How to Take Backup of Zimbra Mail Server

Zimbra backup on a user side allows backing up mailbox and other application data from Zimbra desktop client. It must be separated with Zimbra server backup, a completely different task.

Handy Backup allows saving Zimbra in a “hot” mode, including backup Zimbra mail server content.

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Version 8.5.0, built on September 19, 2023
116 MB

Basics for Zimbra Backup and Restore

Zimbra software for Windows creates a folder containing all components and settings of the local program dataset. A user can save this folder with Handy Backup, using the standard “Computer” data source, to backup Zimbra, and then return the content of this folder to its place to restore data.

Advantages of Zimbra Backup with Handy Backup

As a unified backup solution, Handy Backup contains many advantages and key features, allowing backing up Zimbra client information with efficiency and comfort. Some of these principal advantages include such things as:

• Backing up any data along with Zimbra, allowing planning an entire backup strategy;
• Keeping native data formats in backups, making Zimbra files usable directly in backups;
• Running Zimbra backup in a “hot” mode without stopping a Zimbra client;
• Scheduling backups repeatedly by time, or linking it to an event such as logon to a system;
• Different methods and settings of backing up, preserving time, space and security of data.

Advantages over Zimbra Backup Script

You can always use some Zimbra backup and restore script for the same purposes as Handy Backup. In this case, however, you must be ready to meet a lack of interface, troubles with automatic scheduled jobs and other problems. Still, you can use Zimbra email backup with Handy Backup in a batch mode.

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Version 8.5.0, built on September 19, 2023. 116 MB
Backup Software from Novosoft LLC. 39 USD per license.

Handy Backup Standard

The Standard edition contains all the instruments you need for Zimbra backup on a client side, including backing up Zimbra mailbox, calendar, events, contacts and settings. Free 30-days trial!

How to Backup Zimbra Mail Server with Handy Backup

To allow Zimbra backup mailbox and other data with Handy Backup, you can create a task that will do this action automatically every time when you will start it. For further automation, you can also schedule the repeated start of this task for a planned period. Let us explain how to make it.

1. Open Handy Backup. Start a New Task Wizard by clicking a button or a menu item.
2. Select a backup task on Step 1. For advanced options such as Zimbra incremental backup, mark the “Advanced mode” checkbox on this step.
3. On Step 2, click on the “Computer” data source in the “Local or Network drive” group.
4. Using the navigation by a tree of Windows folders, select and mark with “+” a folder:

C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Zimbra\Zimbra Desktop

Note: For non-standard installations and in some other cases, it is also possible to use “File filters…” option on a Step 2, with including all files and folder names containing a mask “*zimbra*” into a backup set. You can add some of these files and folders or remove it from backups by marking with a “+”.

4. Then click “OK” and proceed to next steps. Choose a storage for backups on a Step 3.
5. Select other parameters such as incremental or versioned backup, encryption and compression.
6. Also you can allow scheduling and set up time and interval for running a Zimbra backup task.
7. Finally, give a name for your task. Click “Finish” to complete task creation.

That is all; your Handy Backup task for Zimbra mail backup is ready to use. Run it manually or set a period for a task to perform an automatic execution. The program will create a copy of your Zimbra folder in a storage specified for a task on a Step 3.

Zimbra Incremental Backup and Other Partial Techniques

With Handy Backup, you can allow Zimbra backup email data partially, e.g. by using incremental or differential backup. You can also operate with mixed backup techniques, consisting of a cycle of full backup and some sequential incremental or differential backups, with repeating all cycle time by time.

Partial backup techniques allow saving both storage space and backup worktime, as these techniques always operate with only a part of all Zimbra email backup amount, not with a full dataset of mails.

Caveat! To use Zimbra differential backup, as well as incremental or mixed backup, you must either work in Advanced task wizard mode or edit all task parameters after creation by using the task properties window!

Restore Zimbra Information from Backups

You can create a restoration task by just the same way as a backup task, using the same GUI and almost the same other operations to do it. Alternatively, you can just copy a Zimbra folder or its components by any file browser to a default location of Zimbra client folder.

Try Handy Backup to take a personal experience with effective and fast Zimbra backup on a client side!

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