An app group snapshot is automatically created whenever the app group is modified. All snapshots generated for app groups are displayed under Configuration Snapshots on the APP GROUPS page. Each time you make a configuration change, it is reflected in the snapshots table. Multiple changes within 5 minutes are combined into a single entry. Additionally, you can manually create a snapshot at any time and export configuration snapshots as JSON files.
You can use snapshots for the following reasons:
Keeping a copy of your configuration for compliance or policy reasons.
Performing a rollback to a previous configuration if there is a problem with recent changes
Using the configuration for another app group
Snapshots are a permanent record of your configuration, like log entries.
Snapshots are stored in GitHub and does not require an admin to configure access for users to use Snapshots. This feature is available for admins who want to access the snapshots via GitHub. For more information, refer to Managing GitHub Access to Snapshots.
Automated Snapshots
Snapshots are automatically created whenever the app group configuration is changed, so that you have a record of your configuration history and can roll back to a previous version of the configuration if needed.
To avoid creating an overabundance of snapshots, the system activates the automatic snapshot when you begin making changes and will collect additional configuration changes for about five minutes. At that point, the system creates a new snapshot. If you are still making configuration changes, the system creates another snapshot. It is sometimes possible that an automatic snapshot has "No changes", particularly if you previously took a manual snapshot or imported a configuration.
Creating a Snapshot
In addition to the automatically created snapshots, you can create additional snapshots on demand – for example, before changing the configuration you can roll back to the last known working configuration.
To create a snapshot, click Create Snapshot Now.
Comparing Snapshots
To see the difference between any two snapshots, do the following:
In the Configuration Snapshots table, select the two snapshots you want to compare.
Click Compare Selected.
You will be redirected to a new page that highlights the differences between the selected snapshots.
Viewing the Difference in a Snapshot
To view the difference in a specific snapshot, do the following:
In the Configuration Snapshots table:
Identify the snapshot for which you want to see the changes.
Click the three dots under ACTIONS next to the snapshot and select Diffs.
You will be redirected to a new page that displays the changes in the selected snapshot.
Exporting a Snapshot
You can export a snapshot of your configuration to keep a record of it for compliance reasons or to use it in configuring a new app group.
To export a configuration, click Export Current Configuration. A JSON file of your current configuration for this app group immediately downloads to your default download location.
Importing a Snapshot
Use the Import Configuration option under Import/Export to import a configuration snapshot into an app group.
Import a configuration snapshot into an app group if, for example, you are moving from staging to production or using known configuration settings to create a new app group.
To import a configuration snapshot:
On the Barracuda WAF-as-a-Service web interface, go to the APP GROUPS tab and click on the app group to which you want to import the configuration.
In the left panel, click Snapshots.
In the Import/Export section, click Import Configuration.
Select the JSON configuration file that you want to import.
Select the type of import. If the file you are importing does not have configuration information for a component already configured in Barracuda WAF-as-a-Service:
Merge – Changes only the new configuration information you are importing, maintaining current values in the existing configuration. In REST API, this operation is known as Patch.
Delete – Removes any existing custom configuration for this app group, resetting all to default values, and then replacing any values with the new configuration you are importing. In REST API, this operation is known as Put.
Click Import.
Rolling Back to a Previous Configuration
– Rolling back to a previous version removes configuration updates made after that snapshot was created.
-- If you have made changes within the last five minutes, manually create a snapshot to capture those changes before you perform a rollback.
-- An automatic snapshot will be taken before any rollback to ensure you can roll back to the app group configuration prior to the rollback operation.
– Rolling back to a previous version removes configuration updates made after that snapshot was created.
-- If you have made changes within the last five minutes, manually create a snapshot to capture those changes before you perform a rollback.
-- An automatic snapshot will be taken before any rollback to ensure you can roll back to the app group configuration prior to the rollback operation.
Before you roll back to a specific configuration, view the snapshot to confirm that it is the correct version. In the Actions column, select View.
When you are certain which configuration to roll back to, in the Actions column for that snapshot, select Rollback. Then confirm that you want to perform the rollback.
To undo a rollback, locate the most recent, pre-rollback snapshot. Perform a second rollback to that snapshot.