Knowledge Base

Overview

By the end of this article, you will know which of the two causes applies to your backup and what to change so it finishes within the allowed run time. The article explains the backup time limit and why it exists, then covers the two causes: listing the files takes too long, usually resolved by switching from File Transfer Protocol (FTP) to Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) or by excluding symbolic links (symlinks); and downloading the files takes too long, usually resolved by excluding files or splitting large folders into a separate website. It closes with how to verify the fix and where to get further help.

Why backups have a time limit

CodeGuard applies a limit to how long a single website backup may run. The limit exists to protect the quality of the backup: the longer a backup runs, the more likely it is that files change while it is in progress, which can leave the saved copy in an inconsistent state.

When a backup exceeds the limit, it does not complete. Two causes account for most cases — the file listing stage taking too long, or the file download stage taking too long. Each has different fixes, described in the sections below.

Cause 1 — Listing the files takes too long

Before downloading anything, CodeGuard lists the files on your server. If the listing stage does not finish in time, use the check that matches your situation.

Your situation	What to do
You connect using File Transfer Protocol (FTP)	Switch the connection to Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP), which is a more reliable and secure protocol. Contact your hosting provider first to confirm SFTP is available and to obtain the correct connection credentials.
You already connect using SFTP, and the site has symbolic links (symlinks)	Exclude the symlinks from the backup. A symbolic link is a file that points to another file or folder, so a symlink pointing at content already being backed up causes the same files to be listed more than once.
You already connect using SFTP and there are no symlinks to exclude	The site most likely contains a very large number of files. Exclude files that do not need to be saved — cache folders and log folders are usually the best place to start.

Cause 2 — Downloading the files takes too long

If the file listing completes but the download stage exceeds the time limit, the cause is usually the volume of data rather than the number of entries. This happens with a large number of files of any size, or with a small number of very large files.

• Exclude files that do not need backing up. Removing unnecessary files from the backup reduces the total download.
• Split large content into a separate website. If you have large files that must be backed up and your plan covers multiple websites, exclude them from this backup and add those folders as a separate website in your account.
• Switch from File Transfer Protocol (FTP) to Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) if you are still using FTP. SFTP is more reliable for transferring large volumes of data.

How to verify the backup now completes

After making the change, wait for the next scheduled backup or start one manually, then open the website in your CodeGuard account and confirm the backup finishes. A completed backup confirms the change resolved the time limit.

Getting more help

If you have applied the fixes for both causes above and backups still exceed the time limit, contact CodeGuard Support with the name of the website and the changes you have already made.

Similar questions

• Why does my CodeGuard backup take too long?
• How do I stop my website backup from timing out?
• Should I use FTP or SFTP for CodeGuard backups?
• How do I exclude files from a CodeGuard backup?
• CodeGuard backup exceeded time limit