# How to Integrate Proxmox Backup Server

How to Integrate Proxmox Backup Server – Server administration and Linux knowledge from NexoraHost.

This guide shows you step by step how to integrate Proxmox Backup Server (PBS) into your existing Proxmox VE environment. With PBS you can create dedicated, incremental backups of your VMs and containers – independent from your Proxmox host.

**Note:** Detailed subpages on backup strategies and recovery can be found in the left navigation.

## Requirements

    - An installed and accessible Proxmox Backup Server (PBS)
- A Proxmox VE host (version 6.0 or higher)
- Network connection between Proxmox VE and PBS
- Root access on both systems

## Step 1: Add PBS as storage

    - Open the Proxmox VE web interface
- Select **Datacenter → Storage** in the left navigation
- Click **Add → Proxmox Backup Server**
- Fill in the fields:
        
            - **ID:** Unique name for the storage (e.g. `pbs-backup`)
- **Server:** IP address or hostname of your PBS
- **Username:** User on the PBS (e.g. `root@pam` or a dedicated backup user)
- **Password:** The password of the PBS user
- **Datastore:** Name of the datastore on the PBS
- **Fingerprint:** The SSL fingerprint of the PBS (optional, automatically retrieved on first connection)

    
- Click **Add**

## Step 2: Verify fingerprint

On first connection, Proxmox displays the SSL fingerprint of the PBS. Compare this with the actual fingerprint of your PBS:

`# Run on the PBS
proxmox-backup-manager cert info | grep Fingerprint`
If the fingerprints match, confirm the connection. This ensures you are connecting to the correct server and no man-in-the-middle attack is occurring.

## Step 3: Create backup user on PBS (recommended)

For security reasons, you should not use the root user for backups. Create a dedicated backup user:

    - Open the PBS web interface: `https://your-pbs:8007`
- Go to **Configuration → Access Control → User Management**
- Click **Add**
- Set a username (e.g. `backup@pbs`) and a secure password
- Switch to the **Permissions** tab
- Click **Add → User Permission**
- Select:
        
            - **User:** Your created backup user
- **Path:** `/datastore/your-datastore`
- **Role:** `DatastoreBackup`

    
- Click **Add**

## Step 4: Create first backup

    - Select a VM or container in the Proxmox VE web interface
- Go to the **Backup** tab
- Click **Backup now**
- Select your PBS storage as **Storage**
- Select the **Mode**:
        
            - **Snapshot:** No shutdown of VM required, faster
- **Suspend:** VM is briefly paused
- **Stop:** VM is shut down – most complete backup

    
- Optional: Select **Compression** (ZSTD recommended)
- Click **Backup**

## Step 5: Automate regular backups

    - Go to **Datacenter → Backup**
- Click **Add**
- Configure the backup:
        
            - **Node:** Your Proxmox host
- **Storage:** Your PBS storage
- **Schedule:** Schedule (e.g. daily at 3 AM: `0 3 * * *`)
- **Selection mode:** Which VMs/containers to back up
- **Mode:** Snapshot / Suspend / Stop
- **Compression:** ZSTD (best balance of speed and size)
- **Retention:** How many backups to keep

    
- Click **Create**

## Step 6: Restore backup

    - Select the desired storage in the left navigation
- Go to the **Backups** tab
- Select the desired backup
- Click **Restore**
- Select the target storage and VM ID
- Optional: Enable **Start after restore**
- Click **Restore**

## Advantages of PBS over local backups

    - **Deduplication:** Identical data is stored only once – massive storage savings with similar VMs
- **Incremental backups:** Only changed data is transferred – backups finish in minutes instead of hours
- **Verification:** PBS automatically checks backups for integrity
- **Independence:** If your Proxmox host fails, backups are safe on a separate system
- **Encryption:** Backups can optionally be encrypted client-side

## Common problems

**Connection to PBS fails:**

    - Check if port 8007 is reachable on the PBS: `telnet pbs-ip 8007`
- Check firewall settings on the PBS
- Is the username correct? On PBS the format is `username@pbs` or `root@pam`

**Backup fails with "permission denied":**

    - Check the permissions of the backup user on PBS
- The user needs at least the `DatastoreBackup` role on the datastore

**Backup takes very long:**

    - Check network connection between VE and PBS – ideally same data center or local network
- Set compression to ZSTD – saves bandwidth and storage
- Use snapshot mode if available

*Detailed guides on backup strategies, encryption and disaster recovery can be found in the articles in the left navigation.*