About Configuration Import/Export
You can use the Import/Export feature to copy configurations between appliances. Import/Export is not a backup tool, but can simplify the process of adding new appliances to your deployment.
You can export a single configuration, or you can export a set of configurations (of the same type or of different types) with a single action. When you later import the package onto another appliance, you can choose which configurations in the package to import.
An exported package contains revision information for that configuration, which determines whether you can import that configuration onto another appliance. When the appliances are compatible but the package includes a duplicate configuration, the system offers resolution options.
![]() Note |
The importing and exporting appliances must be running the same version of the Firepower System. For access control and its subpolicies (including intrusion policies), the intrusion rule update version must also match. If the versions do not match, the import fails. You cannot use the Import/Export feature to update intrusion rules. Instead, download and apply the latest rule update version. |
Configurations that Support Import/Export
Import/Export is supported for the following configurations:
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Access control policies and the policies they invoke: network analysis, intrusion, SSL, file
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Intrusion policies, independently of access control
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Platform settings
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Health policies
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Alert responses
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Application detectors (both user-defined and those provided by Cisco Professional Services)
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Dashboards
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Custom tables
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Custom workflows
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Saved searches
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Custom user roles
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Report templates
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Third-party product and vulnerability mappings
Special Considerations for Configuration Import/Export
When you export a configuration, the system also exports other required configurations. For example, exporting an access control policy also exports any subpolicies it invokes, objects and object groups it uses, ancestor policies (in a multidomain deployment), and so on. As another example, if you export a platform settings policy with external authentication enabled, the authentication object is exported as well. There are some exceptions, however:
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System-provided databases and feeds—The system does not export URL filtering category and reputation data, Cisco Intelligence Feed data, or the geolocation database (GeoDB). Make sure all the appliances in your deployment obtain up-to-date information from Cisco.
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Global Security Intelligence lists—The system exports Global Security Intelligence Block and Do Not Block lists associated with exported configurations. (In a multidomain deployment, this occurs regardless of your current domain. The system does not export descendant domain lists.) The import process converts these lists to user-created lists, then uses those new lists in the imported configurations. This ensures that imported lists do not conflict with existing Global Block and Do Not Block lists. To use Global lists on the importing Firepower Management Center in your imported configurations, add them manually.
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Intrusion policy shared layers—The export process breaks intrusion policy shared layers. The previously shared layer is included in the package, and imported intrusion policies do not contain shared layers.
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Intrusion policy default variable set—The export package includes a default variable set with custom variables and system-provided variables with user-defined values. The import process updates the default variable set on the importing Firepower Management Center with the imported values. However, the import process does not delete custom variables not present in the export package. The import process also does not revert user-defined values on the importing Firepower Management Center, for values not set in the export package. Therefore, an imported intrusion policy may behave differently than expected if the importing Firepower Management Center has differently configured default variables.
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Custom user objects—If you have created custom user groups or objects in your Firepower Management Center and if such a custom user object is a part of any rule in your access control policy, note that the export file (.sfo) does not carry the user object information and therefore while importing such a policy, any reference to such custom user objects will be removed and will not be imported to the destination Firepower Management Center. To avoid detection issues due to the missing user group, add the customized user objects manually to the new Firepower Management Center and re-configure the access control policy after import.
When you import objects and object groups:
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The import process imports objects and groups as new. You cannot replace existing objects and groups.
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If the names of imported objects match existing objects on the importing Firepower Management Center, the system appends autogenerated numbers to the imported object and group names to make them unique.
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You must map any security zones used in the imported configurations to matching-type zones managed by the importing Firepower Management Center.
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If you export a configuration that uses PKI objects containing private keys, the system decrypts the private keys before export. On import, the system encrypts the keys with a randomly generated key.