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Add a Linux server: agent, SSH or SFTP/FTPS

The three ways to add a server — the agent, SSH or SFTP/FTPS — what each one gives you, what you need before you start and every screen of the wizard.

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The Servers section of your dashboard monitors and backs up Linux servers next to your WordPress sites. A server can be added in three ways, and the way you choose decides what WP Safer can do with it. This article walks through all three.

Before you start: a server subscription

Servers are billed per server, separately from your site plan: $19 per server per month or $190 per server per year. Every server includes 20 GB of backup space, and that space joins one pool with your sites and any storage packs you buy. There is no free plan and no trial; every purchase is covered by our 14-day money-back guarantee.

  1. Open Servers in the dashboard menu and press Add server. The same button is on the Sites screen.
  2. If your subscription has no free server slot, the button opens the Buy servers window instead. Pick Monthly or Annually, set the Number of servers, accept the Distance Sales Agreement and press Continue to payment. Payment opens in the same window.
  3. Once the payment is confirmed, the new slots appear. The slot counter at the top of the server list (“1 of 3 server slots used”) opens your Server subscription page, where you can buy more servers later.

A server that is still waiting for its agent also uses a slot. If you change your mind, remove it from the server list with Cancel and remove.

Three ways to connect

WayWhat you getBest for
Install the agent (recommended)Monitoring, alerts, services, backupsA VPS or dedicated server where you have root access
Connect over SSHBackups and reachability checksA server where you can sign in over SSH but do not want to install anything
Connect over SFTP or FTPSBackups onlyA hosting account without SSH commands

Without the agent, WP Safer checks every minute that the SSH or file transfer port answers and runs the backups you set up over that connection. Over SSH and SFTP it also reads load, memory and disk every 15 minutes; on shared hosting (CloudLinux) it shows only the space your account uses, because the server-wide figures belong to every account on that server. TCP ports and web addresses you add on the Services tab are checked from outside every 5 minutes. Plain FTP is not accepted, because the password would travel unencrypted.

Step 1: name the server and pick a backup region

Under Name your server, type a Server name (for example web-1). The name is only shown in your panel and in alerts; you can change it later from the server’s Settings tab.

Pick a Backup region. Backups of this server are stored in that region, and the first backup fixes it, the same way it works for sites.

Then choose an option under How should WP Safer connect?

Way 1: install the agent

Requirements:

  • Linux with systemd: Ubuntu 20.04+, Debian 11+, RHEL / AlmaLinux / Rocky 8+
  • Root access (sudo) to run the install command
  • Outgoing HTTPS (port 443) to wpsafer.com. No inbound port is needed.
  1. Choose Install the agent and press Create install command.
  2. Copy the command with Copy and run it on the server as root. It looks like this: 
    curl -fsSL https://wpsafer.com/agent/install | sudo bash -s -- --code WPS-XXXXX-XXXXX
  3. The install code is valid for 30 minutes and works once. If it expires, press Create a new code and run the new command.
  4. The screen shows Waiting for the agent to connect… and moves on by itself as soon as the agent reports.
  5. Under Which services should we watch? the common services that are running are pre-selected. Adjust the list and press Start monitoring. You can change it later on the Services tab.

Prefer to read the script first? Open Review the script before running it: it shows how to download the script, check its SHA-256 checksum and run it with the same code. Details, updates and removal are in Install, update and remove the server agent.

Way 2: connect over SSH

Nothing is installed. WP Safer signs in over SSH with a key it creates for you, or with a user name and password.

  1. Choose Connect over SSH and fill in the Server address, the SSH port and the User name. Backups can read only what this user can read.
  2. Under Sign in with, choose SSH key (recommended) or Password.
  3. Make sure the server accepts incoming SSH from WP Safer’s address 188.245.5.241 on that port.

With an SSH key

  1. Press Create SSH key. WP Safer creates a key pair for this server; the private key never leaves WP Safer.
  2. Sign in to the server as that user and run the command shown under Add it to the server. It adds the public key to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys once and sets the permissions SSH requires. Prefer to add it by hand? lists the same steps one by one.
  3. Press Test connection. Testing signs in once and reads the host name and system version; nothing is changed on the server.

With a password

Type the Password and press Connect. WP Safer signs in once right away to check it; a wrong password does not create the server. Many servers allow keys only, and shared hosting accounts usually allow passwords.

Way 3: connect over SFTP or FTPS

For hosting accounts without SSH commands. WP Safer downloads the files you choose over an encrypted file transfer connection.

  1. Choose Connect over SFTP or FTPS.
  2. Under Protocol, pick SFTP (over SSH, port 22) or FTPS (FTP with TLS, port 21). Only explicit FTPS (FTP with AUTH TLS, usually port 21) is supported; port 990 (implicit FTPS) and plain FTP are refused.
  3. Fill in the Server address, Port, User name and Password of your hosting account’s FTP or SFTP user.
  4. Optionally set a Root folder: the folder backups start from, as this user sees it. Leave it empty for the folder the user signs in to.
  5. Press Connect. WP Safer signs in once to check the details.

Files are downloaded one by one, so very large folders take long; the agent is much faster.

After connecting: what should be backed up?

The last step offers two shortcuts:

  • Folders opens the Backups tab, where Create backup job lets you choose the folders, how often they are backed up and how many copies are kept.
  • Databases opens the Databases tab to add a MySQL / MariaDB connection. See Back up MySQL and MariaDB databases on a server.