CUCM Backups

[latenaite2011]

Just curious if the CUCM automatic backup does an overwrite of the previous one or does it create new files?  If it doesn't, then it will take up a lot of disk spaces quickly as each backup is about 800MB.

Can overwrites of the previous one be done?

[Rob Huffman]

Hi there,

The number of stored backups is configured as shown in the link below. Depending on the number you choose the "oldest" backup will be overwritten by the newest.

Set Up Backup Devices

Before you use the Disaster Recovery System, you must configure the locations where you want the backup files to be stored. You can configure up to ten backup devices. You can add, delete, and list devices through the CLI. Perform the following steps to configure backup devices.

Procedure

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Step 1	Log in to the Disaster Recovery System with the same administrator username and password that you use for Cisco Unified OS Administration or IM and Presence OS Administration .
Step 2	Select Backup > Backup Device. The Backup Device List window displays.
Step 3	Do either of the following: To create a new backup device, click Add New. To edit an existing backup device, select the device in the Backup Device list and click Edit Selected. To delete a backup device, select it in the Backup Device list and click Delete Selected. You cannot delete a backup device that is configured as the backup device in a backup schedule.
Step 4	Enter the backup device name in the Backup device name field. Note    The backup device name may contain only alphanumeric characters, spaces ( ), dashes (-) and underscores (_). Do not use any other characters.
Step 5	In the Select Destination area, choose the location to which you want to save the backup file. The options are: Tape Device—Stores the backup file on a locally attached tape drive. Choose the tape device from the list. Note    Be aware that you cannot span tapes or store more than one backup on a tape. Note    Be aware that if you are logged in through a VMware virtual machine, you cannot back up on a tape. This is because the tape device option is disabled for VMware users. Network Directory—Stores the backup file on a network drive that is accessed through an SFTP connection. DRS only supports SFTP servers that are configured with an IPv4 address or hostname/Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN). Enter the following required information: Host name/IP address: Hostname or IP address of the network server Path name: Path name for the directory where you want to store the backup file User name: Valid username for an account on the remote system Password: Valid password for the account on the remote system Number of backups to store on Network Directory: The number of backups to store on this network directory.

From;

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/voice_ip_comm/cucm/drs/9_1_1/CUCM_BK_D9A29FAD_00_disaster-recovery-system-cucm-91/CUCM_BK_D9A29FAD_00_disaster-recovery-system-cucm-91_chapter_01.html

Cheers!

Rob

[latenaite2011]

Thank you.

It doesn't answer the question on whether to overwrites previous backups. Don't think this is like other backups where you can have incremental backups etc and/or to overwrite previous backups.  Just have to run it to see what will happen.

Other question is, it appears that for network backup, it uses sftp and is there a way to make sftp run as a service using the local admin account? Don't want it dependent on my account (as a consultant) so that it will continue to run even if my account is disabled or I am not with the company at all.

This might be my answer:

 https://www.coretechnologies.com/products/AlwaysUp/Apps/RunPuTTYAsAService.html

but instead of putty, I would use it for my sftp application.

but not sure.

[Chris Deren]

Yes, it overwrites the previous backup once the backup count to keep is reached as long as the SFTP user you defined is properly configured with permissions based on the SFTP app you use to allow file deletion.  Some SFTP applications requires these permissions to be defined.

[latenaite2011]

I don't think there is is to specify how many counts to keep.

[latenaite2011]

Yes, I found it.  You can specify how many.  Thank you!

[Jaime Valencia]

From a technical point of view, I'm not sure if overwrite might be the right term, I believe it simply deletes the oldest N+1 backup from what you configured it to keep in the server and, so that you only keep your N backups.

Your other question is really more a Windows/permissions kind of question, I believe you can run a lot of SFTP servers without relying on any network account.