Network Configuration Backup Automation - rConfig V8

Configuration Backup: Protecting Your Infrastructure

Configuration backups are the foundation of rConfig’s value proposition. Whether you’re archiving device states for compliance or building a disaster recovery baseline, understanding how to execute and automate backups ensures your network infrastructure is protected and auditable.

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rConfig provides multiple methods to initiate configuration backups—from manual device-level backups for immediate needs to fully automated task-based scheduling for hands-free operations. Every backup follows the same robust connectivity and authentication process, ensuring consistent results regardless of how the backup is triggered.

Why Configuration Backups Matter

Change Management

Track every configuration change with before/after configuration comparison. When something breaks after a change window, you know exactly what changed and can roll back if needed.

Disaster Recovery

Device dies at 3 AM? Restore the exact configuration from last night’s backup. Hardware replacement becomes a config restore operation, not a rebuild-from-memory emergency.

Compliance & Audit

Regulators want proof of configuration standards? Generate configuration compliance reports showing config compliance over time. Demonstrate who changed what and when with complete audit trails.

Security Forensics

Suspicious network behavior? Compare current configs against known-good baselines to identify unauthorized changes, rogue access rules, or compromised credentials.

Documentation

Your configs are your documentation. When onboarding new team members or troubleshooting legacy setups, backed-up configurations provide the ground truth.

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Backup Types

Configuration Backups

What: Captures device running configurations—the active settings that define how the device operates.

Commands: show running-config, display current-configuration, show configuration

Use cases:

• Rollback and recovery
• Compliance validation
• Configuration standardization

Frequency: Daily or after every change window

State Backups

What: Captures operational state information alongside configurations—version details, interface status, routing tables, ARP entries, hardware inventory.

Commands: show version, show ip interface brief, show ip route, show inventory

Use cases:

• Troubleshooting and forensics
• Pre/post-change validation
• Capacity planning data
• Hardware inventory tracking

Frequency: Daily or on-demand during troubleshooting

Combined Approach (Recommended)

Most production deployments back up both configuration and state data. Create command groups that include:

• Primary config command (show running-config)
• Version/hardware details (show version)
• Interface status (show ip interface brief)
• Routing information (if applicable)

This gives you complete snapshots useful for both recovery and analysis.

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Backup Features

Back up Storage

All backed-up configurations are stored in a hierarchical directory structure organized by category, device name, and date.

Storage path example:

/storage/app/rconfig/data/
  └── [Category Name]/
      └── [Device Name]/
          └── [YYYY]/
              └── [MMM]/
                  └── [DD]/
                      └── [command-name]_[timestamp].txt

Example:

/storage/app/rconfig/data/
  └── Core-Routers/
      └── router-hq-01/
          └── 2026/
              └── Oct/
                  └── 02/
                      └── show-running-config_143522.txt

Every backup has a record in the database that references the file along with other data.

Backup Encryption

For enhanced security, rConfig supports configuration file encryption at rest. Enable encryption in the settings to ensure that sensitive configuration data is stored securely on disk. See the Encryption documentation for setup instructions.

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How to Run Backups

1. Manual Device Backup (UI)

Best for: Immediate backup of a single device for troubleshooting or verification.

Steps:

1. Navigate to Devices → [Device Name]
2. Click Download Now button
3. Wait for job to complete
4. View backed-up config in device history

When to use:

• Testing connectivity to new devices
• Capturing config immediately after a manual change
• Troubleshooting backup issues
• Verifying command templates work correctly

2. Manual Device Backup (CLI)

Best for: Scripting, automation, remote operations, or debugging connection issues.

Note

CLI commands DO NOT run in the Queue system. They run immediately in the foreground and will block the terminal until complete. They bypass the Queue system, so you will not see them in the Horizon Queue Manager. BUT this is useful for debugging connection issues.

Download Single Device

php artisan rconfig:download-device {device_id}

Example:

# Backup device ID 1001
php artisan rconfig:download-device 1001

# Backup with debug output (shows detailed connection info)
php artisan rconfig:download-device 1001 -d

# Search by integration host ID (for synced devices)
php artisan rconfig:download-device 1001 -i

Download Multiple Devices

php artisan rconfig:download-device 1001 1002 1003

Download by Category

# Backup all devices in category ID 5
php artisan rconfig:download-category 5

# Multiple categories
php artisan rconfig:download-category 5 6 7

Download by Tag

# Backup all devices with tag ID 10
php artisan rconfig:download-tag 10

See full CLI command reference →

3. Scheduled Task-Based Backups

Best for: Production operations, automated daily/weekly backups, hands-free configuration management.

Scheduled tasks are the primary backup method for production environments. Tasks define:

• When backups run (schedule with time/frequency)
• What gets backed up (device selection via categories, tags, or specific devices)
• Which commands execute (command groups assigned to devices)

Task Types for Configuration Backups

rConfig supports multiple task types for different backup scenarios:

Task Type	Description	Configuration
Config Downloads - Devices	Backup specific selected devices	Select individual devices
Config Downloads - Categories	Backup all devices in selected categories	Select one or more categories
Config Downloads - Tags	Backup all devices with selected tags	Select one or more tags

Note: Additional task types are available for policy compliance, snippet deployment, system maintenance, and integrations. See Scheduled Tasks documentation for complete list.

