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BACKUPMON BACKUPMON v1.9.0 -Sep 6, 2025- Backup/Restore your Router: JFFS + NVRAM + External USB Drive! CIFS/SMB/NFS! (Available in AMTM!)

My primary backup config below.
The backup gets saved on the Network drive that gets mounted and unmounted on /tmp/mnt/backups
All works ok.
customizable parameters that affect the operation of the primary backup.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

: BACKUPMON Version : 1.8.22
: Source Router Model : RT-AX86U_Pro
: Source Router Firmware/Build : 3006.102.4_0
(1) : Source EXT USB Drive Mount Point : /tmp/mnt/Merlin
(2) : Backup Target Media Type : Network
(3) : Backup Target Username : peter
(4) : Backup Target Password (ENC) : c21ic2FtYmEK
(5) : Backup Target Path : \\\\192.168.50.46\\RouterUSB
|---- NFS Mount Options? : N/A
(6) : Backup Target Mount Point : /tmp/mnt/backups
(7) : Backup Target Directory Path : /router/RT-AX86U_Pro_Backups
(8) : Backup Exclusion File : /jffs/addons/backupmon.d/pfexclusion.txt
(9) : Backup Swap File : No
(10) : Backup CIFS/SMB Version : 2.1
(11) : Backup Retention : Yearly
|---- Purge Backups : No
|---- Purge older than (days) : N/A
(12) : Backup/Restore Mode : Basic
(13) : Schedule Backups : No
|---- Time: : 2:30
|---- Scheduled Backup Mode : Backup Only
(14) : AMTM Email Notifications : Yes
|---- On Success : Yes
|---- On Failure : Yes
(15) : Secondary Backup Config Options : Disabled
|
(s) : Save Config & Exit
(e) : Exit & Discard Changes

For the secondary config
1 Enabled
2 USB
3 router user
4 router password
selection: 6
Select a Secondary Target USB Backup Drive Mount Point:
1. /dev/sda1 on /tmp/mnt/Merlin type ext4
2. /dev/sdb1 on /tmp/mnt/backups_usb type ext4

Enter selection:[1-2] [e=Exit]?
I choose 2

I thought it do a secondary backup to USB backups_usb
But by having the USB plugged into the router the primary backup errors umount: can't unmount /tmp/mnt/backups: Invalid argument which is where the network drive is mounted. I don't understand why the USB would cause this issue.

The reason I went down this secondary backup option was I don't always have my server on and I noticed with MerlinAU will try to do a backup before updating the firmware. And seeing the router is always on it can do the backup there if the server is off.
 
pedeb04 said:
My primary backup config below.
The backup gets saved on the Network drive that gets mounted and unmounted on /tmp/mnt/backups
All works ok.
customizable parameters that affect the operation of the primary backup.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

: BACKUPMON Version : 1.8.22
: Source Router Model : RT-AX86U_Pro
: Source Router Firmware/Build : 3006.102.4_0
(1) : Source EXT USB Drive Mount Point : /tmp/mnt/Merlin
(2) : Backup Target Media Type : Network
(3) : Backup Target Username : peter
(4) : Backup Target Password (ENC) : c21ic2FtYmEK
(5) : Backup Target Path : \\\\192.168.50.46\\RouterUSB
|---- NFS Mount Options? : N/A
(6) : Backup Target Mount Point : /tmp/mnt/backups
(7) : Backup Target Directory Path : /router/RT-AX86U_Pro_Backups
(8) : Backup Exclusion File : /jffs/addons/backupmon.d/pfexclusion.txt
(9) : Backup Swap File : No
(10) : Backup CIFS/SMB Version : 2.1
(11) : Backup Retention : Yearly
|---- Purge Backups : No
|---- Purge older than (days) : N/A
(12) : Backup/Restore Mode : Basic
(13) : Schedule Backups : No
|---- Time: : 2:30
|---- Scheduled Backup Mode : Backup Only
(14) : AMTM Email Notifications : Yes
|---- On Success : Yes
|---- On Failure : Yes
(15) : Secondary Backup Config Options : Disabled
|
(s) : Save Config & Exit
(e) : Exit & Discard Changes

For the secondary config
1 Enabled
2 USB
3 router user
4 router password
selection: 6
Select a Secondary Target USB Backup Drive Mount Point:
1. /dev/sda1 on /tmp/mnt/Merlin type ext4
2. /dev/sdb1 on /tmp/mnt/backups_usb type ext4

Enter selection:[1-2] [e=Exit]?
I choose 2

I thought it do a secondary backup to USB backups_usb
But by having the USB plugged into the router the primary backup errors umount: can't unmount /tmp/mnt/backups: Invalid argument which is where the network drive is mounted. I don't understand why the USB would cause this issue.

