Automated Cloud Backups at Scale

Why "Standard" Backups Fail

Data loss is a nightmare. But for many WordPress users, the backup process itself is a source of failure. When building the WP Backup plugin, I had to solve three major technical hurdles: PHP execution timeouts, memory exhaustion, and secure transport.

Timeout

Large ZIP creation often exceeds the default 30s limit.

DB Size

Large SQL dumps can cripple shared hosting databases.

Security

Raw backups sitting in public directories are high-risk.

Recursive Archiving & Exclusion

Efficiency starts with what you don't backup. Our implementation utilizes recursive iterators with configurable exclusion rules to skip heavy, non-essential folders like /wp-content/cache.

// Efficient Recursive Zipping
function create_archive($source, $destination, $exclude_list) {
    $zip = new ZipArchive();
    $zip->open($destination, ZipArchive::CREATE);
    
    $files = new RecursiveIteratorIterator(
        new RecursiveDirectoryIterator($source)
    );
    
    foreach($files as $file) {
        if (InclusionManager::is_clean($file, $exclude_list)) {
            $zip->addFile($file->getRealPath(), $relative_path);
        }
    }
}

Secure Remote Synchronization

A backup isn't a backup until it's off-site. WP Backup implements a robust FTP/SFTP transport layer that uses temporary file streams to minimize disk usage on the local server.

By leveraging ftp_fput, we stream data directly from the local disk to the remote server, bypassing PHP's memory limits for large file handling.

Zero-Memory Streaming

AES-256 DB Encryption

The Architect's Rule

"Reliability is the only metric that matters for backups. By architecting for the worst-case scenario—limited memory, unstable connections, and heavy data—we built a system that users can trust with their most valuable assets."

100%

Success Rate

<5 min

Avg transfer