If you need endpoint backups for MSPs, the practical answer is to support more than one destination: keep simple File System targets for on-prem/offline workflows, and offer customer-owned cloud storage when that’s the governance model.
Telmetra Backups adds two destination types—File System and Google Drive—with scheduling, retention options, and guardrails that help technicians avoid misconfiguration and surprise failures.
Answer first
- Definition (1–2 sentences): Endpoint backups for MSPs are scheduled, repeatable snapshot-style backups configured per device, designed to help technicians restore business data after mistakes, outages, or security incidents. In Telmetra, backups can target either a local File System folder or a customer-owned Google Drive destination.
Quick steps
- Open a computer in the Telmetra Web Console and go to Backups.
- Click Add Backup and choose the destination type: File System or Google Drive.
- Add backup sources (paths) and confirm they’re valid for your environment.
- Set a schedule (daily/weekly/monthly) and select the run hours.
- Configure retention and (optionally) keep as ZIP.
- Save and verify the backup appears with the expected Next Run time.
- For Google Drive: have the customer authorize their Drive from the host UI.
- Run a manual test backup and confirm Success/Failed updates in the table.
Key takeaways
- Two destinations: File System for straightforward local storage, Google Drive for customer-owned cloud storage.
- Safety checks help catch invalid destination paths and invalid source selections before you ship a broken backup config.
- Overlapping schedules queue: the host runs backups sequentially, so identical scheduled times won’t run in parallel.
- Storage pressure is visible: free/total space is highlighted with warnings so technicians can act before backups fail.
Table of contents
- What the two destination types are (and when to use each)
- Prerequisites
- Step-by-step: create a File System backup
- Step-by-step: create a Google Drive backup
- Verification (how to confirm it worked)
- Overlapping schedules: what happens at the same run time
- Common pitfalls
- FAQ
- Next step
What the two destination types are (and when to use each)
Here’s the practical decision table MSPs usually want:
| Decision point | File System destination | Google Drive destination |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | On-prem storage, external disks, server shares you control | Customer-owned cloud storage (“client pays for storage”) |
| Day-2 ops | Simple to reason about (a folder path) | Requires customer authorization on the host |
| Governance model | MSP-managed storage | Customer-managed storage (their Google account) |
| Failure modes | Permissions, missing folder, full disk | Authorization gaps, cloud storage limits, connectivity |
| Technician visibility | Path + space info in the console | Shows destination context without exposing sensitive auth details |
If you’re in a “customer owns storage” model, Google Drive is usually the cleanest option because the customer controls access and billing on their side. For a fast on-prem workflow, File System is often simplest.
Prerequisites
- The computer is online in the Telmetra Web Console.
- You know what you’re backing up (e.g., documents, an app folder, a data directory).
- For File System: you have a destination folder path that exists and is writable on the host.
- For Google Drive: the customer is available to complete Drive authorization from the host UI.
Step-by-step: create a File System backup
- Go to Backups → Add Backup.
- Select File System as the destination.
- Enter the Destination Path (Windows path format).
- Add your Sources (the items you want included).
- Select Schedule and choose the run hours.
- Set Retention (days) and optionally enable Keep destination as ZIP.
- Click Save Backup.
What to expect:
- Telmetra validates that the destination path is structured correctly and is reachable on the host before accepting the configuration.
- The backups list shows the new job with Latest Status, Latest Run, and Next Run.
Step-by-step: create a Google Drive backup
- Go to Backups → Add Backup.
- Select Google Drive as the destination.
- (Optional) set a Drive folder ID if your workflow uses a specific root folder.
- Add Sources and set schedule/retention options.
- Click Save Backup.
- Ask the customer to complete Google Drive login from the host UI.
- Run a manual backup once to confirm end-to-end success.
Important operational note:
- The intended flow is that the customer authorizes their Drive, while the technician configures and verifies backups through the console.
- For background on the authorization standard used by Google, see Google’s official OAuth documentation (Device Authorization Grant):
https://developers.google.com/identity/protocols/oauth2/limited-input-device
Verification (how to confirm it worked)
After saving:
- Confirm Next Run shows the expected time.
- Trigger one manual run as a test.
- Watch the status change to Running then Success or Failed without a full page refresh.
- If the destination is nearing capacity, confirm the free/total space indicator is visible and highlighted (warning/danger).
Overlapping schedules: what happens at the same run time
If multiple backups are scheduled for the exact same time, Telmetra’s host executes them sequentially (one at a time).
In the Web Console:
- A small warning icon appears next to Next Run for overlapping schedules.
- Clicking it explains the behavior and lists the other backups scheduled for that same time.
This is intentionally conservative: it avoids “everything starts at once” contention and reduces the likelihood of multiple heavy operations colliding.
Common pitfalls
- Invalid File System destination path: typos, mixed separators, or a folder that doesn’t exist on the host.
- Destination permissions: backups can fail if the host can’t write to the chosen folder.
- Disk capacity: if the destination is close to full, backups can fail mid-run—watch the space indicator.
- Overlapping schedules: multiple jobs at the same time will queue; stagger run times when timing is critical.
- Google Drive authorization timing: you may save the job as a technician, but the customer still needs to authorize on the host before runs can succeed.
FAQ
What are “endpoint backups for MSPs” in Telmetra?
They’re per-device backup jobs configured from the Web Console that run on a schedule (or on-demand) and store snapshots to either a File System destination or a customer-owned Google Drive destination.
Can I back up to a local folder instead of the cloud?
Yes—choose the File System destination type and use a valid Windows folder path.
Can technicians log in to the customer’s Google Drive from the Web Console?
The intended workflow is customer authorization from the host UI, while technicians configure and verify from the Web Console. (Technician access to customer credentials is not the goal.)
What happens if two backups are scheduled for the same time?
They run sequentially, not in parallel. Overlapping schedules are shown with a warning icon next to Next Run.
How do I know a destination is about to run out of space?
The backups table surfaces free/total space and highlights it with warnings when capacity is tight so technicians can act before runs start failing.
Should I keep backups as ZIP files?
If your restore workflow prefers single-archive artifacts, “Keep as ZIP” can simplify handling. If you want folder-based snapshots, keep it off.
Next step
- If you’re an MSP: configure one File System backup and one Google Drive backup on a test endpoint, then run both manually to validate your process.
- If you want help standardizing schedules (and avoiding overlap), define a default schedule template per customer and apply it consistently.