My back up server uses keys, and SSH to allow for backups. By default, in my cPanel server running CENTOS 7.7 with v86.0.18 of cPanel, you really only have the option to do a path related to the SSH user’s home log in directory. My back up server has a mount point outside of /home/user/ so I needed to find a way to force it to go to /data/madhost613/ as an example.
Once you create your SFTP back up options under “backup settings” in the cPanel GUI, you can create an “additional destinations”. This will allow your back ups to be sent somewhere else.
I would advise using key based authentication when you set up SFTP as a destination. It is far more secure then password based authentication. Once you set up your SFTP and have validated it, SSH into your SOURCE server running cPanel to make the change to the validation configuration file. It should be in: /var/cpanel/backups/ The file itself will look simliar to this: backups_link_data_drive_UID_vxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Once you found it, edit it with your favorite editor. Which should be vi ;). In that configuration file is a path line, go ahead and modify it to your aboslute path. Mine now reads: path: /data/madhost613/ Some caveats with this, the SSH user must have r/w on that destination server. Once you make this change, you can run the validation in cPanel, and if successful, your back ups will be sent to that directory now.
cPanel informed me this should be an added feature at some point, but currently unknown when. But this work around works fine.