The reason I went down this secondary backup option was I don't always have my server on and I noticed with MerlinAU will try to do a backup before updating the firmware. And seeing the router is always on it can do the backup there if the server is off.
Click to expand...
It has something to do with it being a local USB drive that you're connecting to over the network, and because it's a network connection, it will try to unmount it by default after the backup completes. I'm not sure why it would work when the 2nd USB isn't plugged in, but I would think it would totally remove your ability to use that USB drive after a backup completes, which wouldn't be good, if it also contains your swap file and entware.

What I'm probably going to do is create an option in the BACKUPMON config to not disconnect network mount points. That way your network share will act more like a physical USB drive, which it actually is.

The other way around this is to set your primary backup to USB (not network), and set your secondary backup to USB (like you already did)... and that should allow it to work without the mount point issues that you're seeing.
 
pedeb04 said:
My primary backup config below.
The backup gets saved on the Network drive that gets mounted and unmounted on /tmp/mnt/backups
All works ok.
customizable parameters that affect the operation of the primary backup.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

: BACKUPMON Version : 1.8.22
: Source Router Model : RT-AX86U_Pro
: Source Router Firmware/Build : 3006.102.4_0
(1) : Source EXT USB Drive Mount Point : /tmp/mnt/Merlin
(2) : Backup Target Media Type : Network
(3) : Backup Target Username : peter
(4) : Backup Target Password (ENC) : c21ic2FtYmEK
(5) : Backup Target Path : \\\\192.168.50.46\\RouterUSB
|---- NFS Mount Options? : N/A
(6) : Backup Target Mount Point : /tmp/mnt/backups
(7) : Backup Target Directory Path : /router/RT-AX86U_Pro_Backups
(8) : Backup Exclusion File : /jffs/addons/backupmon.d/pfexclusion.txt
(9) : Backup Swap File : No
(10) : Backup CIFS/SMB Version : 2.1
(11) : Backup Retention : Yearly
|---- Purge Backups : No
|---- Purge older than (days) : N/A
(12) : Backup/Restore Mode : Basic
(13) : Schedule Backups : No
|---- Time: : 2:30
|---- Scheduled Backup Mode : Backup Only
(14) : AMTM Email Notifications : Yes
|---- On Success : Yes
|---- On Failure : Yes
(15) : Secondary Backup Config Options : Disabled
|
(s) : Save Config & Exit
(e) : Exit & Discard Changes

For the secondary config
1 Enabled
2 USB
3 router user
4 router password
selection: 6
Select a Secondary Target USB Backup Drive Mount Point:
1. /dev/sda1 on /tmp/mnt/Merlin type ext4
2. /dev/sdb1 on /tmp/mnt/backups_usb type ext4

Enter selection:[1-2] [e=Exit]?
I choose 2

I thought it do a secondary backup to USB backups_usb
But by having the USB plugged into the router the primary backup errors umount: can't unmount /tmp/mnt/backups: Invalid argument which is where the network drive is mounted. I don't understand why the USB would cause this issue.

The reason I went down this secondary backup option was I don't always have my server on and I noticed with MerlinAU will try to do a backup before updating the firmware. And seeing the router is always on it can do the backup there if the server is off.
Click to expand...
@pedeb04 ... this latest version also includes this fix I made for you in your scenario above that prevents the network drive from unmounting by default:

- MINOR: Added an option to the setup menu under item #6 that allows you to choose whether or
not to unmount the TARGET network drive after backup completion. This issue was reported by
@pedeb04 using a scenario where a backup is going across the network to a local network
share on the router that is pointing to a local USB drive. BACKUPMON would try to unmount the
network drive by default, which would unmount the USB drive. In addition to this new option,
the fix to this issue would be to specify that the backup target is a USB drive instead of a
network drive.

