⏰Cron Schedules

Backup Strategy (Combined Schedule)

Multi-tier backup schedule: hourly, daily, weekly, monthly.

Explanation

Comprehensive backup strategy with different retention policies for each tier.

Examples

Hourly Backups
Output
0 * * * * - Keep 24 hours
Daily Backups
Output
0 2 * * * - Keep 7 days
Weekly Backups
Output
0 3 * * 0 - Keep 4 weeks
Monthly Backups
Output
0 4 1 * * - Keep 12 months

Code Examples

Crontab 
# Crontab entries for multi-tier backups

# Hourly - Keep last 24
0 * * * * /scripts/backup-hourly.sh

# Daily at 2 AM - Keep last 7 days
0 2 * * * /scripts/backup-daily.sh

# Weekly on Sunday at 3 AM - Keep last 4 weeks
0 3 * * 0 /scripts/backup-weekly.sh

# Monthly on 1st at 4 AM - Keep last 12 months
0 4 1 * * /scripts/backup-monthly.sh
Backup Script 
#!/bin/bash
# backup-daily.sh

BACKUP_DIR="/backups/daily"
TIMESTAMP=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)
RETENTION_DAYS=7

# Create backup
tar -czf "$BACKUP_DIR/backup_$TIMESTAMP.tar.gz" /data

# Delete backups older than retention period
find "$BACKUP_DIR" -name "backup_*.tar.gz" -mtime +$RETENTION_DAYS -delete

# Log completion
echo "$(date): Daily backup completed" >> /var/log/backups.log

Try it Now

Open in Cron Helper

💡 Tips

  • Stagger backup times to avoid conflicts
  • Implement rotation/cleanup for disk space
  • Store critical monthly backups off-site
  • Monitor backup success/failure
  • Test restore process regularly
  • Compress backups to save space
  • Consider incremental vs full backups
  • Document retention policies

⚠️ Common Pitfalls

  • Overlapping backups can cause corruption
  • Disk space fills up without rotation
  • Never tested restore means backups are useless
  • Long backups may overlap with next schedule
  • Consider backup window and system load
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