Each appliance automatically saves a copy of its configuration backup on a daily schedule to local disk for 30 days. This can be helpful if an administrator makes a configuration error such as deleting the host group tree, or some other misconfiguration occurs. The backups saved on the appliance can be used to return the box to a working configuration if the issue is found within 30 days. However, if the appliance fails or is reset to factory defaults then the locally saved configuration backups will not be available. Saving a configuration backup to an external machine is critical.
To save backups to your external machine, use the following procedure, starting with your SMC and then followed by your Flow Collectors(s), Flow Sensor(s) and and UDP Director(s):
1. Click the Support menu and select the Backup/Restore Configuration menu item (not the Database option!)
2. You will see a list of previously saved backups that exist on the appliance itself from its daily configuration backup. Create a backup on demand by clicking the Create Backup button
3. Once the backup has been created, click the Download button.
4. The configuration backup will be downloaded by the web browser and saved in the Downloads folder.
5. Repeat the steps for all remaining appliances.
