cPanel has a very useful backup system built right into WHM as standard.
This can be found under WHM »Home »Backup »Backup Configuration
As powerful as this functionality is, it doesn't provide a GUI for starting the overnight backup manually.
Depending on the cPanel version you are using, running one of the following commands via SSH will start the overnight backup process "normally triggered by a cron as root".
On older cPanel servers you need to run the following as root:
# /scripts/cpbackup –force
On 11.40+ cPanel servers you need to run the following as root:
# /usr/local/cpanel/bin/backup
