Setting up the datastore as a backup target in Proxmox VE

For your Proxmox VE to send backups to us, you need to add the PBS datastore to your PVE as a storage once. Works via the GUI or the CLI — takes about five minutes.

You’ll need the four values from our setup mail:

• Server address (e.g. pbs01.xaweho.de)
• Datastore name (e.g. 12345 — your customer number)
• Username (e.g. 12345@pbs)
• Fingerprint (a 65-character hex string with colons)

Option 1: Via the PVE GUI

1. Log in to your Proxmox VE.
2. In the left tree, click Datacenter (top level).
3. Select the Storage tab.
4. Click Add → Proxmox Backup Server.

In the dialog, enter:

Field	Value
ID	Your choice — something like xaweho-pbs. This is the name the storage appears under in PVE.
Server	Server address from the mail (e.g. pbs01.xaweho.de)
Port	8007 — default, can usually be left empty
Username	Username from the mail (e.g. 12345@pbs)
Password	Your PBS password
Datastore	Datastore name from the mail
Namespace	leave empty (unless you actively use namespaces — see below)
Fingerprint	The 65-character value from the mail
Nodes	leave empty if all PVE nodes should use the datastore
Enable	keep enabled
Encryption Key	leave empty — if you want to use encryption, see the separate article

Click Add. If the connection works, the new storage appears in the list.

Option 2: Via the CLI

If you prefer working over SSH, it goes like this:

pvesm add pbs xaweho-pbs \
  --server pbs01.xaweho.de \
  --datastore 12345 \
  --username 12345@pbs \
  --password 'DEIN-PASSWORT' \
  --fingerprint 'AB:CD:EF:...' \
  --content backup

You can also read the password from a file so it doesn’t end up in your bash history:

pvesm add pbs xaweho-pbs \
  --server pbs01.xaweho.de \
  --datastore 12345 \
  --username 12345@pbs \
  --fingerprint 'AB:CD:EF:...'
# then enter the password interactively

Testing the connection

After adding it, check in the GUI under Datacenter → Storage whether the new storage is marked as active (green check mark).

On the CLI:

pvesm status | grep pbs

If the status is active, the connection is up.

What does “Namespace” mean?

PBS supports namespaces inside a datastore — a kind of subfolder for backups. Useful when:

• You back up multiple PVE clusters to the same datastore (each cluster gets its own namespace)
• You want to separate test and production backups
• You’re an IT service provider putting multiple customers on one datastore and setting permissions per namespace

With a single PVE host, you normally don’t need a namespace — leave it empty and everything lands in the root namespace.

What does “Encryption Key” mean?

If you want to use client-side encryption — which we strongly recommend — you enter the path to the key file here. The key is generated before you add the storage. Important: without the key, you cannot restore your backups — so it must be stored safely.

Details in Creating and safely storing encryption keys.

Frequently asked questions

“Connection failed” — what to do? First suspects: typos in the server address, datastore name or fingerprint. The colons in the fingerprint matter. Also: does your firewall allow outgoing traffic on port 8007/TCP? PBS listens on 8007.

Do I need a separate user per PVE host? No. One user is enough. If you have multiple PVE hosts sending backups independently, you can connect them all with the same user account. If you want to separate them (for permissions or reporting), use namespaces or create additional users in the PBS GUI.

What’s the difference between “Datastore” and “Storage”? In PBS it’s called a datastore — that’s the physical storage where your backups live. In PVE it’s called a storage — that’s the logical connection from outside. A PVE storage definition (type “pbs”) points to a PBS datastore.

How do I update the fingerprint if the PBS certificate changes? Via the GUI: edit the storage, enter the new fingerprint. We’ll let you know well in advance if the certificate changes.

What’s next

• Creating and safely storing encryption keys
• Running your first backup
• Configuring a backup job