Schedule regular backups of network config files

To ensure that network configs are backed up on a regular basis, NCM includes the Nightly Config Backup job, which downloads the config files for all devices every night. This job is enabled by default, so it runs automatically. You can use this job to back up your configs, or you can create a custom backup job to meet the needs of your organization.

Config backups are stored in the SolarWinds Platform database and (optionally) the config archive location.

See the following sections:

About the default NCM backup jobs

NCM provides two default jobs to back up your configurations: the Nightly Config Backup job and the Weekly Config Backup job. Determine whether one of the default jobs meets your needs, or whether you need to create a custom job.

SolarWinds does not recommend enabling both the Nightly Config Backup job and the Weekly Config Backup job.

Nightly Config Backup job

The Nightly Config Backup job is enabled by default and runs automatically. It downloads the config files for all devices every night.

By default, the Nightly Config Backup job:

• Runs at 2:00 AM every day

• Downloads the Running and Startup configs from all nodes

  The job runs only on devices that support the selected config types. If your devices support different config types, you can configure multiple backup jobs that target different groups of devices. For example, one job could target only Palo Alto devices and back up the Device State.

• Saves the results to a job log

• Does not send email notification when it runs

• Saves configs whether or not they changed

• Does not send notifications if configs have changed

Weekly Config Backup job

The Weekly Config Backup job is also available, but it is not enabled by default. If you prefer to back up configs weekly instead of daily, you can enable this job and disable the Nightly Config Backup job.

By default, the Weekly Config Backup job:

• Runs at 2:00 AM every Sunday

• No nodes are selected by default

• Saves running configs

• Saves the results to a job log

• Does not send email notification when it runs

• Saves configs whether or not they changed

• Does not send notifications if configs have changed

Create a custom backup job

You can create one or more custom backup jobs to meet the needs of your organization. You might need to create multiple jobs that run against different sets of devices.

1. Click My Dashboards > Network Configuration > Jobs.
2. Select the Nightly Config Backup job or the Weekly Config Backup job.
3. Click Duplicate Job.
4. Specify a unique name. For example, include the name of your organization in the job name.

5. Specify when the job runs:

   • To run the job once or on a simple schedule, select Basic. Click the tab that identifies how frequently the job runs, and then specify the start time and (if needed) the day(s).

   • To create a more complex schedule, select Advanced and then use the five fields to create a CRON expression.

6. In the Comments box, include the reason for your changes, and then click Next.

7. Specify which devices this job targets, and click Next.

   • All Nodes is selected by default. Leave this selection to back up configs from all devices added to NCM.

   • If you do not want this job to run on all devices, select Dynamic Selection and specify the criteria used to select the devices.

     For example, to create a job that runs on all Palo Alto devices, select Vendor is Palo Alto Networks. You could also create a second job to run on all other devices by selecting Vendor is not Palo Alto Networks. Click View Selected Nodes to verify that your criteria targets the expected nodes.

     

   • Alternatively, you can choose Select Nodes and add specific nodes. However, you must remember to update the job definition whenever devices are added to the network.

8. Select an email notification option, and click Next. If you click Email Results, the default email notification and SMTP server settings are populated. These settings can be overridden in each job.
9. Select the configuration types you want to download, and specify whether you want to back up configs only if they have changed since the last backup.
10. If you want to be notified when a config has changed, select the send config change notifications. Then click Next.

11. Review the settings for the job, and click Finish.

    The job is enabled by default.

12. To avoid running both your custom job and the default job, disable the default job.

Enable or disable a job

1. Click My Dashboards > Network Configuration > Jobs.
2. In the Jobs List, select the job or jobs you want to enable or disable.
3. Click Enable or Disable.