☁️ Seamless Cloud Backup & Restore using Rclone: Pcloud ➡️ AWS S3 Automation

Aim 🎯

The aim of this task is to securely backup and restore data from another cloud (Pcloud) to AWS S3. 💾🔒
To achieve this, I performed the entire task using Rclone, created an automated Bash script, and scheduled Cron jobs to ensure continuous, safe, and hassle-free data synchronization. 🌐✅

Introduction 📖

Data is the most valuable asset 💻💾, and keeping it safe and accessible is crucial. In this task, I used Rclone with sync to securely backup and restore data from Pcloud to AWS S3 ☁️➡️☁️. With a Bash script 🖥️ and Cron jobs ⏰, the process is fully automated, secure, and hassle-free ✅.

📁 Agenda

• 🛠️ Prerequisites Setup

• 🖥️ EC2 Instance Configuration

• 👤 IAM User & S3 Bucket Creation

• 📦 Rclone Installation & Remote Configuration

• 💻 Backup & Restore Script Development

• ⏱️ Cron Automation Setup

• 🧪 Testing & Verification

• 🏁 Conclusion

🛠️ Prerequisites

• ✅ AWS Account with EC2 access

• ✅ PCloud account(any other cloud) with data to backup

• ✅ Basic Linux command knowledge

• ✅ SSH access to Ubuntu server

🖥️ Step 1: EC2 Instance Setup

Launch Ubuntu EC2 Instance

# Instance Type: t3.micro (Free tier eligible)
# AMI: Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS
# Security Group: Allow SSH (Port 22)
# Key Pair: Create or use existing

Connect to Instance

👤 Step 2: IAM User & S3 Bucket Creation

🔏Create IAM User

1. Go to AWS IAM Console

2. Create new user: rclone-backup-user

3. Attach policy: AmazonS3FullAccess

4. Generate Access Keys (save securely)

   

   

🪣Create S3 Bucket

📦 Step 3: Rclone Installation & Configuration

Install Rclone

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y rclone
rclone version

Configure PCloud Remote

# Choose: n (New remote)
# Name: pcloud
# Storage: pcloud
# Follow OAuth authentication process
# Add your pcloud token

Use the command below to generate a token for pCloud and download it locally:

rclone authorize "pcloud"

Configure AWS S3 Remote

rclone config
# Choose: n (New remote)  
# Name: s3
# Storage: s3
# Provider: AWS
# Access Key ID: [Your IAM Access Key]
# Secret Access Key: [Your IAM Secret Key]
# Region: us-east-1
# Endpoint: [Leave blank]
# Location constraint: [Leave blank]

Verify Remotes

rclone listremotes

💻 Step 4: Create Backup & Restore Script

Create Script Directory

Create backup_restore.sh

vim backup_restore.sh

Script Content

#!/bin/bash

# Remotes
PCLOUD_REMOTE="pcloud:"
S3_REMOTE="aws_s3:mybucket1-apurv"

# Log files
BACKUP_LOG="/var/log/pcloud_to_s3_backup.log"
RESTORE_LOG="/var/log/s3_to_pcloud_restore.log"

# ----------------------------
# 1. Backup: pCloud → S3
# ----------------------------
echo "Starting backup from pCloud to S3..."
rclone sync $PCLOUD_REMOTE $S3_REMOTE --log-level=ERROR >> $BACKUP_LOG 2>&1
echo "Backup completed. Log: $BACKUP_LOG"

# ----------------------------
# 2. Restore: S3 → pCloud
# ----------------------------
echo "Starting restore from S3 to pCloud..."
rclone sync $S3_REMOTE $PCLOUD_REMOTE --log-level=ERROR >> $RESTORE_LOG 2>&1
echo "Restore completed. Log: $RESTORE_LOG"

• • Remotes:

    * $PCLOUD_REMOTE → pCloud account remote.

    * $S3_REMOTE → AWS S3 bucket remote.

    * Log files:

    * $BACKUP_LOG → stores backup errors/output.

    * $RESTORE_LOG → stores restore errors/output.

    • *Backup (pCloud → S3) – rclone sync copies data from pCloud to S3 and logs errors.

