What is the difference between a system backup and a user backup?

There are two types of backup: System Backup and User Backup. In addition to the system backups, we recommend maintaining user backups for your records. Here is a list of differences between the two backup file types:

How Backup Files are Created:

• System Backup Files — created automatically by our system throughout the day. There are no guarantees for a specific time. The System back up is only available after there was an initial User back up.
• User Backup Files — created by the customer using the back-up feature in the Hosting Control Panel's database administration tools. Alternatively, you can upload MySQL database files to _db_backups folder on the root level of the hosting account.

Where Backup Files are Stored

• System Backup Files — stored on servers inaccessible to the user, but can still be restored through the control panel.
• User Backup Files — stored in the_db_backups folder on the root level of the your hosting account.

How Backup Files are Managed:

• System Backup Files — managed by our system, which periodically creates and replaces these files.
• User Backup Files — managed by the user. Using an FTP client, you can download, upload, rename, and delete these files.

How Backup Files are Named:

• System Back-Up Files — use the database name.
• User Back-Up Files — use the database name. While you cannot define a filename during the back-up process, you can rename a file once the process is complete.

Note: You must use the appropriate filename extension when renaming any back-up file: MySQL files use the .sql extension. SQL Server files use the .bak extension.

For more information, see Backing up and Restoring MySQL or MSSQL Databases.