Backups
System > Maintenance > Backup & Restore enables you to:
- Create backup files of the system configuration and web protection profiles.
- Restore the system configuration or web protection profile from a previous backup. For details, see Restoring a previous configuration.
- Update the firmware of the FortiWeb appliance. For details, see Updating the firmware.
Once you have tested your basic installation and verified that it functions correctly, create a backup. This “clean” backup can be used to:
- Troubleshoot a non-functional configuration by comparing it with this functional baseline via a tool such as Diff. For details, see Tools.
- Rapidly restore your installation to a simple yet working point. For details, see Restoring a previous configuration.
- Batch-configure FortiWeb appliances by editing the file in a plain text editor, then uploading the finalized configuration to multiple appliances. For details, see Restoring a previous configuration.
After you have a working deployment, back up the configuration again after any changes. This ensures that you can rapidly restore your configuration exactly to its previous state if a change does not work as planned.
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You can configure the appliance to periodically upload a backup to an FTP server. See To back up the configuration via the web UI to an FTP/SFTP server. |
Your deployment’s configuration is comprised of a few separate components. To make a complete configuration backup, you must include the:
- Core configuration file
- Certificates, private keys, and custom error pages
- Vulnerability scan settings
- Web protection profiles
- Web server configuration files (see the documentation for your web servers’ operating systems or your preferred third-party backup software)
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Configuration backups do not include data such as logs and reports. |
There are multiple methods that you can use to create a FortiWeb configuration backup. Use whichever one suits your needs:
- To back up the configuration via the web UI
- To back up the configuration via the web UI to an FTP/SFTP server
- Backups
To back up the configuration via the web UI
- Log in to the web UI as the
adminadministrator. - Go to System > Maintenance > Backup & Restore.
To access this part of the web UI, your administrator's account access profile must have Read and Write permission to items in the Maintenance category. For details, see Permissions. - Select the Local Backup tab.
The top of the page displays the date and time of the last backup. (No date and time is displayed if the configuration was never backed up, or you restored the firmware.) - Under Backup/Restore, select Backup.
- Select either:
- If you would like to password-encrypt the backup files to
.zipextension files before downloading them, enable Encryption and type a password in Password. - Click Backup.
Other administrator accounts do not have the required permissions.
Backup entire configuration—Creates a full backup of the configuration that includes both the configuration file (a CLI script) and other uploaded files, such as private keys, certificates, and error pages. You can choose whether or not to Include Machine Learning Data.
Backup CLI configuration—Backs up the core configuration file only (a CLI script) and excludes any other uploaded files and vulnerability scan settings.
Backup Web Protection Profile related configuration—Backs up the web protection profiles only.
If your browser prompts you, navigate to the folder where you want to save the configuration file.
Click Save.
Your browser downloads the configuration file. The download time varies by the size of the configuration and the specifications of the appliance’s hardware as well as the speed of your network connection. It can take several minutes.
To back up the configuration via the web UI to an FTP/SFTP server
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Fortinet strongly recommends that you password-encrypt this backup, and store it in a secure location. This method includes sensitive data such as your HTTPS certificates’ private keys. Unauthorized access to private keys compromises the security of all HTTPS requests using those certificates. |
- Go to System > Maintenance > Backup & Restore and select the FTP Backup tab.
To access this part of the web UI, your administrator's account access profile must have Read and Write permission to items in the Maintenance category. For details, see Permissions. - Click Create New.
- In Name, type a name that can be referenced by other parts of the configuration. Do not use spaces or special characters. The maximum length is 63 characters.
- Configure these settings:
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Full Config—A full configuration backup that includes both the configuration file and other uploaded files, such as private keys, certificates, and error pages. Please note the machine learning data is not included in the Full Config backup. To execute FTP backup including the machine learning data, use CLI command
execute backup full-config-with-ML-data. See section "execute backup full-config-with-ML-data“ in FortiWeb CLI Reference.
Note: You cannot restore a full configuration backup made via FTP/SFTP by using the web UI. Instead, use the execute restore command in the CLI. - CLI Config—Only includes the core configuration file.
- WAF Config—Only includes the web protection profiles.
- Now—Initiate the backup immediately.
- Daily—Schedule a recurring backup for a specific day and time of the week.
- Click OK.
| FTP Protocol | Select whether to connect to the server using FTP or SFTP. |
| FTP Server | Type either the IP address or fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the server. The maximum length is 127 characters. |
| FTP Directory | Type the directory path on the server where you want to store the backup file. The maximum length is 127 characters. |
| FTP Authentication | Enable if the server requires that you provide a user name and password for authentication, rather than allowing anonymous connections. |
| FTP User |
Type the user name that the FortiWeb appliance will use to authenticate with the server. The maximum length is 127 characters. This field appears only if you enable FTP Authentication. |
| FTP Password |
Type the password corresponding to the user account on the server. The maximum length is 127 characters. This field appears only if you enable FTP Authentication. |
| Backup Type |
Select either: |
| Encryption |
Enable to encrypt the backup file with a password. |
| Encryption Password |
Type the password that will be used to encrypt the backup file. This field appears only if you enable Encryption. |
| Schedule Type |
Select either: |
| Days |
Select the specific days when you want the backup to occur. This field is visible only if you set Schedule Type to Daily. |
| Time |
Select the specific hour and minute of the day when you want the backup to occur. This field is visible only if you set Schedule Type to Daily. |
If you selected an immediate backup, the appliance connects to the server and uploads the backup.