Here's a trial run:

Code: 
curl --retry 3 "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ViktorJp/BACKUPMON/develop/backupmon.sh" -o "/jffs/scripts/backupmon.sh" && chmod 755 "/jffs/scripts/backupmon.sh"
 
Hello. I am on backupmon 1.8.22 and my backups were working fine till last month. Now automatic backups won't work and I get this error:
**ERROR**: Plaintext passwords detected. Please check your configuration!

On launching I get this notification in red:
ERROR: Plaintext passwords are still being used in the config file. Please go under the BACKUPMON setup menu
to reconfigure your primary and/or secondary target backup passwords, and save your config. New changes to the
way passwords are encoded and saved requires your immediate attention!
Click to expand...

Backups are being done on a SMB network share via SMB v3.02.
Backup Target Password shows up as Target Password (ENC) : VGlwcHkgRG9ybWl0b3JpZXMgQW1tbwo=
Only primary backups are configured.
I have set the password again multiple times.

How do I fix this? Thanks.
 
wildland_hondo said:
Hello. I am on backupmon 1.8.22 and my backups were working fine till last month. Now automatic backups won't work and I get this error:
**ERROR**: Plaintext passwords detected. Please check your configuration!

On launching I get this notification in red:


Backups are being done on a SMB network share via SMB v3.02.
Backup Target Password shows up as Target Password (ENC) : VGlwcHkgRG9ybWl0b3JpZXMgQW1tbwo=
Only primary backups are configured.
I have set the password again multiple times.

How do I fix this? Thanks.
Click to expand...
I'll try to shore this up a bit more... but in the interim, please see if it will work if you remove all spaces from your password? Try making it one contiguous password, and let me know?
 
Viktor Jaep said:
@pedeb04 ... this latest version also includes this fix I made for you in your scenario above that prevents the network drive from unmounting by default:

- MINOR: Added an option to the setup menu under item #6 that allows you to choose whether or
not to unmount the TARGET network drive after backup completion. This issue was reported by
@pedeb04 using a scenario where a backup is going across the network to a local network
share on the router that is pointing to a local USB drive. BACKUPMON would try to unmount the
network drive by default, which would unmount the USB drive. In addition to this new option,
the fix to this issue would be to specify that the backup target is a USB drive instead of a
network drive.

Here's a trial run:

Code: 
curl --retry 3 "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ViktorJp/BACKUPMON/develop/backupmon.sh" -o "/jffs/scripts/backupmon.sh" && chmod 755 "/jffs/scripts/backupmon.sh"
Click to expand...
@pedeb04 ... Hey, I was just checking back in with you after a couple of weeks to see if this was useful for you or not? Hope you are having better luck with the backups... ;)
 
@Viktor Jaep
Yes it worked, but I noticed my primary backup (USB) was saved as 230 and my secondary backup (Network) was saved as 18. Both are basic.
One seems Day of year (normal) and the other Day of Month.
 
pedeb04 said:
@Viktor Jaep
Yes it worked, but I noticed my primary backup (USB) was saved as 230 and my secondary backup (Network) was saved as 18. Both are basic.
One seems Day of year (normal) and the other Day of Month.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the feedback. Could you please share the contents of your backupmon.cfg under /jffs/addons/backupmon.d?
 
Last edited:
pedeb04 said:
@Vicktor Jaep
My mistake I had the secondary backup set to monthly. All good.
Click to expand...
That's what I figured... ;) Glad you figured it out!
 
Here comes a new BACKUPMON v1.9.0 Beta 1 your way! Introducing a few changes as referenced below:

What's new?
v1.9.0b1 - (TBA)
- MINOR: Added an option to the setup menu under item #6 that allows you to choose whether or not to unmount the TARGET network drive after backup completion. This issue was reported by @pedeb04 using a scenario where a backup is going across the network to a local network share on the router that is pointing to a local USB drive. BACKUPMON would try to unmount the network drive by default, which would unmount the USB drive. In addition to this new option, the fix to this issue would be to specify that the backup target is a USB drive instead of a network drive.
- MINOR: Implemented a formal email rate limiter function that controls a user-configurable allowed number of emails to be sent per hour. This option is configured under item #14 AMTM Email Notifications, and allows you to choose a number between 1 and 9999, with 0 having this function disabled. When email events fire off, you will see a system message during the backup process indicating how many emails have been sent thusfar this past hour, and whether any rate limiting is in effect. An indicator is on the #14 AMTM Email Notification menu item, with RL (red) = disabled, and RL:<number of emails>/h showing the number of emails allowed per hour.
- PATCH: Based on some findings from @Jeffrey Young, added to and changed some of the commands necessary to successfully connect to an NFS share from the router. Specifically, the folder "/var/lib/nfs" gets created if it doesn't exist, modprobe is then called as usual, followed by calling "portmap", then running the mount NFS statement.

