- Introduction to the Cisco ASA FirePOWER Module
- Managing Device Configuration
- Managing Reusable Objects
- Getting Started with Access Control Policies
- Blacklisting Using Security Intelligence IP Address Reputation
- Tuning Traffic Flow Using Access Control Rules
- Controlling Traffic with Network-Based Rules
- Controlling Traffic with Reputation-Based Rules
- Access Control Rules: Realms and Users
- Access Control Rules: Custom Security Group Tags
- Controlling Traffic Using Intrusion and File Policies
- Intelligent Application Bypass
- Access Control Using Content Restriction
- Understanding Traffic Decryption
- Getting Started with SSL Policies
- Getting Started with SSL Rules
- Tuning Traffic Decryption Using SSL Rules
- Understanding Network Analysis and Intrusion Policies
- Using Layers in a Network Analysis or Intrusion Policy
- Customizing Traffic Preprocessing
- Getting Started with Network Analysis Policies
- Using Application Layer Preprocessors
- Configuring SCADA Preprocessing
- Configuring Transport & Network Layer Preprocessing
- Tuning Preprocessing in Passive Deployments
- Getting Started with Intrusion Policies
- Tuning Intrusion Policies Using Rules
- Detecting Specific Threats
- Globally Limiting Intrusion Event Logging
- Understanding and Writing Intrusion Rules
- Introduction to Identity Data
- Realms and Identity Policies
- User Identity Sources
- DNS Policies
- Blocking Malware and Prohibited Files
- Logging Connections in Network Traffic
- Viewing Events
- Configuring External Alerting
- Configuring External Alerting for Intrusion Rules
- Using the ASA FirePOWER Dashboard
- Using ASA FirePOWER Reporting
- Scheduling Tasks
- Managing System Policies
- Configuring ASA FirePOWER Module Settings
- Licensing the ASA FirePOWER Module
- Updating ASA FirePOWER Module Software
- Monitoring the System
- Using Backup and Restore
- Generating Troubleshooting Files
- Importing and Exporting Configurations
- Viewing the Status of Long-Running Tasks
- Security, Internet Access, and Communication Ports
Using Backup and Restore
Backup and restoration is an essential part of any system maintenance plan. While each organization’s backup plan is highly individualized, the ASA FirePOWER module provides a mechanism for archiving data so that data can be restored in case of disaster.
Note the following limitations about backup and restore:
- Backups are valid only for the product version on which you create them.
- You can restore a backup only when running the same version of the ASA FirePOWER module software as that used to create the backup.
Caution Do not use the backup and restore process to copy the configuration files between ASA FirePOWER modules. The configuration files include information that uniquely identifies an ASA FirePOWER module and cannot be shared.
Caution If you applied any intrusion rule updates, those updates are not backed up. You need to apply the latest rule update after you restore.
You can save backup files to the appliance or to your local computer.
See the following sections for more information:
- See Creating Backup Files for information about creating backup files.
- See Creating Backup Profiles for information about creating backup profiles that you can use later as templates for creating backups.
- See Uploading Backups from a Local Host for information about uploading backup files from a local host.
- See Restoring the Appliance from a Backup File for information about how to restore a backup file to the appliance.
Creating Backup Files
You can perform backups of the ASA FirePOWER module using the module interface. To view and use existing system backups, go to the Backup Management page. You should periodically save a backup file that contains all of the configuration files required to restore the appliance, in addition to event data. You may also want to back up the system when testing configuration changes so that you can revert to a saved configuration if needed. You can choose to save the backup file on the appliance or on your local computer.
You cannot create a backup file if your appliance does not have enough disk space; backups may fail if the backup process uses more than 90% of available disk space. If necessary, delete old backup files, transfer old backup files off the appliance.
As an alternative, or if your backup file is larger than 4GB, copy it via SCP to a remote host. Uploading a backup from your local computer does not work on backup files larger than 4GB.
Caution If you configured any interface associations with security zones, these associations are not backed up. You must reconfigure them after you restore. For more information, see Working with Security Zones.
To create a backup file of the ASA FirePOWER module:
Step 1 Select Configuration > ASA FirePOWER Configuration > Tools > Backup/Restore .
The Backup Management page appears.
The Create Backup page appears.
Step 3 In the Name field, type a name for the backup file. You can use alphanumeric characters, punctuation, and spaces.
Step 4 Optionally, to be notified when the backup is complete, select the Email check box and type your email address in the accompanying text box.
Note To receive email notifications, you must configure a relay host as described in Configuring a Mail Relay Host and Notification Address.
