Create Backup File

Generate a backup that contains the Virtual Service configuration, the local appliance information and statistics data. The backup does not contain license information and SSL Certificate information.

For ease of identification, the backup file name includes the LoadMaster’s hostname.

By default, the LoadMaster includes a Netstat output in backups. When this is included, backups take longer to complete. You can stop including the Netstat output by disabling the Include Netstat in Backups option in the Debug Options screen (System Configuration > Logging Options > System Log Files > Debug Options).

Results of the top command are also included in LoadMaster backups. The setting used when running the top command are taken from the settings configured in the Debug Options screen (System Configuration > Logging Options > System Log Files > Debug Options).

Restore Backup

When performing a restore (from a remote machine), select what information to restore:

  • VS Configuration
  • LoadMaster Base Configuration
  • GEO Configuration
  • ESP SSO Configuration (This restores the SSO domains, LDAP endpoints and SSO custom image sets. This does not restore the Virtual Service settings - use the VS Configuration option to restore those.)
  • A combination of the options
Note: It is not possible to restore the LoadMaster Base Configuration of a single machine configuration onto a HA machine or restore the LoadMaster Base Configuration of a HA configuration onto a single machine.
Note: It is not possible to restore a configuration with ESP-enabled Virtual Services onto a machine which is not enabled for ESP.

Automated Backups

If the Enable Automated Backups check box is selected, the system may be configured to perform daily or weekly automated backups.

For ease of identification, the backup file name includes the LoadMaster’s hostname.

If the automated backups are not performed at the correct time, ensure the NTP settings are configured correctly. For further information, refer to the Date/Time section.

Note: When using automated backups on a High Availability (HA) pair of LoadMasters, only the active unit configuration is backed up. There is no need to back up the standby unit because it must have the same configuration as the active unit.

When to Perform Backup

Specify the time (24-hour clock) of backup. Also select whether to backup daily or on a specific day of the week. When ready, click Set Backup Time .

Note: In some situations, spurious error messages may be displayed in the system logs, such as:
Note: Dec 8 12:27:01 Kemp_1 /usr/sbin/cron[2065]: (system) RELOAD (/etc/crontab)
Note: Dec 8 12:27:01 Kemp_1 /usr/sbin/cron[2065]: (CRON) bad minute (/etc/crontab)
Note: These can be safely ignored and the automated backup will likely still complete successfully.

Backup Method

Select the file transfer method for automated backups:

  • Ftp (insecure)
  • scp (secure)
  • sftp (secure)

If using scp or sftp, the Private Key File must be supplied.

Remote user

Set the username required to access remote host.

Private Key File

If using scp as the backup method, the Private Key File must be provided. This is the SSH private key generated using ssh-keygen on the remote scp server.

Remote password

The Remote password is used when the Backup Method is set to Ftp (insecure). Set the password required to access remote host. This field accepts alphanumeric characters and most non-alphanumeric characters. Disallowed characters are as follows:

  • Control characters
  • ‘ (apostrophe)
  • ` (grave)
  • The delete character

Remote host

Set the IP address or hostname of the remote host to which you want the backup archives sent, optionally followed by a colon and the port number. If no port is specified, the default port for the selected protocol is used.

Remote Pathname

Set the location on the remote host to store the file.

Test Automated Backups

Clicking the Test Backup button performs a test to check if the automated backup configuration is working correctly. You can view the results of the test within the System Message File.