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Barracuda Web Application Firewall

Backing Up and Restoring Your System Configuration

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You can back up various system configurations and user settings on your Barracuda Web Application Firewall using the ADVANCED > Backup section. These files allow you to restore your current system, or duplicate the configuration, on another Barracuda Web Application Firewall using the Restore Backups section on the ADVANCED > Backups page.

Barracuda Networks recommends taking a backup of your system on a regular basis, in case this information needs to be restored on a replacement Barracuda Web Application Firewall, or in the event of data corruption on your current system.

If you are restoring a backup file on a new Barracuda Web Application Firewall that is not yet configured, you must first configure the new system IP address and DNS information on the BASIC > IP Configuration page.

Note the following about the backup file:

  • Do not edit backup files. Any configuration changes you want to make must be done through the web interface. The configuration backup file contains a checksum that prevents the file from being uploaded to the system if any changes are made.
  • The following information is not included in the backup file:

    Module NameInformation/configuration not restored
    DNS ConfigurationPrimary DNS Server Secondary DNS Server
    WAN IP Configuration

    IPv4/IPv6 Address
    IPv4/IPv6 Subnet Mask
    IPv4/IPv6 Gateway Address
    Allow Administration Access
    VLAN ID

    LAN IP Configuration

    IPv4/IPv6 Address
    IPv4/IPv6 Subnet Mask
    Allow Administration Access
    VLAN ID

    Management IP Configuration

    IPv4/IPv6 Address
    IPv4/IPv6 Subnet Mask
    IPv4/IPv6 Gateway Address
    VLAN ID
    Allow Administration Access

    Azure Configuration 
    Cluster Settings

    Cluster Shared Secret
    Cluster Name
    Failback Mode
    Cluster ID
    Monitor Link

    Clustered SystemsClustered Systems
    Templates 
    Scheduled BackupsTime of Backup
    Primary Network HSM ServerNetwork HSM Partition Password
    Appearance > GeneralSystem Name
    Centralized ManagementUsername

    Attack Types
    Identity Theft Patterns
    Input Types

    Added Attack Patterns
    LoggingDefault System Log Level
    Import API Spec (JSON Security)Imported API specifications file
    Telemetry Data

    Parameter Name
    Enabled Parameters

    Network Interfaces

    NIC Interface Duplexity
    NIC Interface Name

    Edit NIC Advanced ConfigurationAuto-Negotiation Status
    Web Interface SettingsWeb Interface HTTP Port
    Manual BackupsStatus
    Web InterfaceImage URL
    TimeTime Zone
    PasswordSystem Password

Backing Up the System Configuration

To backup your system configuration, perform the following steps:

  1. Go to the ADVANCED > Backups page.
  2. Enter the server details to which you want to save the backup files in the Backup Destination Settings section. For more information on Destination options, refer to the online help.
  3. Set Encrypt Backup to Yes to encrypt the backup files with the encryption key specified in the Backup Encryption Key field. Note that the backup file can be decrypted using the same encryption key.
  4. You can take a manual backup or schedule a backup to automatically save the backup files to the Destination location configured in the Backup Destination Settings section. For more information on Manual Backups and Scheduled Backups, refer to the online help.
  • Always ensure to keep the following ports open to allow the Barracuda Web Application Firewall to connect and communicate to fttcp.prod.bac.barracudanetworks.com for saving cloud backups:   80, 8000, 23557 and 48320 . Otherwise, cloud backups might fail.
  • A system configuration backup is generated automatically at the time of a firmware update. The generated backup file(s) reside locally on the Barracuda Web Application Firewall, and can be found under Saved Configuration Backups. You can either download and restore these backup configurations or delete them.

Backing Up the Barracuda Web Application Firewall Instance(s) System Configuration in Amazon Web Services

You can backup the configuration of the Barracuda Web Application Firewall on Amazon Web Services to an associated S3 bucket for future retrieval. To take a backup, go to the ADVANCED > Backups page and specify the Amazon S3 bucket name and the directory path of the S3 bucket.  The backup file stored in the Amazon S3 bucket can later be used for manual configuration or auto-scaling the instances. 

Steps To Backup System Configuration to Amazon S3 Bucket
  1. Go to the ADVANCED > Backups page.
  2. In the Backup Destination Settings section:
    1. Set Destination to Amazon S3 and specify values for the following:
      • Amazon S3 Bucket Name – The name of the Amazon S3 bucket where the backup will be stored.
      • Amazon Directory Path – The directory path where the backup will be stored in the Amazon S3 bucket.
  3. Click Save.

