Back up or delete the system configuration

Reset the primary key

You must reset the primary key prior to performing any configuration backups.

1. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the system controller using an account with admin access.

   When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.

2. Change to config mode.

   config

   The CLI prompt changes to include (config).

3. Reset the primary key.

   system aaa primary-key set

4. Commit the configuration changes.

   commit

The encryption key is reset (or refreshed) on the system.

Tenant configuration backup

To back up the configuration for your tenants, log in to each tenant and back up the configuration using the method recommended for that tenant.

For BIG-IP tenants

Create and save an archive (or UCS file), and then export the UCS backups to an external location. For more information, see the section titled “About managing archives using the Configuration utility” in BIG-IP System: Essentials at K000130285: F5 Product Manuals Index.

For BIG-IP Next tenants

For information about BIG-IP Next tenant configuration backup, see the F5 Beta portal.

Disable appliance mode from the CLI

You can disable appliance mode on the system controllers from the system controller CLI, and on the chassis partitions from the chassis partition CLI. You must have the appropriate permissions. While it is recommended that you enable appliance mode most of the time, some tasks, such as restoring the default configuration or running the Setup wizard, require use of the root account, which is unavailable in appliance mode. You can also disable appliance mode from the webUI or the API. To disable appliance mode from the webUI, see Configure appliance mode from the webUI.

1. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the system controller or chassis partition using an account with admin access.

   When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.

2. Check whether the system is in appliance mode:

   show system appliance-mode state

   If appliance mode is enabled, proceed to the next step to disable it. Otherwise, skip the rest of these steps.

3. Change to config mode.

   config

   The CLI prompt changes to include (config).

4. Disable appliance mode:

   system appliance-mode config disabled

5. Commit the configuration changes.

   commit

6. Return to user (operational) mode.

   end

Configure appliance mode from the webUI

You can enable appliance mode if you want to disable all root and Bash shell access.

Note: For greater security, it is highly recommended that you configure the system controllers and chassis partitions to run in appliance mode.

From the system controller webUI, appliance mode disables root and Bash access to the controllers. From the chassis partition webUI, appliance mode limits access to the specific chassis partition to which you are connected. You can enable or disable the appliance mode for system controllers and partitions from their respective webUIs.

Note: The appliance mode option for tenants is available in the chassis partition webUI under Tenant Management > Tenant Deployments.

1. Log in to the VELOS system controller webUI or the chassis partition webUI using an account with admin access.

2. On the left, click System Settings > General.

3. For Appliance Mode, select Enabled to enable appliance mode.

   The default value is Disabled.

4. Click Save.

Back up system controller configuration from the CLI

When the system is configured for your environment, you can log in to the system controller CLI and back up the configuration.

1. Connect using SSH to the system controller floating management IP address.

2. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the system controller using an account with admin access.

   When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.

3. Change to config mode.

   config

   The CLI prompt changes to include (config).

4. Create a backup of the system controller configuration.

   system database config-backup name backup1.xml

   System controller configuration backup files are located in configs/.

5. Export the configuration backup file onto an external system for safe keeping.

   file export local-file configs/backup1.xml remote-file /tmp/backup1.xml remote-host 192.0.2.0 username root

   The system requests the password for the remote root account.

   Copy

   Value for 'password' (<string>): *******
   result File transfer is initiated.(configs/backup1.xml)

You have a backup of the system configuration on the system controller that you can restore on the system if needed.

Back up chassis partition configuration from the CLI

For all configured chassis partitions, you can log in to the chassis partition CLI for each and back up the configuration.

1. Connect using SSH to the chassis partition management IP address.

2. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the chassis partition using an account with admin access.

   When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.

3. Change to config mode.

   config

   The CLI prompt changes to include (config).

4. Create a backup of the chassis partition configuration.

   system database config-backup name partition-backup1.xml

   Chassis partition configuration backup files are located in configs/.

5. Export the chassis partition configuration backup file onto an external system for safe keeping.

   file export local-file configs/partition-backup1.xml remote-file /tmp/partition-backup1.xml remote-host 192.0.2.75 username root

   The system requests the password for the remote root account.

   Copy

   Value for 'password' (<string>): *******
   result File transfer is initiated.( configs/partition-backup1.xml)

6. Optional: Check the status of the transfer.

   file transfer-status

You have a backup of the chassis partition configuration that you can restore on the same system where it was created, if needed. The chassis partition configuration backup includes all tenant deployments, users, and all partition information.

Back up system configurations from the webUI

You can back up the configurations of the system controller or chassis partition in which you are working from the webUI.

1. Log in to the VELOS system controller webUI or the chassis partition webUI using an account with admin access.

2. On the left, click System Settings > Configuration Backup.

3. Click Create.

   The Create Configuration Backup popup opens.

4. In the Name field, enter a name for the backup (for example, system-controller-12-21-21 or partition1-6-14-21).

5. Click Create.

   The backup is created and added to the list.

6. To delete a backup file, select the file and click Delete.

System controller and chassis partition configuration backups are stored in configs/. Backups should be stored off the system.

You can restore configurations from the CLI. For more information on saving and restoring the configuration, see the Complete backup and restore overview section.

Delete chassis partition configuration from the CLI

You can delete existing chassis partition configurations by resetting the database on the chassis partition.

1. Log in to the command line interface (CLI) of the chassis partition using an account with admin access.

   When you log in to the system, you are in user (operational) mode.

2. Change to config mode.

   config

   The CLI prompt changes to include (config).

3. Delete the configuration by resetting the database.

   system database reset-to-default proceed yes

The chassis partition now has the default configuration as if it was just created.