A nice feature for 3.3 would be to have automatic backup. For my Wordpress site I have a plugin that dumps database and gathers all files to create a backup which can be emailed and/or stored on the server in a zip file.
As I guess most sites will have files rather large (larger than being emailed) it would be sweet if a backup could be created and stored locally which I then could script being backed up somewhere else. Even better would be to have it backed up to a third party source like Windows Live SkyDrive automatically.

Not built-in, but may all be achieved using mySQLDumper.

Not built-in, but may all be achieved using

mySQLDumper.

Maybe so but I prefer features that are builtin to the product so that I do not have to rely on thirdparty software for one reason; Not having to rely on third parties to fix support for new versions of IP.Board, i.e. meaning I cannot upgrade to a new version because of a thirdparty source/application is not there. I have been there so many times and having features built in to the product is superior in terms of support.

Why wouldn't you be able to upgrade? It doesn't rely on any version of IPB.

MySQLDumper is a PHP and Perl based tool for backing up MySQL databases. You can easily dump your data into a backup file and - if needed - restore it. It is especially suited for shared hosting webspaces, where you don't have shell access. MySQLDumper is an open source project and released under the GNU-license.

MySQLDumper sounds like a SQL only database dump. That does not help me if my provider drops dead. I want a full IP.Board backup which means SQL plus files. One solution that is the key :)

True, I misread your original post. However, you would only need to back-up your complete IPB install when changes are made - e.g. upgrades installed.

Pending the (not imminent) appearance of a built-in facility... and if you are enough of a Linux-head, I guess you could set up a rsync backup which would do what you want.

Backups are best left to the hosting side of things... ie: cpanel, direct admin etc... most hosting control panels already have this built in and ready to roll. No need to re-invent the wheel here imo.

Backups are best left to the hosting side of things... ie: cpanel, direct admin etc... most hosting control panels already have this built in and ready to roll. No need to re-invent the wheel here imo.

Completely agree. This is something that would be extremely resource intensive and prone to problems on various hosts with different configurations (low timeout limits, low memory limits, etc. etc.), and it's completely unnecessary IMO because almost every host out there has some sort of backup provisions already.

You can get your host to setup a cron job that backs up your site, than emails you. You can pick the intervals of when it happens.. Than all you have to do is download it