Download link:
Code: 
curl --retry 3 "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ViktorJp/BACKUPMON/develop/backupmon.sh" -o "/jffs/scripts/backupmon.sh" && chmod 755 "/jffs/scripts/backupmon.sh"

Significant Screenshots:

Under option #6, you now have the ability to unmount or keep the network drive mounted (configurable for either/or primary and secondary backups). Rate limiting is also configurable under option #14, giving you an indicator as to what it's set to.

1755959317817.png
 
No issues reported from any beta testers... Getting this out the door... here comes a new version of BACKUPMON!

What's new?
v1.9.0 - (September 6, 2025)
- MINOR: Added an option to the setup menu under item #6 that allows you to choose whether or not to unmount the TARGET network drive after backup completion. This issue was reported by @pedeb04 using a scenario where a backup is going across the network to a local network share on the router that is pointing to a local USB drive. BACKUPMON would try to unmount the network drive by default, which would unmount the USB drive. In addition to this new option, the fix to this issue would be to specify that the backup target is a USB drive instead of a network drive.
- MINOR: Implemented a formal email rate limiter function that controls a user-configurable allowed number of emails to be sent per hour. This option is configured under item #14 AMTM Email Notifications, and allows you to choose a number between 1 and 9999, with 0 having this function disabled. When email events fire off, you will see a system message during the backup process indicating how many emails have been sent thusfar this past hour, and whether any rate limiting is in effect. An indicator is on the #14 AMTM Email Notification menu item, with RL (red) = disabled, and RL:<number of emails>/h showing the number of emails allowed per hour.
- PATCH: Based on some findings from @Jeffrey Young, added to and changed some of the commands necessary to successfully connect to an NFS share from the router. Specifically, the folder "/var/lib/nfs" gets created if it doesn't exist, modprobe is then called as usual, followed by calling "portmap", then running the mount NFS statement.

Download links (or update directly from BACKUPMON or AMTM):
Code: 
curl --retry 3 "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ViktorJp/BACKUPMON/master/backupmon.sh" -o "/jffs/scripts/backupmon.sh" && chmod 755 "/jffs/scripts/backupmon.sh"

Significant Screenshots:

Showing the section under item #6 that allows you to choose whether or not to unmount your network drive, as well as the email rate limiting functionality under item #14.

1757159239998.png
 
@Vicktor Jaep

Because I am about to switch from cable (980 Mbbts/) to fiber (1.5 Gbts via PPPoE Relay), I will need to have a really efficient and fast way to make backups (and restores) as I may have to ultimately factory reset my router to get to most efficient (issues free) setup.

I have installed BACKUPMON (using v1.9.0) but was unsuccessful in creating a backup on my DS220+ NAS:
1757174961391.png

1757175169401.png

1757175050059.png

I there something special, on my NAS, that I need to do to be able to create backup files?

Thanks.
 
ColDen said:
@Vicktor Jaep

Because I am about to switch from cable (980 Mbbts/) to fiber (1.5 Gbts via PPPoE Relay), I will need to have a really efficient and fast way to make backups (and restores) as I may have to ultimately factory reset my router to get to most efficient (issues free) setup.

I have installed BACKUPMON (using v1.9.0) but was unsuccessful in creating a backup on my DS220+ NAS:
View attachment 67804
View attachment 67806
View attachment 67805
I there something special, on my NAS, that I need to do to be able to create backup files?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately I'm not familiar enough with what needs to happen on the NAS side, but my first guess would be that you'd need to create a formal "share" for that particular "Backups" folder?

The /tmp/mnt/primary structure is something you'd find locally on your router, and BACKUPMON creates that to provide a link to the network location for your NAS device.

