Configuration backups
The panel can keep copies of the configuration of each OLT. If an OLT fails or someone makes a bad change, you have a recent copy to work from. Open the page under Settings, then Configuration backups.
What is backed up
A backup is the full running configuration of the OLT, as text. The panel logs in to the OLT, runs display current-configuration and stores the answer. Making a backup only reads the OLT. It changes nothing on it.
Each backup is encrypted before it is stored. The panel also stores a SHA-256 fingerprint of the content. When you download a backup, the panel checks the content against this fingerprint first, and refuses the download if they do not match.
A backup is not the same as Save config. A backup is a copy kept in the panel. Save config writes the running configuration to the memory of the OLT itself, so it is still there after the OLT restarts. You need both. See OLT tools for Save.
Create a backup now
- Open Settings, then Configuration backups.
- Choose the OLT under Capture OLT.
- Click Create backup. The panel reads the configuration from the OLT. On a big OLT this takes some time.
- You should see "Configuration backup created." and a new row at the top of the list.
Make a backup by hand before any large change on an OLT, for example before a firmware upgrade or before you move many ONUs.
Automatic backups
The Automatic backups table has one row per OLT. Automatic backups are off until you choose a schedule.
- Find the OLT in the table.
- Choose a value in Schedule: Disabled, Every 6 hours, Every 12 hours, Daily or Weekly.
- Click Save schedule. You should see "Backup schedule saved."
How the schedule works:
- The same job that reads your OLTs every 5 minutes also runs the backups. On each run it makes a backup for every OLT whose last successful backup is older than the interval you chose.
- There is no fixed hour. "Daily" means 24 hours after the last successful backup, not a set time of day.
- If the OLT has no backup yet, the first one is made at the next run after you save the schedule.
- A backup you make by hand counts too. The next automatic backup comes one interval after it.
The table also shows Last successful backup and Last error for each OLT. Look at these two columns from time to time. A schedule alone does not prove that backups are being made.
View and download backups
The list under the schedule table shows the stored backups, newest first. Use Show OLT to see the backups of one OLT only.
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| OLT | The OLT the backup came from. Click it to open the OLT. |
| Captured | The date and time of the backup. |
| By | The user who clicked Create backup, or System for an automatic backup. |
| Size | The size of the configuration in bytes. |
| SHA-256 | The start of the fingerprint. Hold the mouse over it to see all of it. Two backups with the same fingerprint have the same content. |
| Actions | Download and Delete. |
Click Download to get the backup as a text file with a name like olt-3-backup-41.cfg. You can open it in any text editor.
A downloaded file is not encrypted. It holds the whole OLT configuration and may contain network credentials. Keep it in a safe place and do not send it by chat or email without protection. Every download is written to the activity log with the user and the IP address.
How long backups are kept
The panel does not delete backups by age. A backup stays until one of these happens:
- You click Delete on its row and confirm.
- You remove the OLT from the panel. Its backups are removed with it.
The list shows the 500 newest backups. With a short interval the list grows fast. "Every 6 hours" makes four backups a day for each OLT. Delete old backups you no longer need, and download the important ones to your own storage.
When the OLT is unreachable or paused
| Situation | What happens |
|---|---|
| The OLT cannot be reached, or the read fails, at the time of an automatic backup | No backup is stored. The reason is shown in Last error and written to the activity log as a failed "Back up OLT configuration". Your older backups are not touched. The panel tries again one interval later, not at the next 5 minute run. |
| The OLT returns an empty or incomplete configuration | The backup is refused, so a broken copy is never stored. It counts as a failed backup. |
| Automatic reads of the OLT are paused | Automatic backups are skipped for this OLT until reads start again. The panel pauses automatic reads when the OLT refuses the login, or when the device is not a supported OLT. Edit the OLT, correct the settings and save to start them again. |
| You click Create backup while the OLT is unreachable | You see the error at the top of the page and no backup is stored. |
After the next successful backup, Last error is cleared. If an OLT stays unreachable, read Connection troubleshooting.
After a failed automatic backup you do not have to wait for the next interval. Fix the connection, then click Create backup to make one at once.
Restoring a configuration
The panel does not restore a whole OLT configuration for you. Restore is done with the administration tools of the OLT itself, using the file you downloaded. For single ONUs there is an easier way: the report "Find config mismatches (DB vs OLT)" can put the saved VLAN and speed of an ONU back on the OLT. See Graphs and reports.
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