homelab-configs/DEPLOYMENT_CHECKLIST.md

Nextcloud Backblaze B2 Backup - Deployment Checklist

Use this checklist to ensure your backup solution is properly deployed and working.

📋 Pre-Deployment (Before Running Installer)

• Read README_NEXTCLOUD_BACKUPS.md for overview
• Have Backblaze B2 account ready (sign up at backblaze.com)
• Know your Nextcloud installation path (e.g., /srv/docker/nextcloud)
• Know your Nextcloud database password
• Have root/sudo access to the system
• Have ~10GB free disk space available
• Ensure internet connectivity for B2 uploads

🔧 Installation Phase

Run Installer

• Run: sudo ./install-nextcloud-backup.sh
• Installer completes without errors
• All dependencies are installed
• Directories created in /opt/nextcloud-backup/
• systemd files installed

Verify Installation

• Files exist in /opt/nextcloud-backup/:

  ls -la /opt/nextcloud-backup/
  

• Service file exists:

  ls -la /etc/systemd/system/nextcloud-backup.*
  

• Config directory exists:

  ls -la /etc/nextcloud-backup/
  

🔑 Configuration Phase

B2 Credentials (CRITICAL!)

• Go to https://www.backblaze.com/b2/docs/application_keys.html
• Create new Application Key
• Note your Account ID
• Note your Application Key (keep secret!)
• Create bucket named nextcloud-backups (or your preference)
• Edit: sudo nano /etc/nextcloud-backup/b2-credentials.env
• Fill in:
  • B2_ACCOUNT_ID= your account ID
  • B2_APPLICATION_KEY= your app key
  • B2_BUCKET_NAME= your bucket name
  • B2_REGION= (e.g., us-west-002)
• Save file (Ctrl+X, Y, Enter)
• Check permissions: sudo ls -la /etc/nextcloud-backup/b2-credentials.env
  • Should show: -rw------- (600)

Nextcloud Configuration

• Edit: sudo nano /opt/nextcloud-backup/.env
• Find your Nextcloud paths:

  # Find docker-compose location
  find / -name "docker-compose.yml" -path "*nextcloud*" 2>/dev/null
  
  # Find data directory
  find / -type d -name "nextcloud" -path "*/data" 2>/dev/null
  

• Fill in required fields:
  • NEXTCLOUD_COMPOSE_DIR= (path to docker-compose directory)
  • NEXTCLOUD_DATA_PATH= (path to nextcloud data folder)
  • NEXTCLOUD_DB_NAME= (usually nextcloud)
  • NEXTCLOUD_DB_USER= (usually nextcloud)
  • NEXTCLOUD_DB_PASSWORD= (from docker-compose or .env)
• Review optional settings:
  • BACKUP_RETENTION_DAYS= (default 30)
  • COMPRESSION= (default zstd - recommended)
  • BACKUP_RETENTION_DAYS= (how long to keep backups)
• Save file

Verify Configurations

• Check B2 credentials file exists and is readable:

  sudo test -f /etc/nextcloud-backup/b2-credentials.env && echo "✓ Found"
  

• Check Nextcloud config exists:

  sudo test -f /opt/nextcloud-backup/.env && echo "✓ Found"
  

• Verify B2 CLI is installed:

  b2 version
  

• Test B2 authentication:

  b2 authorize-account <YOUR_ACCOUNT_ID> <YOUR_APP_KEY>
  b2 account-info
  

🧪 Testing Phase

Dry-Run Test (No Upload)

• Run dry-run test:

  sudo DRY_RUN=true /opt/nextcloud-backup/nextcloud-backup-to-backblaze.sh
  

• Check output for errors
• Verify it shows what WOULD be backed up
• No actual files uploaded to B2 (good!)

Manual Incremental Backup

• Run actual backup:

  sudo /opt/nextcloud-backup/nextcloud-backup-to-backblaze.sh incremental
  

• Monitor output for success
• Check logs:

  sudo tail -50 /opt/nextcloud-backup/.backups/logs/backup_*.log
  

• Verify backup was successful
• Check B2 for uploaded files:

  b2 list-file-names nextcloud-backups nextcloud-backups/
  

Verify Backup Contents

• Backup includes database file: nextcloud-db-*.sql.zst
• Backup includes file archive: nextcloud-files-*.tar.zst
• File sizes are reasonable (not 0 bytes)
• Timestamps are recent

Test Status Command

• Run status check:

  sudo /opt/nextcloud-backup/nextcloud-backup-to-backblaze.sh status
  

• Shows last backup info
• Shows B2 bucket contents
• Shows recent backups

⏰ Scheduler Setup

Enable Timer

• Enable the systemd timer:

  sudo systemctl enable nextcloud-backup.timer
  

• Start the timer:

  sudo systemctl start nextcloud-backup.timer
  

• Check status:

  sudo systemctl status nextcloud-backup.timer
  

• Should show: active (waiting)

Verify Timer Configuration

• View timer status:

  sudo systemctl list-timers nextcloud-backup.timer
  

• Should show:
  • Timer: nextcloud-backup.timer
  • Unit: nextcloud-backup.service
  • Next trigger time (usually within 24 hours)

