Backing up and restoring the configuration

Chapter 11: System Management > Backing up and restoring the configuration

Backing up and restoring the configuration

You use the backup procedure to save a copy of the configuration. A simple backup file is a text file. A full backup is a tar file.

The backup feature has a few basic uses:

Saving the configuration as CLI commands that a co-worker or Fortinet support can use to help you resolve issues with misconfiguration.
Restoring the system to a known functional configuration.
Creating a template configuration you can edit and then load into another system using the restore procedure.

A complete configuration backups is a tar file that includes the complete configuration files, plus any files you have imported, including error page files, script files, and ISP address book files.

In the event that FortiADC experiences hardware failure, being able to restore the entire backup configuration minimizes the time to reconfigure a replacement.

Configuration backups do not include data such as logs and reports.

Back up files can include sensitive information, such as HTTPS certificate private keys. We strongly recommend that you password-encrypt backup files and store them in a secure location.

Before you begin:

If you are restoring a configuration, you must know its management interface configuration in order to access the web UI after the restore procedure is completed. Open the configuration file and make note of the IP address and network requirements for the management interface (port1). You also must know the administrator username and password.
You must have Read-Write permission for System settings.

To backup or restore the system configuration:

Go to System > Settings.
Click the Maintenance tab.
Scroll to the Backup & Restore section, and complete the actions described in Table 90.

Table 90: Backup and restore configuration
Actions	Guidelines
Backup
Back Up	Select this option to back up the configuration. This backup is a text file.
Entire Configuration	Select this option to include error page files, script files, and ISP address book files. This backup is a tar file.
Restore
Restore (option)	Select this option to restore a previous configuration. This restore file must be a text file.
Entire Configuration	Select this option to include error page files, script files, and ISP address book files. This restore file must be a tar file.
Restore File	Click Browse to locate the file.
Restore (button)	Click the Restore button to start the restore procedure.Your web browser uploads the configuration file and the system restarts with the new configuration. Time required to restore varies by the size of the file and the speed of your network connection. Your web UI session is terminated when the system restarts. To continue using the web UI, refresh the web page and log in again. If the restored system has a different management interface configuration than the previous configuration, you must access the web UI using the new management interface IP address.