr/local/cpanel/versionto check. - Operating system: CentOS 7/8, AlmaLinux 8/9, CloudLinux 7/8/9, Rocky Linux 8/9.
- RAM: Minimum 2 GB. Recommended 4 GB+ for servers with 50+ accounts.
- Disk space: At least 20% free space on the root partition for JetBackup's index database (JetIndex).
- License: JetBackup requires a paid license from
jetlicense.com. Pricing is per-server per-month. A 7-day free trial is available. - Root SSH access: Required for installation.
Port requirements: JetBackup's JetIndex daemon listens on localhost:3035 by default. No external port needs to be opened unless you are using a remote JetIndex server.
💡 None of these worked? Skip the guesswork.
Get Expert Help →How to Install JetBackup Plugin in WHM (Step-by-Step)
Installation takes under five minutes via CLI. Use the automated installer or the WHM Marketplace.
Log in as root via SSH and execute the one-line repository bootstrap:
bash <(curl -LSs https://repo.jetlicense.com/static/install)This adds the JetApps yum/dnf repository to your server.
jetapps --install jetbackup5-cpanel stableThe installer pulls the latest stable release, configures the JetIndex service, registers the WHM plugin, and adds the JetBackup interface to cPanel user accounts. Installation typically completes in 2–4 minutes.
service jetbackup5 status
service jetindexd statusBoth services must show active (running). If jetindexd is stopped, JetBackup cannot read backup metadata — start it with service jetindexd start and enable it on boot with systemctl enable jetindexd.
Log in to WHM (https://yourserver.com:2087) and search for "JetBackup" in the left navigation. The JetBackup 5 admin panel appears as a full-screen embedded interface.
On first launch, JetBackup prompts for a license key. Paste the key from your JetLicense.com account. The key is validated against the server's IP address — if you move the license to a new server, release it from the old server first in your JetLicense dashboard.
Configuring Backup Destinations: Local, S3, FTP, SFTP & Google Drive
A Backup Destination in JetBackup is where backup data is stored. You can configure multiple destinations and assign different backup jobs to different destinations — for example, critical databases to S3 and full home directories to a local NFS mount.
Navigate to WHM → JetBackup → Destinations → Add Destination.
Amazon S3 (recommended for off-site)
- Select Amazon S3 as the destination type.
- Enter your AWS Access Key ID, Secret Access Key, and the target bucket name.
- Set the region (e.g.
us-east-1). Enable Server-Side Encryption (SSE-S3 or SSE-KMS) for compliance. - Test the connection before saving — JetBackup performs a write/read/delete test to confirm credentials and bucket permissions.
- For cost control, enable Lifecycle Rules in the S3 bucket to transition old backups to Glacier after 30 days.
Google Drive
- Select Google Drive and click Authenticate to complete OAuth2 authorisation.
- Specify a target folder path. JetBackup creates a structured directory tree per account.
- Google Drive is suitable for smaller servers (under 50 accounts) — Google's API rate limits can slow large backup jobs.
SFTP (secure FTP)
- Enter the remote hostname, port (default 22), username, and either a password or SSH private key (recommended).
- Specify the remote backup root path. Ensure the SSH user has write access to that directory.
- For dedicated backup servers, create a restricted SSH user with
rsshorrrsyncto limit access to the backup directory only.
Local / Custom (same server or NFS mount)
- Use for a secondary local copy or a mounted NFS share.
- Enter the absolute path (e.g.
/backup/jetbackup). Ensure sufficient disk space — JetBackup will warn if free space drops below the configured threshold.
Creating and Scheduling Backup Jobs for cPanel Accounts
A Backup Job defines what to back up, where to store it, and when to run. Navigate to JetBackup → Backup Jobs → Add Backup Job.
Job configuration fields:
- Job Name: A descriptive label (e.g. "Nightly Full — S3").
- Backup Type: Choose Full (complete account snapshot) or Incremental (only changed files since last backup). Use incremental for daily jobs once a full baseline exists.
- What to Back Up: Select any combination — Home Directory, Databases, Email, DNS Zones, SSL Certificates, Cron Jobs. For most hosting accounts, select all.
- Destination: Choose the configured destination(s). You can select multiple destinations to write copies to both S3 and local storage simultaneously.
- Accounts to Include: Back up all accounts, specific packages, or a manually selected list.
- Schedule: Set the cron-style schedule. Common configurations:
- Nightly full backup at 02:00 AM:
0 2 * * * - Database-only snapshot every 6 hours:
0 */6 * * * - Weekly full with 4-week retention:
0 3 * * 0
- Nightly full backup at 02:00 AM:
- Retention: Number of backup copies to keep per account. 7 for daily jobs (one week of history) is a sensible default.
- Notifications: Configure email alerts on job completion, failure, or when storage falls below a threshold.
Recommended job structure for a typical shared hosting server:
- Job 1: Daily incremental — all accounts — S3 — retain 14 copies
- Job 2: Weekly full — all accounts — S3 + Local — retain 4 copies
- Job 3: Every 6h database-only — all accounts — S3 — retain 12 copies
How to Restore a Full Account or Individual Files from JetBackup
Restores are the most important operation — and where JetBackup genuinely outperforms the native cPanel system.
Full account restore (WHM admin)
Navigate to JetBackup → Restore & Download → Accounts → select account → Restore. Choose the snapshot date, confirm, and JetBackup streams the data back to the live account. No SSH required.
Individual file restore (admin or end-user)
From WHM, go to JetBackup → Restore & Download → Files. Browse the backup's directory tree, select individual files or folders, and click Restore or Download. End users with cPanel access can do the same from cPanel → JetBackup → Files.
Database restore
Under Restore & Download → Databases, select the account, choose the snapshot, pick the specific database, and restore. JetBackup can restore to the original database name or to a new database to avoid overwriting live data during investigation.
Email restore
Individual mailboxes, mail folders, or entire email accounts can be restored independently — without touching the home directory, databases, or DNS. This is particularly useful when a customer accidentally deletes a folder.
JetBackup Best Practices for Hosting Providers
- Always test restores. Schedule a monthly restore drill — pick a random account, restore to a staging environment, verify file integrity. Backups you haven't tested are not backups.
- Use the 3-2-1 rule. Three copies, two different media/locations, one off-site. JetBackup's multi-destination support makes this easy to enforce.
- Separate backup schedules by account tier. Mission-critical accounts deserve hourly database snapshots; basic shared accounts can run nightly. Use JetBackup's package-based account selection to set this up.
- Monitor disk usage proactively. Configure JetBackup's low-disk alerts and set up a Zabbix or Grafana dashboard to track the backup destination's used space over time.
- Prevent auto-reinstall loops. On cPanel-managed servers with auto-update enabled, JetBackup can sometimes be reinstalled to a different version. Prevent this with:
touch /var/cpanel/disable_auto_jb - Keep JetBackup updated. Run
jetapps --update jetbackup5-cpanelmonthly. New releases regularly include performance improvements and security patches. - Enable backup notifications. Configure email alerts for job failures. A failed backup job that runs silently for a week is a disaster waiting to happen.
- Use incremental backups after the first full. Full backups every night are expensive and slow. Switch daily jobs to incremental after the baseline full backup completes and run a weekly full for safety.
Managing backup infrastructure across multiple servers is complex — if your team needs expert help configuring or maintaining JetBackup in a production environment, CloudHouse Technologies provides managed cPanel/WHM server support including backup configuration, monitoring, and 24/7 incident response.