    • *Restore (S3 → pCloud) – rclone sync restores data back from S3 to pCloud with logging.

      * --log-level=ERROR >> $RESTORE_LOG 2>&1 → logs errors only.

      * Echo messages: Show start and completion of backup/restore in terminal.

Make Script Executable

chmod +x backup_restore.sh

🔄 Step 5: Manual Testing

Test Backup

./backup_restore.sh

⏱️ Step 6: Automate with Cron

Open Crontab

crontab -e

Add Cron Job (Every 1 minute)

*/1 * * * * /home/ubuntu/backup_restore.sh >> /var/log/backup_restore_cron.log 2>&1

A. List Files in /home/ubuntu/ Directory

ls -l /home/ubuntu/

Displays a detailed list of all files and directories inside /home/ubuntu/.

B. Create a Folder Named myfiles

mkdir -p /home/ubuntu/myfiles

Creates a folder called myfiles inside /home/ubuntu/. The -p option ensures the command won’t give an error if the folder already exists.

C. Create test1.txt with Sample Content

echo "Test file" > /home/ubuntu/myfiles/test1.txt

Creates a file named test1.txt inside myfiles and writes Test file into it.

D. Create test2.txt with Sample Content

echo "Another file" > /home/ubuntu/myfiles/test2.txt

Creates a file named test2.txt inside myfiles and writes Another file into it.

E. Copy Files to AWS S3 (Dry Run)

rclone copy /home/ubuntu/myfiles aws_s3:mybucket1-apurv --dry-run --log-level=ERROR

Uses rclone to copy all files from /home/ubuntu/myfiles to the AWS S3 bucket named mybucket1-apurv.
The --dry-run option simulates the copy process without actually transferring the files.

F. Sync Files from pCloud to AWS S3

rclone sync pcloud: aws_s3:mybucket1-apurv --log-level=ERROR

Uses rclone to sync files from the pCloud storage to the AWS S3 bucket mybucket1-apurv.
--log-level=ERROR shows only error messages during execution.

🧪 Step 7: Testing & Verification

Case Study 1: Existing Files

• ✅ All existing PCloud files synced to S3

• ✅ Directory structure maintained

• ✅ File integrity preserved

Case Study 2: New File Addition

1. Add new file to PCloud

2. Wait 1 minute

3. Check S3 bucket → File automatically appears

4. Verify in logs

I uploaded ad.jpg to pCloud, remove text file , the cron job automatically synced it to the S3 bucket within a minute. Screenshot of the automatic sync is attached below.

⚠️ Challenges & ✅ Success in Automating Secure Backup from pCloud to AWS S3

Task Overview & Challenges:

• ⏳ Faced major difficulties over 2 days while setting up backup and restore between pCloud and S3.

• 💾 Backup worked, but restore had issues initially.

Steps Taken & Solutions:

• 📤 Uploaded data to pCloud, but cron job was not picking up latest changes immediately.

• ❌ Initially, latest files were missing in backup due to timing issues.

• 🔄 Switched to using rclone sync, which automatically updates S3 whenever any change happens in pCloud.

• ⏱️ Cron job now syncs every minute, ensuring real-time backup.

• ✅ Tested with rclone copy to verify that the remote connection and permissions were correct.

Results:

• 🛠️ After solving all errors, backup is now working perfectly.

• 🔒 All data is synced securely and automatically from pCloud → AWS S3.

• 📸 Screenshots attached show successful backup and automation in action.

Conclusion for Challenges :

• 🤖 Automated backup with cron + rclone ensures highly secure, real-time sync.

• ✨ Reduces manual effort and guarantees up-to-date cloud storage.

conclusion:

• ✅ Learned how to automate secure cloud backup using pCloud, AWS S3, cron, and Rclone.

• 💡 Gained hands-on experience in troubleshooting errors, syncing data, and ensuring real-time updates.

• 🏆 Successfully set up a fully automated, secure, and reliable backup system.

👨‍💻 About the Author

This series isn't just about using AWS; it's about mastering the core services that power modern cloud infrastructure.

📬 Let's Stay Connected

• 📧 Email: gujjarapurv181@gmail.com

• 🐙 GitHub: github.com/ApurvGujjar07

• 💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/apurv-gujjar