Backups are one of the most important parts of any Logmanager deployment. They help protect configuration, preserve historical data, and make recovery much easier after a failure, migration, or operational mistake. In this guide, you prepare a Samba share on Ubuntu and then point Logmanager to that location for automated archiving.

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1. Prepare the SMB Destination

Start by deploying a small Ubuntu 24.04 LTS virtual machine that will store backup archives. Install Samba from the repositories and create a dedicated directory for backup files. Using a separate backup target is useful because it keeps archives outside the main Logmanager appliance.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install samba
sudo mkdir -p /srv/logmanager-backups
Ubuntu terminal showing Samba installation and backup directory creation for Logmanager backups
Fig. 1: Ubuntu terminal showing Samba installation and backup directory creation for Logmanager backups.

2. Configure Samba

Edit the Samba configuration file and define a share for the backup directory. At minimum, the share must point to the correct path and allow writing from the account that Logmanager will use.

sudo nano /etc/samba/smb.conf
[logmanager-backups]
   path = /srv/logmanager-backups
   browseable = yes
   read only = no
   writable = yes
   guest ok = no
sudo systemctl restart smbd
sudo ufw allow samba
sudo smbpasswd -a <username>
Samba configuration file with backup share definition for Logmanager archives
Fig. 2: Samba configuration file with backup share definition for Logmanager archives.

3. Connect Logmanager to the Share

In the Logmanager web interface, go to System → Backup & Restore. Enter the SMB username, password, target URL, and the scheduled time for periodic backups. Enable automatic archiving and save the configuration.

Logmanager Backup and Restore page with SMB backup settings filled in
Fig. 3: Logmanager Backup and Restore page with SMB backup settings filled in.

4. Verify Archive Creation

After the first scheduled run, a list of created backups should appear below the configuration form. This confirms that Logmanager can authenticate to the share and store archives successfully.

Logmanager backup list showing created daily archives after successful SMB backup setup
Fig. 4: Logmanager backup list showing created daily archives after successful SMB backup setup.