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Run rsync with limited bandwidth

cautionrsync and backupalle

Caution: This command changes the system. Understand what it does before you run it.

Adjust the values, the command updates live
user@server
rsync -avz --bwlimit=5000 /var/www/vhosts/example.com/httpdocs/ webuser@backup.example.com:/home/webuser/backup/httpdocs/

--bwlimit sets the maximum transfer rate, in KiB per second when no unit is given, so 5000 is roughly 5 MB/s. Useful when a backup runs during the day or the remote side only has a slow connection. Since rsync 3.1, units such as 5m work too.

Note: The limit is an average, short peaks above it are normal.

Also searched as

  • rsync bwlimit
  • make rsync slower
  • backup slows down website
  • limit transfer rate rsync

Related one-liners

All in rsync and backup

Resume an interrupted transfer of large files

$rsync -avP /var/backups/example.com-2026-10-09.tar.gz webuser@backup.example.com:/home/webuser/backup/
cautionrsync and backup

Transfer files to another server with rsync over SSH

$rsync -avz -e 'ssh -p 22' /var/www/vhosts/example.com/httpdocs/ webuser@backup.example.com:/home/webuser/backup/httpdocs/
cautionrsync and backup

Copy a directory locally with all permissions and attributes

#rsync -aHAX --info=progress2 /var/www/vhosts/ /mnt/newdisk/vhosts/
cautionrsync and backup

Incremental backup with hard links using rsync --link-dest

#rsync -a --link-dest=/backup/example.com/aktuell /var/www/vhosts/example.com/httpdocs/ /backup/example.com/$(date +%F)/ && ln -sfn /backup/example.com/$(date +%F) /backup/example.com/aktuell
cautionrsync and backup

Mirror a directory exactly with rsync --delete

$rsync -av --delete /var/www/vhosts/example.com/httpdocs/ /backup/example.com/httpdocs/
destructiversync and backup

rsync with excluded directories and files

$rsync -av --exclude='wp-content/cache/' --exclude='*.log' /var/www/vhosts/example.com/httpdocs/ /backup/example.com/httpdocs/
cautionrsync and backup

Read first, then run.

The commands on myline.de act directly on servers, files and databases. A wrong path or placeholder can delete data irreversibly or make a server unreachable.

  • All commands are provided without warranty and are not tested on every system.
  • Understand what a command does before running it, and check every placeholder.
  • Make a backup first and, if possible, try it on a test system.
  • You run commands at your own risk. Liability for damages is excluded to the extent permitted by law.