Objective 8.6 – Backup and Recover Configurations

Knowledge

• Identify remote backup destinations
  • Backups can be sent to remote FTP or SFTP servers
• Explain how to backup and recover various components
  • You can back up and restore your NSX Manager data, which can include system configuration, events, and audit log tables. Configuration tables are included in every backup. Backups are saved to a remote location that must be accessible by the NSX Manager.
• Schedule backups
  • See Perform NSX Manager backup operations, below
• Export/Restore vSphere Distributed Switch configuration
  • Export
    • Browse to a distributed switch in the vSphere Web Client navigator.
    • Right-click the distributed switch and click All vCenter Actions > Export Configuration.
    • Select the Export the distributed switch configuration or Export the distributed switch configuration and all port groups option.
    • (Optional) Enter notes about this configuration in the Description field.
    • Click OK.
    • Click Yes to save the configuration file to your local system.
  •  Restore
    • Browse to a distributed switch in the vSphere Web Client navigator.
    • Right-click the distributed switch and click All vCenter Actions > Restore Configuration.
    • Browse for the configuration backup file to use.
    • Select the Restore distributed switch and all port groups or Restore distributed switch only option and click Next.
    • Review the summary information for the restore.
    • Click Finish.
• Import/Export Service Composer profiles
  • Import
    • Log in to the vSphere Web Client.
    • Click Networking & Security and then click Service Composer.
    • Click the Security Policies tab.
    • Click Actions and then click the Import Service Configuration icon.
    • Select the configuration file that you want to import.
    • If desired, type a suffix to be added to the security policies and security groups that are being imported. If you specify a suffix, it is added to the security policy names being imported thus ensuring that they have unique names.
    • Click Next. Service Composer verifies that all services referred to in the configuration are available in the destination environment. If not, the Manage Missing Services page is displayed, where you can map missing services to available target services. The Ready to complete page displays the security policies along with associated objects (security groups on which these have been applied, as well as Endpoint services, firewall rules, and network introspection services) to be imported.
    • Click Finish. The imported security policies are added to the top of the security policy table (above the existing policies) in the target NSX Manager. The original order of the imported policies is preserved.
  • Export
    •  Log in to the vSphere Web Client.
    • Click Networking & Security and then click Service Composer.
    • Click the Security Policies tab.
    • Select the security policy that you want to export.
    • Click Actions and then click the Export Service Configuration icon.
    • Type a name and description for the configuration that you are exporting.
    • If desired, type a prefix to be added to the security policies and security groups that are being exported. If you specify a prefix, it is added to the target security policy names thus ensuring that they have unique names.
    • Click Next.
    • In the Select security policies page, select the security policy that you want to export and click Next.
    • The Ready to complete page displays the security policies along with associated objects (security groups on which these have been applied, as well as Endpoint services, firewall rules, and network introspection services) to be exported.
    • Click Finish.
    • Select the directory on your computer where you want to download the exported blueprint and click Save.
• Perform NSX Manager backup and restore operations
  • Backup
    • Log in to the NSX Manager Virtual Appliance.
    • Under Appliance Management, click Backups & Restore.
    • To specify the backup location, click Change next to FTP Server Settings.
      • Type the IP address or host name of the backup system.
      • From the Transfer Protocol drop-down menu, select either SFTP or FTP, based on what the destination supports.
      • Edit the default port if required.
      • Type the user name and password required to login to the backup system.
      • In the Backup Directory field, type the absolute path where backups will be stored.
      • Type a text string in Filename Prefix.
        This text is prepended to each backup filename for easy recognition on the backup system. For example, if you type ppdb, the resulting backup is named as ppdbHH_MM_SS_DayDDMonYYYY.
      • Type the pass phrase to secure the backup.
      • Click OK.
    • To specify schedule details, click Change next to Scheduling.
      • From the Backup Frequency drop-down menu, select Hourly, Daily, or Weekly. The Day of Week, Hour of Day, and Minute drop-down menus are disabled based on the selected frequency. For example, if you select Daily, the Day of Week drop-down menu is disabled as this field is not applicable to a daily frequency.
      • For a weekly backup, select the day of the week the data should be backed up.
      • For a weekly or daily backup, select the hour at which the backup should begin.
      • Select the minute at which the backup should begin and click Schedule.
    • To exclude logs and flow data from being backed up, click Change next to Exclude.
      • Select the items you want to exclude from the backup.
      • Click OK.
  • Restore
    • Log in to the NSX Manager Virtual Appliance.
    • Under Appliance Management, click Backups & Restore.
    • In the Backups History section, select the check box for the backup to restore.
    • Click Restore.
    • Click OK to confirm.

Tools

• NSX Administration Guide
• vSphere Web Client