Docs/Desktop Agent/Multi-Destination

Multi-Destination Backup

Back up to multiple destinations simultaneously for data redundancy and fast recovery options.

What Is Multi-Destination Backup?

Multi-destination backup lets a single backup set write to multiple locations simultaneously. You can protect your data across BackupEngine Cloud, local PC, network shares, Google Drive, and OneDrive in one operation. This implements the classic 3-2-1 backup strategy out of the box: 3 copies of data, 2 different media types, 1 off-site location.

Each destination is independent — if one fails, the others continue. You can restore from whichever copy is most convenient: the local copy for speed, the cloud copy for off-site access, or a network share for on-premises recovery.

Configuring Multiple Destinations

Destinations are configured during set creation or editing in the desktop wizard. The CLI is read-only for set definitions in v1.11.0 — use the GUI to add or remove destinations.

•Click the Destinations section during backup set creation or editing.
•Click Add Destination to add a new target location.
•Choose a destination type: Cloud (BackupEngine Cloud), Local PC, Network PC, Google Drive, or OneDrive.
•For Local and Network destinations, use Browse or enter the path directly.
•For cloud sync folders (Google Drive, OneDrive), BackupEngine auto-detects the local sync folder.
•Click the trash icon to remove a destination.
•Review the summary showing all destinations before saving the backup set.

ℹ Note

This is GUI-only — destination add/remove is not on the CLI in v1.11.0. To audit configured destinations from a script, use backupengine sets list --json — the multi-destination fan-out renders one entry per destination.

💡 Tip

For maximum protection, use at least two destinations: one cloud (for off-site) and one local or network (for fast restore).

How Destinations Work Together

When a backup runs with multiple destinations, the agent uploads to all of them. Each destination receives the same encrypted chunks, manifests, and metadata — but independently, so network issues at one location do not block the others.

•Parallel uploads: The agent uploads to all destinations concurrently to minimize backup time.
•Fault isolation: If the cloud is unreachable but your local NAS is online, backup completes to local storage.
•Per-destination status: The backup result shows which destinations succeeded and which failed.
•Deduplication across destinations: Chunks uploaded to destination A are not re-uploaded to B if they are identical.

Inspecting Destinations

Both the GUI and CLI surface the destination list and per-destination status for every set.

•Open the Backup tab.
•Click a set to expand its destinations card.
•Each destination shows its type, path (for Local/Network), last-upload timestamp, and the most recent success/failure.

backupengine sets list                       # Multi-destination fan-out, one line per destination
backupengine sets list --json                # Same data, machine-readable
backupengine status                          # Last run summary across all destinations

Restoring from Multiple Destinations

On the Restore tab, each backup set now shows one card per destination. Pick which copy to restore from based on your immediate needs.

•Click the backup set card to expand the destination list.
•Select a specific destination (e.g., 'Cloud Storage' or 'Local PC: D:\ Backups').
•The restore screen shows only files from that destination's backup.
•Restore speed depends on the destination: local restores are fastest, network shares are medium, cloud is slowest but available from anywhere.

ℹ Note

Per-destination restore selection is GUI-only. The CLI's restore command picks the most-up-to-date destination automatically. If one destination is behind on uploads (e.g., network was temporarily down), restore from a different, more up-to-date destination via the GUI while that one catches up in the background.

Backup Results with Multiple Destinations

The backup result summary breaks down success and failure by destination.

•Success: All destinations uploaded successfully. You have full redundancy.
•Partial success: Some destinations succeeded, others failed. Data is protected at the successful locations.
•Failure: All destinations failed. The backup set has no new restore points.
•Details: Click on the result card to see which destination(s) failed and why (network timeout, disk full, permission denied, etc.).

⚠ Warning

If all destinations fail, restore points do not advance. Check the error details and fix the underlying issue (e.g., full disk, network connectivity, credentials) before the next scheduled backup.

Best Practices for Multi-Destination Backup

•Cloud + Local: Back up to BackupEngine Cloud (off-site protection) and a local NAS (fast restore).
•Cloud + Local + OneDrive: Implement full 3-2-1 with cloud, local, and your personal cloud sync account.
•Speed tier: Use a local destination for daily backups (fast) and a cloud destination for weekly full backups (redundancy).
•Capacity planning: Ensure each destination has enough free space for at least one full backup cycle.
•Network resilience: Use local and network destinations on separate network segments to survive ISP outages.

Restore Background Service