How to backup and restore Cisco Routers switches using a FTP Server

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I just wrote about backup and restore of Cisco Router and Switches using a TFTP Server & HyperTerminal Emulator program. Let's now backup Cisco Switches and Routers using a FTP Server.

To backup a Cisco Router or Switch to a FTP server, the FTP server should be reacheable from the router or switch.

Logon to the Router/switch and enter the Privilege Exec mode using the enable password.

Enter Global Configuration mode

ciscorouter# conf term

Configure FTP User

ciscorouter(config)# ip ftp username confback
ciscorouter(config)# ip ftp password ciscopass

Copy Running-Config to FTP Server

ciscorouter# copy running-config ftp:
Address or name of remote host []? 192.168.1.100
Destination filename [ciscorouter-confg]? confback20080130
Writing confback20080130 !
1234 bytes copied in 5.341 secs (311 bytes/sec)

That copies the running-config onto a file on the FTP Server.

Restore Config from FTP Server

Before restoring from the FTP Server, remove lines that start with "AAA" to remove security commands that may lock you out.

Now, logon to the router and enter the Privilege Exec mode.

ciscorouter# copy ftp: running-config
Address or name of remote host [192.168.1.100]?
Source filename [confback20080130]?
Destination filename [running-config]?
Accessing ftp://192.168.1.100/backup_cfg_for_router…
Loading confback20080130 !
[OK – 1030/4096 bytes]
1030 bytes copied in 13.213 secs (78 bytes/sec)

This restores the backed up config to the running-config. Verify using a "sh run". If all is OK, save the running-config to the startup-config.

ciscorouter# sh run
ciscorouter# wr mem
Building Configuration
[OK]

Comments

8 responses to “How to backup and restore Cisco Routers switches using a FTP Server”

September 11, 2008
John Rattray
Ever tried the syntax where you supply the username:password@ftp-host/directory/filename , i.e. you don’t configure the username and password separately ? I have and so far haven’t got it to work…
March 17, 2009
Chris
try
copy ftp://anonymous:me@ftpserver/dir/somefile.tcl flash:sfile
August 1, 2010
Daveson
Hi,
What if the other server (ftp server ) has a user name and password, how can I includ them in the commands
Best
September 5, 2010
Suresh
Hey guys can someone tell me how to take a backup of multiple switches at the same time.
July 20, 2011
Basti
@Daveson
First of all you have to write the “userame” and “password” down in the cisco switch which you have taken for the ftp-server before.
two steps:
c-switch>enable
c-switch#conf t
c-switch(config)#ip ftp username deutschland
c-switch(config)#ip ftp password berlin
September 10, 2011
Alemayahu
ALL SIR GOOD UNDERSTANDING ABOUT YOUR FTP SERVER TO BACKUP&
RESTORE CONFLAGRATION ALSO PLEAS AIDING OTHER INFORMATION ABUT FTP.
THANK YOU.
September 13, 2011
mpp4manu
The Cisco IOS FTP client is very crude. In fact, we’ve discovered that Cisco IOS versions 12.2 and 12.3 do not work with vsftpd on Solaris 8 servers, but do work with the legacy Solaris FTP server, which has its own set of issues.
There is some sort of protocol problem when using vsftpd. I’m not sure what and I haven’t been able to test on other operating systems, but the version I compiled on Solaris 8 is the most recent version.
A search of the web reveals that this is a known issue that Cisco finally addressed in 12.4
November 24, 2011
Carsten
mppmanu, is the IOS VSFTPD incompability issue confirmed by Cisco ?
Br,
/C