Backup and restore ESXi host configuration

When you end up reinstalling the ESXi on a host system, you may need to reconfigure the host system. This involves setting up networks, storage and also the host profile. But with the ESXi host configuration backup/restore mechanism we can easily bring the host system back to the prodcution. 

Before starting the process, there are few prerequisites

  • Source and destination build numbers should be matched (similar builds are also supported | but not Major builds)
  • Host UUID must be the same.
  • Hosts must be in Maintenance mode during the backup restore operation

So, let’s see how it works. We are going to use the ESXi command line method

Backup the host configuration

First of all, we need to synchronize the configuration with the below command

vim-cmd hostsvc/firmware/sync_config

To backup the configuration, run the command vim-cmd hostsvc/firmware/backup_config

The output will look like below (* denotes the IP/FQDN of the ESXi host) | the downlodable URL is generated 

http://*/downloads/123456/configBundle-xx.xx.xx.xx.tgz

Then the backup file can be downloaded. Then will look at the restoration process.

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Top 4 commands you should know on Cisco FTD

From architecture perspective, Cisco ASA and FTD (Firepower Threat Defense) operate in different ways. ASA operate at Layer 3/4, whereas FTD operate at Layer 7. Even the CLI behaves in such different ways. So, will look at most important commands which are to be used on Cisco FTD devices.

01. CLI mode for Advanced troubleshooting

By default, you will see something like this.

But in order to run additional commands, you will have to access the CLI. In order to access the CLI, you can simply execute the command system support diagnostic-cli

02. Firepower eXtensible Operating System (FXOS) CLI

On Firepower 2100, 4100, and 9300 series devices, FXOS is the operating system that controls the overall chassis. Depending on the model, you use FXOS for configuration and troubleshooting. From FXOS, you can enter the Firepower Threat Defense CLI using the connect ftd command.

you may either use connect ftd or connect fxos

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