    Backup_Settings.png

To deploy the Barracuda Web Application Firewall instance using the backup stored in Amazon S3, see the Backup Bootstrapping section in the Bring-Your-Own-License (BYOL) Auto Scaling article.

Backing Up the Barracuda Web Application Firewall Instance(s) System Configuration in Microsoft Azure

You can backup the configuration of the Barracuda Web Application Firewall on Microsoft Azure to an associated Storage Blob for future retrieval. To take a backup, go to the ADVANCED > Backups page and specify the Microsoft Azure account details and the blob path.  The backup file stored in the Microsoft Azure Blob can later be used for manual configuration or auto scaling the instances.

Note that this feature is not compatible with Azure Blob in Microsoft Azure Government.

Steps to Backup System Configuration to Microsoft Azure Storage Blob
  1. Go to the ADVANCED > Backups page.
  2. In the Backup Destination Settings section:
  3. Set Destination to Azure Blob and specify values for the following:
    1. Azure Storage Account Name: The name of the storage account associated with your Microsoft Azure resource group.
    2. Azure Storage Access Key: The access key of your storage account.
    3. Azure Storage Container Name: The name of the container configured in the storage account in which the backup file will be saved.
    4. Azure Storage Blob Path: The path of the storage blob where the backup file will be saved. The storage blob path should start with alphanumeric or special characters such as underscore (_), dot (.), hypen (-), forward slash (/), or @, and can include alphanumeric/underscore/single space between two labels. Example: exampleblob1/@abc/.
      1. If you want to save the backup file in the root directory, keep the storage blob path empty.
      2. If you want to create a new storage folder, enter a valid path for the folder to which the backup file will be saved.
  4. Click Save.

    Azure_Blob.png

To deploy the Barracuda Web Application Firewall instance using the backup stored in Azure Blob, see the Auto Scaling the Barracuda Web Application Firewall Instances in Microsoft Azure article.

Restoring the Configuration to your System

To restore the configuration to your current or to another system, perform the following steps:

  1. Go to the ADVANCED > Backups page.
  2. In the Restore Backups section:
    1. Select the server where your backup file(s) is saved from the Restore From drop-down list.
    2. Click Browse and select the backup file you want to restore.
    3. Set Exclude Management Interface Configuration to Yes or No.
      1. If set to Yes, the Management interface configuration will not be restored from the backup.
      2. If set to No, all ACL rules, VLAN configuration and routes (static and interface routes) will be restored from the backup. Note: Custom virtual interfaces are not restored from the backup.
  3. Click Save.

Bulk allocation of IP addresses for services restored from a configuration backup does not work on instances with less than 2 cores. 

Some sensitive parameters such as  Azure AD User/Password and Service Principal Details configured on the BASIC > Azure Configuration page are excluded from the backup file. This is a security measure to prevent accidental leakage of the data. Consequently, it is ALWAYS recommended to configure these parameters in the Barracuda Web Application Firewall web Interface after restoring the backup file. If you fail to configure these parameters, certain operations such as service creation or service deletion will fail.

Restoring SSL Services that are Associated with Non-Exportable Private Key Certificates

If Allow Private Key Export is set to No when uploading a certificate on the BASIC > Certificates page, the private key associated with the certificate will not be included in the backup file. Consequently, all the SSL services will go down after restoring the backup file. To restore the services, do the following:

  1. Follow the steps in Restoring the Configuration to your System section above, and then continue with step 2.
  2. Go to the BASIC > Certificates page, and upload the certificate(s) associated with the SSL services in the Upload Certificate section.
  3. Go to the BASIC > Services page, edit the SSL service(s), and associate the certificate(s) with the service(s).

Restoring Multiple IP Addresses Configured System Backup in Microsoft Azure

To restore a multiple IP addresses backup, perform the steps mentioned in the Restoring the Configuration to your System section.

If a multiple IP address services backup from one system is restored onto a different system, the IP address of services remains same as it was in the system from where the backup was taken. The administrator should manually change the IP address of each service (except the service created with the system IP address), and allocate the new IP address from the configured subnet.  Before changing the IP addresses, ensure that your Resource Group is configured in Azure Advanced Networking on the BASIC > Azure Configuration page, as the Azure Advanced Networking settings will not be restored from the backup.