What are the system requirements for BackupWall?
BackupWall needs root on a Linux server running AlmaLinux, Ubuntu or Debian (tested versions: AlmaLinux 8 and 9, Ubuntu 22.04 and 24.04, Debian 12), about 1.5 GB of RAM, and outbound HTTPS. cPanel & WHM v100 or newer, DirectAdmin and Plesk are supported.
Operating systems
BackupWall supports Linux only. The installer reads /etc/os-release and accepts the IDs ubuntu, debian, almalinux, rocky, rhel, centos and cloudlinux. It does not check the version number.
| System | Status in the beta |
|---|---|
| AlmaLinux 8 and 9 | Tested. |
| Ubuntu 22.04 and 24.04 | Tested. |
| Debian 12 | Tested. |
| Rocky Linux 8 and 9, RHEL, CentOS, Debian 11 | Accepted by the installer, not tested. |
| CloudLinux 8 and 9 | Accepted by the installer, never run on CloudLinux yet. |
| Oracle Linux, Fedora, Amazon Linux, other Linux, Windows, BSD | Not supported. The installer refuses them. |
The installer has a path for aarch64 (ARM) but only x86_64 has been tested.
Control panels
| Panel | Minimum version | Tested |
|---|---|---|
| cPanel & WHM | v100. The plugin installers and the connection test refuse anything older. | v136 and v138, Jupiter theme only. |
| DirectAdmin | No minimum is enforced. | 1.697 and 1.710, Evolution skin. |
| Plesk | No minimum is enforced. | Plesk Obsidian 18.0.81 and 18.0.82 on Linux. Windows Plesk is not supported. |
| No panel | Works. | Accounts are the folders in /home. See Servers with no control panel. |
Server size
BackupWall does not enforce a minimum and the installer does not check RAM or disk. What PortWall knows:
- The practical minimum is about 1.5 GB of RAM. Memory limits are sized from the server's RAM.
- Tests ran on servers with 2 CPU cores and 4 GB of RAM. Each service peaked at roughly 85 to 145 MB.
- The program takes about 0.5 GB under
/opt/backupwall. The console is already built in the release. - Backups, restores and downloads need working space under
/var/lib/backupwall. How much depends on your accounts. Restores, downloads and migrations do not check free space first. - The backup service is limited so about one CPU core stays free for the panel.
Network
- Inbound: port
8087/tcpserves the console over HTTPS (self-signed certificate). Another BackupWall server needs to reach it for migration. On a panel server the installer opens it in firewalld or an active ufw; for CSF you add8087toTCP_INyourself. On a server with no panel the installer sets up nginx and opens ports 80 and 443 instead. - Outbound at install time: your operating system package mirrors, a private Python 3.11 from GitHub, Python packages from PyPI. No access to these is needed after the install.
- Outbound while running: your destinations, your other BackupWall servers, your SMTP or webhook targets, and two hosts of PortWall's over HTTPS port 443 only:
hub.backupwall.com(the licence service) anddl.backupwall.com(release files, redirected torelease-assets.githubusercontent.com). There is no other telemetry.
A server with no panel also needs
A local MariaDB or MySQL server that the operating system's root user can sign in to through the local socket without a password, if you want databases backed up. See Servers with no control panel.
Licence
A licensed server needs a public IPv4 address for its outbound traffic. A private or carrier-grade NAT address cannot activate a licence. See How licensing works.