Are you able to see \\192.168.50.62\Backups from a regular laptop/workstation?

You may also need to determine what version of CIFS the NAS is able to handle. Staying with the 2.1 version is always a good place to start.
 
Viktor Jaep said:
Unfortunately I'm not familiar enough with what needs to happen on the NAS side, but my first guess would be that you'd need to create a formal "share" for that particular "Backups" folder?

The /tmp/mnt/primary structure is something you'd find locally on your router, and BACKUPMON creates that to provide a link to the network location for your NAS device.

Are you able to see \\192.168.50.62\Backups from a regular laptop/workstation?
Click to expand...
Thanks for your quick reply, Viktor.

I think that it is already correctly done (unless Advanced Permissions may also be required?):
1757175598221.png

From my PC:
1757175992696.png
 
ColDen said:
Thanks for your quick reply, Viktor.

I think that it is already correctly done (unless Advanced Permissions may also be required?):
View attachment 67807
Click to expand...

To create a share for a folder on a Synology DS220+ NAS, you must use the Control Panel in the DiskStation Manager (DSM). Creating a "Shared Folder" through the Control Panel is the basic step for storing and managing files on your NAS.

Create a new shared folder
  1. Log into DSM. Using a web browser, go to your NAS's IP address or QuickConnect ID and log in as an administrator.
  2. Open Control Panel. Click the main menu icon in the top-left corner (the grid) and select Control Panel.
  3. Go to Shared Folder. In the Control Panel, click the Shared Folder icon.
  4. Click Create. In the Shared Folder window, click the Create button at the top, then choose Create Shared Folder from the drop-down menu.
  5. Set up basic information.
    • Name: Give your shared folder a name.
    • Description: (Optional) Add a description.
    • Location: Select the storage volume where you want the folder to be created.
  6. Configure options and permissions. The wizard will walk you through a series of steps where you can customize your shared folder.
    • Hide from "My Network Places": Check this option to hide the folder from Windows File Explorer's network view.
    • Enable Recycle Bin: Activate this to move deleted files to a #recycle folder, which is useful for recovering files.
    • Encryption: If you need to secure the folder with AES 256-bit encryption, you can enable it and create an encryption key.
    • User Permissions: When you reach the final step, you can set read/write permissions for specific users and groups on your NAS. Granting permissions is how you enable other users to access the folder.
  7. Apply settings. After reviewing your choices, click Apply to finalize the creation of your new shared folder.
 
It also looks like the Synology DS220+ can handle both CIFS v2 and v3
 
ColDen said:
From my PC:
View attachment 67808
Click to expand...
What share path are you using to see this? You shouldn't be able to see these other folders outside of the Backups folder if you were getting to it with a \\192.168.50.62\Backups share path.
 
Viktor Jaep said:
To create a share for a folder on a Synology DS220+ NAS, you must use the Control Panel in the DiskStation Manager (DSM). Creating a "Shared Folder" through the Control Panel is the basic step for storing and managing files on your NAS.

Create a new shared folder
  1. Log into DSM. Using a web browser, go to your NAS's IP address or QuickConnect ID and log in as an administrator.
  2. Open Control Panel. Click the main menu icon in the top-left corner (the grid) and select Control Panel.
  3. Go to Shared Folder. In the Control Panel, click the Shared Folder icon.
  4. Click Create. In the Shared Folder window, click the Create button at the top, then choose Create Shared Folder from the drop-down menu.
  5. Set up basic information.
    • Name: Give your shared folder a name.
    • Description: (Optional) Add a description.
    • Location: Select the storage volume where you want the folder to be created.
  6. Configure options and permissions. The wizard will walk you through a series of steps where you can customize your shared folder.
    • Hide from "My Network Places": Check this option to hide the folder from Windows File Explorer's network view.
    • Enable Recycle Bin: Activate this to move deleted files to a #recycle folder, which is useful for recovering files.
    • Encryption: If you need to secure the folder with AES 256-bit encryption, you can enable it and create an encryption key.
    • User Permissions: When you reach the final step, you can set read/write permissions for specific users and groups on your NAS. Granting permissions is how you enable other users to access the folder.
  7. Apply settings. After reviewing your choices, click Apply to finalize the creation of your new shared folder.
Click to expand...
Yes I previously did that.
 
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