An independent backup gives you a copy of your files that you can recover under your own retention policy. Files.com can push files to another location with Sync, or your backup software can pull files through the S3-Compatible Endpoint.

We recommend Sync when you want Files.com to maintain a copy on storage you control. For organizations that already operate an enterprise backup platform, an S3-compatible source connection allows that system to manage the schedule, retention, monitoring, and recovery process. Veeam Backups describes how Files.com fits into an existing Veeam deployment.

For a copy on offline media, Physical Backup Exports explains downloading to your own storage and verifying the result.

Storage Durability and Recovery

Aside from items on Remote Servers, Files.com stores all customer file contents in the Amazon S3 Simple Storage Service. Amazon S3 provides a highly durable storage infrastructure designed for mission-critical and primary data storage. Objects are redundantly stored on multiple devices across multiple facilities in an Amazon S3 Region. Once stored, Amazon S3 maintains the durability of your objects by quickly detecting and repairing any lost redundancy.

Amazon S3 also regularly verifies the integrity of data stored using checksums. If corruption is detected, it is repaired using redundant data. We have never lost any customer data that was stored in Amazon S3, and we do not expect to.

Storage redundancy protects against infrastructure failures. Recovering an earlier file after an unwanted overwrite or deletion also requires a retained copy from before that change. Files.com retention controls and Restore provide recovery options within the platform; an independent backup provides a separate recovery location and retention policy.

Backups With Sync

A Sync for backups has a Files.com folder as its source and the backup location as its destination. Keeping the source files under After Copying preserves the working data after each copy. The Sync's schedule determines when that copy is refreshed, and Sync logs record each run and any errors.

The remote server types available for backup are Azure Blob Storage, Backblaze B2, Google Cloud Storage, Amazon S3, and Wasabi. You can also use a Sync to integrate to another Files.com site, such as a Child Site.

A synchronized copy is useful for recovery, but replacing the destination file does not by itself preserve its earlier contents. Recovery points from before an overwrite depend on version retention or a backup policy at the destination. Recovering an earlier version tests that policy; the presence of the latest file only confirms that the copy arrived.

Enterprise Backup Software and the S3-Compatible Endpoint

The S3-compatible endpoint exposes Files.com files for listing and downloading through the S3 protocol. In this arrangement, Files.com is the backup source. Your backup software reads those files and stores its backups in a separate repository that it manages.

The backup product must support protecting data already stored at a custom S3-compatible endpoint. A feature described as "backup to S3" can mean only that the product writes its backup files to S3; that destination capability does not establish source support.

Veeam Backup & Replication supports object storage backup jobs with S3-compatible storage as an unstructured data source. Organizations already using Veeam can include Files.com in that process, with source connection settings and recovery behavior specific to this integration.

Commvault also documents backups of S3-compatible storage, with a custom host URL, access credentials, a backup plan, and selected source content. Its S3-compatible source connection uses the Files.com settings below. Available backup features and restore destinations depend on the backup product's version and licensing.

A dedicated Files.com user and an S3-compatible API key give the backup its own access scope. The backup can only include files that this user can list and download, including content in nested folders. The endpoint, region, and bucket settings identify the source within the backup application.

For backup software without a compatible source connection, Sync can copy files to a location that it can protect, such as an Amazon S3 bucket. That source copy remains separate from the repository where the backup product stores its own backup data. In this arrangement, the backup runs after the copy completes, and both schedules affect how much recent data is available for recovery.

Backup Coverage and Restore Tests

An S3 backup protects the file content exposed through the endpoint. It is not a complete export of your Files.com site: users, groups, folder permissions, Share Links, Automations, and other site configuration need their own recovery plan.

Backup frequency and retention address different recovery needs. A file created and deleted between backup runs can be missed entirely, even when every scheduled job succeeds. Retention determines how long an already captured file or earlier version remains recoverable.

A representative recovery test restores files to a separate location and compares their contents with the originals. Nested folders, large files, changed files, and files deleted after backup exercise different parts of the recovery process. Periodic tests, including after changes to credentials, permissions, source folders, or the backup application, establish whether the intended files remain recoverable. A successful connection or job status alone does not establish that coverage.