Set It Up Once in ~/.ssh/config
Most tools read your SSH config, so naming the box there saves typing the port everywhere:
Host storagebox
HostName bend.storage.virteche.com
Port 23
User sb123456
IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519The first time you connect, check the host key against these fingerprints (also in your dashboard):
ED25519 SHA256:75PUUpZZguI7g8xAwq4FYSLJQ3Pp6WY6AtApPke1TOc ECDSA SHA256:Bjd4s1WnLJ8HHcP8kZMG5EaurwL3iZh/6uFKjZEyK5w RSA SHA256:egVqWq7vUUTMMQoGFttg3H2vKB8tIOc49K5riXzsQ4Y
sftp, scp and the Shell
sftp storagebox # interactive: ls, put, get, mkdir… scp -P 23 report.pdf [email protected]:documents/ ssh storagebox # restricted shell — type help ssh storagebox df -h # one command, then exit
rsync
rsync only sends what changed, which makes repeated copies of a large folder cheap:
rsync -av --progress ./photos/ storagebox:photos/ # without the SSH config entry: rsync -av -e 'ssh -p 23' ./photos/ [email protected]:photos/
Add --delete only when you want the copy to mirror deletions too — it is the flag that turns a mistake on one side into a mistake on both.
restic
restic -r sftp:storagebox:restic init restic -r sftp:storagebox:restic backup ~/Documents restic -r sftp:storagebox:restic snapshots
rclone
rclone config create box sftp host=bend.storage.virteche.com port=23 \
user=sb123456 key_file=~/.ssh/id_ed25519
rclone copy ./exports box:exports --progress
rclone about box: # space used and freeKopia, Duplicati and Desktop Clients
Kopia, Duplicati, WinSCP, FileZilla and Cyberduck all have an SFTP option: host bend.storage.virteche.com, port 23, your username, and your password or key. Kopia also asks for a known_hosts file — connect once with ssh storagebox and point it at ~/.ssh/known_hosts.
Borg
Borg talks to the box directly over SSH; the full setup, with encryption, pruning and a nightly timer, is in How to back up a Linux server with Borg.
borg init --encryption=repokey-blake2 ssh://storagebox/./myserver
Only Allow Your Own Addresses
Under Allowed IP addresses on the box's dashboard, list the IPv4 addresses or networks (like 203.0.113.0/24) that may connect. Every other address is refused before any file is touched — for SFTP, SCP, rsync, Borg and the shell alike — so a leaked password or key is useless anywhere else. Leave the list empty to allow any address. Changes apply to new connections within about a minute.
Snapshots
A snapshot is a read-only copy of the whole box at one moment. Take one from the box's dashboard, or set a daily, weekly or monthly schedule there and choose how many automatic snapshots to keep. A box holds up to 10 snapshots on 1 TB, 20 on 2 TB, 30 on 5 TB and 40 on 10 TB. At the limit, the oldest automatic snapshot makes room for a new one; manual snapshots are never deleted for you.
Snapshots are stored inside your box and count toward its space. A new snapshot takes none; files you change or delete afterwards stay in it, so deleting files frees nothing until the snapshots that hold them are gone. The dashboard shows how much each one holds.
Each snapshot is a folder at .zfs/snapshot/<name>. It is hidden from listings — so a backup or rsync of the whole box does not copy it — but you can open it by path with any tool:
sftp storagebox sftp> cd .zfs/snapshot/auto-20261001-0300 sftp> get -r projects # copy a folder back into the box, on the box itself ssh storagebox cp -a .zfs/snapshot/auto-20261001-0300/projects projects-restored # or pull it to your machine rsync -a storagebox:.zfs/snapshot/auto-20261001-0300/projects/ ./projects/
To put the whole box back as it was, use Revert box on the snapshot in the dashboard. Everything written since is lost, snapshots newer than that one are deleted, and open connections are dropped — copy out single files instead when that is all you need.
Snapshots protect against mistakes and ransomware-style overwrites of the box itself. They are on the same drives as the box, so they are not a second copy in another place.