All of Servmask’s cloud storage extensions include the ability to schedule backups. In the unlikely event that your website’s automatic backups stop working, there are a few steps you can take:

1. Save the settings again by clicking the “Update” button on the extension’s settings page.
2. Check that you can perform a manual backup to file on your website as well as a manual backup to your cloud storage.
3. Make sure that your website is receiving traffic to trigger the WP-Cron (more details below).
4. Examine the plugin’s storage folder for any failed backups (using FTP or file manager).
5. Contact our support team to use our in-house tool to ensure that your server configuration allows backups to the cloud extension.

Technical: How does the WP-cron trigger a backup?

The automatic backup function is dependent on the execution of a WP-Cron function. Normal cron jobs run at specific times set by the server, but whenever someone visits the site, the WP-Cron function will run. The WP-Cron function is useful because it means that WordPress-powered websites can run correctly on any type of server configuration, removing the need for most specific server requirements. The WP-Cron function runs when the page loads because some jobs take a long time. It then sends an HTTP request to the wp-cron.php file. The main purpose of this file is to keep WP-Cron running in the background as a separate process, without slowing down the load time of the page requested by the person visiting your site.

Since a page load triggers the WP-Cron, the scheduled backup will not occur if your site has few or no page loads.

If this is an issue and you need the backup to run at a specific time, you’ll need to schedule WP-Cron to run when you request a backup. Please see this link for more information on task scheduling.

Hooking WP-Cron into the System Task Scheduler

The WP-Cron function’s life is determined by the number of jobs it must complete and the execution time, which is set in the server configuration. We recommend a maximum execution time of 500.

A backup can also fail if your WP-Cron function is not working properly. There may be exceptions if the WP-Cron function is unable to complete the jobs within the execution time or if it is not functioning properly. Many issues are not caused by WordPress because the WP-Cron is based on the setup of your web host and the associated server configuration.