Save/Restore Config using ASDM ?

[Anup Sasikumar]

Hi Experts,

Is it possible to Save/Restore the running/startup configuration of ASA using ASDM ?

Just like we do on other firewalls like SonicWall, Cyberoam and all all , Save the configuration to a file on your local machine and then upload the file to restore the configuration . Is it possible using ASDM ?

Regards,

Anup

[Jouni Forss · Accepted solution]

Hi,

I have personally never done this as I always rely on the CLI when doing anything related to the softwares and configurations.

It seems though that the ASDM contains a backup/restore feature.

You can check the "Tools" menu in the upper taskbar of the ASDM.

It creates a compressed file of the ASA settings (and other material) which you to my understading later use with the restore option.

The CLI format for backing up your configurations would be

To external host with TFTP

copy startup-configuration tftp://x.x.x.x/filename.xyz

copy running-configuration tftp://x.x.x.x/filename.xyz

To the ASAs Flash memory

• This enabled you to easily boot the old configuration from the file you have saved to the flash.

copy startup-configuration flash:/filename.xyz

copy running-configuration flash:/filename.xyz

Also you can naturally just take "show running-config" or "show startup-config" from the CLI and copy/paste to a text document.

Notice that the above formats doesnt include PSK or AAA server key information in clear text

To view them in clear text use the command.

more system:running-config

Naturally if you have copied a configuration file to an external host or Flash memory you dont need to know the PSKs/AAA keys since they are already included in the configuration.

- Jouni

[Jouni Forss]

Edited some more information to my above reply.

[Anup Sasikumar]

Hi Jouni,

Thank you so much for the quick response !

Could you please let me know the ASDM version in which this option was noticed ? Is it available on all ASDM versions?

The ASDM and ASA software versions are outdated in my ASA and I am stuck with a 5.2(4) version ! I am not sure if it is available . I will check that now.

Is it ok to save the running configuration file to ASA flash ? Are there any risks ? I mean , you normally load the IOS/ASA Software image to flash right ?

Thanks,

Anup

[Jouni Forss]

Hi,

Because I don't use alot of ASDM myself I am not quite sure/familiar in what version its certain options have come in.

What version is your actual ASA IOS?

To my understanding if your ASA is running 7.x software you wont be able to use the newest versions of the ASDM. On the other hand if you have atleast 8.0 version ASA IOS you can get the latest ASDM version for your firewall. Provided you have the rights to download the software from Ciscos site.

Also notice that if you are running 7.x software, then jump to software 8.2(x) wont cause much (if any at all) changes to the configuration. All the big ACL/NAT/object changes came in 8.3. So you might actually have an possiblity to upgrade your ASA (if its still at 7.x) to 8.2(x) without changing your configuration in any way. And therefore get access to the newest ASDM

As I said this ofcourse depends on what software you have on the ASA now and if you even have rights to download the new ASDM software from the Cisco site.

Regarding configuration saving to flash.

Generally all your configurations are saved on the Flash memory so its not really risky in that sense. Ofcourse for backup purposes you should always keep backups of your configurations safely on your computer or on your network drive if the ASA itself happens to malfunction or breaks down.

What you can use the Flash for is to save your configuration on the Flash to make it easy to revert back to some old configuration without having to load the configuration from any external host. I for example sometimes before bigger changes to configuration save the previous/current configuration to the ASA Flash (and as backup to external device) so that if some problems arise I can easily revert back to the old configuration.

- Jouni

[Anup Sasikumar]

Thanks for the clarifications , Jouni. So I think I can safely upgrade to ASA Software 8.2 without any issues. I will sure check that.

Regarding saving the configurations to flash, I was under the assumption that the startup config is saved in NVRAM and Flash is where you have the OS (IOS for Routers and Switches /ASA Software for ASA )

Is NVRAM and Flash the same then ?

Thanks

Anup

[Jouni Forss]

Hi,

This is my understanding if noone corrects me   ASA 8.4 documentation seems to mostly talk about Flash and certain times refers to NVRAM.

On the other hand, no "dir" command doesnt seem to show the startup-configuration.

Running configuration can be seen on the device with "dir system:" command.

Aaand on the other hand the ASA itself shows this with the command help

ASA# wr ?

  erase     Clear flash memory configuration

  memory    Save active configuration to the flash

So it would seem to me that NVRAM = Flash on the ASA.

Regarding the software upgrade I would suggest the following

• Check your current software level
• Go to Cisco site and find release notes for all the software releases between your current software and the software you want to move to and read what has changed on each software level. These are usually among the first things listed in the documents
  • You might be able to find the page easier by using Google

I remember a couple of occations where I have upgraded from 7.x to 8.x without having to worry about any changes to the configuration. Only reboot the device with the new software. But naturally for these cases the configuration backups are usefull if something does happen

- Jouni

[fb_webuser]

Hi you can do a Backup configuration on ASDM, using the Tools menu, save everything, and if needed you can restore from a file that you previously saved.

I hope it help

Cheers

Please rate, if it is the correct answer

---

Posted by WebUser Pedro Seabra Ávila from Cisco Support Community App