Step 5 Optionally, to use secure copy (
SCP
) to copy the backup archive to a different machine, select the
Copy when complete
check box, then type the following information in the accompanying text boxes:
- in the Host field, the hostname or IP address of the machine where you want to copy the backup
- in the Path field, the path to the directory where you want to copy the backup
- in the User field, the user name you want to use to log into the remote machine
-
in the
Password
field, the password for that user name
If you prefer to access your remote machine with an SSH public key instead of a password, you must copy the contents of the SSH Public Key field to the specified user’sauthorized_keysfile on that machine.
With this option cleared, the system stores temporary files used during the backup on the remote server; temporary files are not stored on the remote server when this option is selected.
Tip Cisco recommends that you periodically save backups to a remote location so the appliance can be restored in case of system failure.
Step 6 You have the following options:
The backup file is saved in the
/var/sf/backup
directory.
When the backup process is complete, you can view the file on the Restoration Database page. For information about restoring a backup file, see Restoring the Appliance from a Backup File.
You can modify or delete the backup profile by selecting Configuration > ASA FirePOWER Configuration > Tools > Backup/Restore , then clicking Backup Profiles . See Creating Backup Profiles for more information.
Creating Backup Profiles
You can use the Backup Profiles page to create backup profiles that contain the settings that you want to use for different types of backups. You can later select one of these profiles when you back up the files on your appliance.
Tip When you create a backup file as described in Creating Backup Files, a backup profile is automatically created.
Step 1 Select Configuration > ASA FirePOWER Configuration > Tools > Backup/Restore .
The Backup Management page appears.
Step 2 Click the Backup Profiles tab.
The Backup Profiles page appears with a list of existing backup profiles.
Tip You can click the edit icon (
) to modify an existing profile or click the delete icon () to delete a profile from the list.
The Create Backup page appears.
Step 4 Type a name for the backup profile. You can use alphanumeric characters, punctuation, and spaces.
Step 5 Configure the backup profile according to your needs.
See Creating Backup Files for more information about the options on this page.
Step 6 Click Save As New to save the backup profile.
The Backup Profiles page appears and your new profile appears in the list.
Uploading Backups from a Local Host
If you download a backup file to your local host using the download function described in the Backup Management table, you can upload it to an ASA FirePOWER module.
If your backup file contains PKI objects, private keys associated with internal CA and internal certificate objects are re-encrypted on upload with a randomly generated key.
Tip You cannot upload a backup larger than 4GB from your local host. As an alternative, copy the backup via SCP to a remote host and retrieve it from there.
To upload a backup from your local host:
Step 1 Select Configuration > ASA FirePOWER Configuration > Tools > Backup/Restore .
The Backup Management page appears.
The Upload Backup page appears.
Step 3 Click Choose File and navigate to the backup file you want to upload.
After you select the file to upload, click Upload Backup .
Step 4 Click Backup Management to return to the Backup Management page.
The backup file is uploaded and appears in the backup list. After the ASA FirePOWER moduleverifies the file integrity, refresh the Backup Management page to reveal detailed file system information.
Restoring the Appliance from a Backup File
You can restore the appliance from backup files using the Backup Management page. To restore a backup, the VDB version in the backup file must match the current VDB version on your appliance. After you complete the restoration process, you must apply the latest Cisco Rule Update.
Caution Do not restore backups created on virtual Firepower Management Centers to physical Firepower Management Centers — this may stress system resources. If you must restore a virtual backup on a physical Firepower Management Center, contact Support.
If your backup file contains PKI objects, private keys associated with internal CA and internal certificate objects are reencrypted on upload with a randomly generated key.
If you use local storage, backup files are saved to
/var/sf/backup
, which is listed with the amount of disk space used in the
/var
partition at the bottom of the Backup Management page.
Note If you add licenses after a backup has completed, these licenses will not be removed or overwritten if this backup is restored. To prevent a conflict on restore, remove those licenses before restoring the backup, noting where the licenses were used, and add and reconfigure them after restoring the backup. If a conflict occurs, contact Support.
The following table describes each column and icon on the Backup Management page.
To restore the appliance from a backup file:
Step 1 Select Configuration > ASA FirePOWER Configuration > Tools > Backup/Restore .
The Backup Management page appears.
Step 2 To view the contents of a backup file, click the name of the file.
The manifest appears, listing the name of each file, its owner and permissions, and its file size and date.
Step 3 Click Backup Management to return to the Backup Management page.
Step 4 Select the backup file that you want to restore and click Restore .
The Restore Backup page appears.
Note that if the VDB version in the backup does not match the VDB version currently installed on your appliance, the Restore button is grayed out.
Step 5 To restore files, select Replace Configuration Data.
Step 6 Click Restore to begin the restoration.
The appliance is restored using the backup file you specified.
Step 8 Apply the latest Cisco Rule Update to reapply rule updates.
Step 9 Redeploy policies to the restored system.
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