Creating a Scheduled Backup Task

1. Navigate to Tasks → Create Task
2. Configure task parameters:

Task Type Selection:

• Choose “Config Downloads - Devices”, “Categories”, or “Tags” based on your needs

Basic Settings:

• Task Name: “Daily Core Network Backup”
• Description: “Backs up all core routers and switches daily”
• Enabled: ✓ (active)
• Run on Save: ☐ (optional - runs immediately upon saving)

Schedule Configuration:

• Frequency: Select from dropdown (Every Minute, Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Monthly)
• Time: 02:00 (2 AM) - specific time for Daily/Weekly/Monthly tasks
• Time Zone: Your local timezone
• Day of Week: (For weekly tasks) Select specific day(s)
• Day of Month: (For monthly tasks) Select specific date

Device Selection (varies by task type):

• For Devices: Select specific devices from list
• For Categories: Select one or more categories (e.g., “Core Routers”, “Distribution Switches”)
• For Tags: Select one or more tags (e.g., “Production”, “Critical Infrastructure”)

3. Click Save Task

Result: Task appears in Tasks main view and runs automatically at scheduled intervals.

Tasks main view with scheduled backup tasks

Managing Tasks

Run Task Manually:

• Navigate to Tasks main view
• Click Run Now button next to any task
• Monitor progress in Horizon Queue Manager

Pause/Resume Task:

• Click Pause icon to temporarily disable without deleting
• Paused tasks won’t execute on schedule
• Click Resume to re-enable

Edit Task:

• Click task name or edit icon
• Modify schedule, devices, or settings
• Save changes

Delete Task:

• Click delete icon
• Confirm deletion
• Task schedule and configuration are permanently removed

Important: Deleting tags does not impact devices, but will affect scheduled tasks configured for those tags.

Task Best Practices

Stagger backup windows: Don’t back up 1000 devices at 2:00 AM exactly. Use:

• Different times for different categories
• Multiple tasks with offset schedules
• Progressive scheduling (core at 2 AM, access at 3 AM, branch at 4 AM)

Monitor task execution:

• Check Horizon Queue Manager for real-time job status
• Review Activity Logs for backup failures
• Set up notifications for failed backups
• Regularly review paused or disabled tasks

Test before production:

• Create a test task with 5-10 devices
• Verify all devices back up successfully
• Check configurations are captured correctly
• Then scale to full device inventory

Use appropriate task types:

• By Category: Best for organizational structure (Core, Distribution, Access)
• By Tag: Best for logical grouping (Production, DR, Critical)
• By Device: Best for small, specific device sets or exceptions

Learn more about scheduled tasks →

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Backup Execution Details

What Happens During a Backup

Regardless of how the backup is triggered, the execution flow is consistent:

1. Job queued in Horizon queue system
2. Device connection established per connectivity process
3. Commands executed from assigned command group
4. Output captured with pagination handling
5. CIC definitions run (if configured) to extract properties
6. Configuration processed (cleaned, validated)
7. File stored in hierarchical directory structure
8. Database record created with metadata
9. Default status evaluated and recorded
10. Notifications sent (if configured for failures or specific events)
11. Activity logged with full details

Storage Location

Configurations are stored following this structure:

/storage/app/rconfig/data/
  └── [Category Name]/
      └── [Device Name]/
          └── [YYYY]/
              └── [MMM]/
                  └── [DD]/
                      └── [command-name]_[timestamp].txt

Example:

/storage/app/rconfig/data/
  └── Core-Routers/
      └── router-hq-01/
          └── 2026/
              └── Oct/
                  └── 02/
                      └── show-running-config_143522.txt

Monitoring Backup Operations

Horizon Queue Manager

View real-time backup job status:

1. Navigate to External Tools → System Queue Manager
2. Monitor:
   • Pending jobs: Queued and waiting
   • Processing jobs: Currently executing
   • Completed jobs: Successful backups
   • Failed jobs: Errors requiring attention

Activity Logs

Detailed backup history and troubleshooting:

1. Navigate to System Settings → Monitoring & Debugging → Application Logs

2. Filter by:

   • Device name
   • Date range
   • Success/failure status
   • Specific commands

3. View detailed logs showing:

   • Connection attempts
   • Authentication results
   • Command execution
   • Errors and warnings
   • Execution time

Notifications

Configure alerts for backup events:

Email notifications:

• Failed backups
• First-time device backups
• Configuration changes detected
• Daily/weekly summary digests

Webhook notifications:

• POST to external systems (Slack, Teams, PagerDuty)
• Custom integrations with ticketing systems
• Real-time change notifications

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Best Practices

Production Deployment

Start small, scale gradually:

1. Test with 10 devices across different vendors
2. Validate command templates work correctly
3. Verify storage
4. Add more devices in batches

Schedule strategically:

• Avoid peak traffic hours
• Stagger backups across categories
• Consider maintenance windows
• Account for time zones in global deployments

Monitor and adjust:

• Review failed backups weekly
• Optimize command timeouts based on device response times
• Adjust concurrent connection limits for network capacity
• Archive old configurations per retention policy

Security Considerations

Credential management:

• Use credential sets for shared access
• Rotate passwords regularly
• Implement key-based SSH authentication
• Never log credentials in plaintext

Access control:

• Restrict backup initiation to authorized users
• Use RBAC to control device access
• Audit who triggers manual backups
• Monitor API token usage

Encryption:

• Enable configuration file encryption at rest
• Use TLS for API communications
• Secure credential storage with encryption keys
• Implement filesystem-level encryption

Performance Optimization

Concurrent connections:

• Default: 10 simultaneous connections
• Adjust based on network capacity
• Consider device CPU/memory limitations
• Monitor queue depth

Command optimization:

• Only backup commands you need
• Avoid expensive commands (full routing tables) unless necessary
• Use | no-more or equivalent to disable pagination
• Test command response times before production

Storage management:

• Implement retention policies (keep 90 days, 1 year, etc.)
• Use compression for archived configs
• Monitor disk space usage