Check Timer Logs

• View system logs:

  sudo journalctl -u nextcloud-backup.service -n 20
  

• Should show your manual test backups

🔍 Post-Deployment Verification

Check Backup Execution

• Wait for scheduled time (default 2 AM) OR manually trigger
• Check if backup ran:

  sudo journalctl -u nextcloud-backup.service -n 5
  

• Should show successful execution

Monitor First Week

• Day 1: Manual run ✓
• Day 2-3: Automatic runs should start appearing in logs
• Day 7: Should have multiple backups in B2
• Monitor logs daily:

  sudo journalctl -u nextcloud-backup.service -n 10
  

Verify B2 Storage

• Check B2 console for uploads
• Verify file sizes make sense
• Confirm no upload errors
• List backups:

  b2 list-file-names nextcloud-backups nextcloud-backups/ | head -10
  

🛡️ Security Verification

Credential Security

• B2 credentials file permissions (should be 600):

  sudo ls -la /etc/nextcloud-backup/b2-credentials.env
  

• File NOT readable by other users
• File NOT in git repository
• B2 credentials NOT in logs (check with):

  sudo grep -r "B2_ACCOUNT_ID" /opt/nextcloud-backup/ 2>/dev/null
  

Service Security

• Service runs as root (necessary for DB dump)
• Service has resource limits
• Service has proper error handling
• Service cleans up temp files

📊 Daily Operations

Daily Monitoring

• Check backup ran last night:

  sudo journalctl -u nextcloud-backup.service -n 1 --since "24 hours ago"
  

• Look for "SUCCESS" messages
• Check file sizes in B2

Weekly Tasks

• Review backup logs:

  sudo ls -lh /opt/nextcloud-backup/.backups/logs/
  

• Check B2 console for cost estimates
• Verify no error patterns in logs

Monthly Tasks

• Test restore procedure (practice!)
• Check B2 account for any issues
• Review retention policy (still appropriate?)
• Monitor costs

🔄 Restore Testing (IMPORTANT!)

Practice Database Restore

• List available backups:

  b2 list-file-names nextcloud-backups nextcloud-backups/ | grep "db"
  

• Download a database backup:

  b2 download-file-by-id nextcloud-backups <FILE_ID> ~/test-db.sql.zst
  

• Verify it decompresses:

  zstd -t ~/test-db.sql.zst
  

• (DON'T actually restore, just verify it works)

Practice File Restore

• List available file backups:

  b2 list-file-names nextcloud-backups nextcloud-backups/ | grep "files"
  

• Download one:

  b2 download-file-by-id nextcloud-backups <FILE_ID> ~/test-files.tar.zst
  

• Verify it extracts:

  tar --zstd -tf ~/test-files.tar.zst | head -20
  

⚠️ Troubleshooting Checklist

If something isn't working:

Backup Not Running

• Check timer status: sudo systemctl status nextcloud-backup.timer
• Check service logs: sudo journalctl -u nextcloud-backup.service -n 50
• Verify paths exist: ls /srv/docker/nextcloud/data
• Test B2 auth: b2 account-info
• Run manual test: sudo DRY_RUN=true /opt/nextcloud-backup/nextcloud-backup-to-backblaze.sh

B2 Upload Fails

• Check B2 credentials: cat /etc/nextcloud-backup/b2-credentials.env
• Re-authenticate: b2 authorize-account <ID> <KEY>
• Verify bucket exists: b2 list-buckets
• Check account quotas in B2 console

Database Dump Fails

• Verify DB password in config: sudo cat /opt/nextcloud-backup/.env | grep DB_PASSWORD
• Test DB connection manually: sudo docker-compose ... exec mariadb mysql ...
• Check DB container is running: docker ps | grep -i mariadb

Permission Denied Errors

• Check script is executable: ls -la /opt/nextcloud-backup/nextcloud-backup-to-backblaze.sh
• Check data directory readable: sudo ls /srv/docker/nextcloud/data
• Verify running as root: whoami (should show root when using sudo)

✅ Final Checklist

Before considering deployment complete:

• Installer ran successfully
• All configurations edited with real values
• Dry-run test passed
• Manual incremental backup successful
• Files visible in B2 bucket
• Timer enabled and active
• First automatic backup completed
• B2 credentials stored securely
• Restore procedures tested (at least once)
• Monitoring plan in place
• Team aware of backup solution
• Documentation saved/accessible

📞 Quick Reference

Backup Status

sudo /opt/nextcloud-backup/nextcloud-backup-to-backblaze.sh status

View Logs

sudo journalctl -u nextcloud-backup.service -n 50
sudo tail -f /opt/nextcloud-backup/.backups/logs/backup_*.log

Manual Backup

sudo /opt/nextcloud-backup/nextcloud-backup-to-backblaze.sh incremental

Timer Status

sudo systemctl status nextcloud-backup.timer
sudo systemctl list-timers nextcloud-backup.timer

📞 Emergency Contacts

If you encounter issues:

1. Check logs: journalctl -u nextcloud-backup.service -n 100
2. See troubleshooting in NEXTCLOUD_BACKBLAZE_SETUP.md
3. Verify B2 credentials with: b2 account-info
4. Test manually: sudo DRY_RUN=true /opt/nextcloud-backup/nextcloud-backup-to-backblaze.sh

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Deployment Date: _______________
Deployed By: _______________
Status: [ ] Complete [ ] In Progress [ ] Failed
Notes:

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Remember: Test your restore procedures monthly! A backup that hasn't been tested is not a backup.