Getting started with the PBS interface
After activating your service, the HostMyServers client portal provides access to a full PBS interface, organized into six tabs.
Dashboard (Vue générale)
The dashboard is the datastore overview. It shows at a glance:
Service status block
| Indicator | Description |
|---|---|
| Status | Active / Suspended / Expired |
| PBS Version | Server version (e.g. PBS 4.1) |
| Location | Datacenter (e.g. DC5 – Lyon) |
Storage metrics
| Metric | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Storage used | Effective space used on the datastore, with progress bar |
| Snapshots | Total snapshot count, grouped by backup group |
| Deduplication | Ratio recorded at the last GC run (e.g. 6.42×) |
| Estimated saturation | Projected saturation date at the current growth rate |
A ratio of 6.42× means PBS stores 6.42 times less raw data than the total volume backed up. On typical workloads, this ratio ranges from 2× to 10×.
Backup summary
Snapshot breakdown by type:
| Type | Meaning |
|---|---|
| VM | QEMU virtual machines |
| CT | LXC containers |
| Host | Directory backups via PBS client |
Each row shows the snapshot count and the number of associated backup groups.
Subscription details
- Active plan (e.g. PBSaaS 250G)
- Creation date
- Expiration date
- Renewal button
Direct PBS access
Two buttons are available:
- Open PBS: opens the native Proxmox Backup Server web interface
- Connection: displays or copies the connection credentials
Statistics tab
Real-time monitoring graphs for the selected period (24h, 7 days…).
See the dedicated page: Monitoring storage statistics.
Configuration tab
Manage:
- Namespaces — logical segmentation of backups
- Garbage Collection — schedule orphan chunk cleanup
- Prune Job — automated retention policy
- Verification Jobs — checksum-based integrity checks
See the dedicated page: Configuration, retention and verification.
Content tab
The Content tab mirrors the PBS Content interface. It lets you:
- Browse all backup groups (
vm/,ct/,host/) - List available snapshots for each group
- View snapshot details (files, size, timestamp)
- Run a manual verification on a specific snapshot
- Manually delete a snapshot (⚠ irreversible)
Deleting a snapshot here only removes the metadata (manifest, index). Disk space is only freed after the next Garbage Collection run.
Authentication tab
Centralizes access management for the datastore:
- PBS users: accounts with password-based authentication
- API tokens: password-less authentication, recommended for automated workflows
Use a dedicated API token for each Proxmox VE connection (or each cluster). This allows individual revocation without affecting other connections.
Modify plan tab
Upgrade the allocated storage capacity without service interruption and without recreating the datastore.
See the dedicated page: Upgrading capacity.