Backup

FortiPAM configuration contains not only the system settings but also all user information and secret data. It is crucial to have a backup to avoid data loss. Whenever a hardware failure or system relocation is needed, a new FortiPAM can be easily set up by restoring the previous backup configuration. In the case of accidentally deleting data, you can retrieve the original configuration from the backup and paste the data back.

FortiPAM has two ways to back up its configuration:

• Manually trigger from the user menu. See Backup and restore in Admin.

• Configure automatically and periodically backup to an FTP, SFTP, HTTP or HTTPS server in System > Backup as discussed here.

System Events, secret logs, and videos are not contained in backup configuration file.

Whenever restoring a backup configuration, keep in mind that the secret password or key may not be the most recent one.

To ensure that all credentials are correct in a configuration file, you can enable maintenance mode first so that no password changer is executed. And then manually trigger the configuration backup. See Activate maintenance mode in Admin.

Generally speaking, the configuration should be backed up consistently and regularly to minimize the amount of data loss between backup copies. The lesser the frequency of backup configurations, the more the risk for data loss when recovering from a backup.

To update automated backup settings:

1. Go to System > Backup.

   The Edit Automated Backup window opens.

   

2. Enter the following information:

   Status	Enable or disable automatic backup. Note: The option is enabled by default.
   Backup Type	Select from the following two options: Time based trigger: FortiPAM sends the backup configuration to the server every Interval minutes. Change based trigger: FortiPAM checks the configuration every Interval minutes and if the configuration has changed, FortiPAM sends it to the server (default).
   Interval	The time interval required in backup, in minutes (default = 60, 60 - 4294967295).
   Server Type	Select from the following server types: FTP server SFTP server HTTP server HTTPS server (default) To successfully configure an HTTP/HTTPS server to backup with user authentication, ensure that you have filled in the username and password fields. The backup process will not function correctly if you leave either field empty. Alternatively, you can leave both fields empty if you want to avoid user authentication.
   Encrypt File	Enable and enter cipher key to encrypt the backup file. The administrator must enter the same cipher key when restoring the configuration to FortiPAM. Note: The option is disabled by default.
   Server Address	The IP address of the server.
   Server Path	The path to store the backup file in the server.
   Identifier Name	The variable name that server uses to identify the file. Note: Only required for HTTP/HTTPS server type.
   Username	Username to log in to the server.
   Password	Password to log in to the server.
   Filename	Filename pattern of the backup configuration. Valid variables are: $SN $YYYY $MM $DD $hh $mm $ss $ID. Note: The $ID variable is mandatory in the filename pattern Enter $ to get the list of variables.
   Limit ID	Enable to limit the value of $ID in the file name. The option allows administrators to set a maximum number of backup files (default = 1, 1 - 4294967295) to be stored on a backup server using specific filename patterns. For example, if the backup filename follows the format PAM-$SN-$ID.conf, where $ID represents the backup ID, when $ID reaches the maximum limit, it is reset to 0. The new backup file overwrites the old backup file using the same name.
   Last backup version	The last backup version (noneditable).
   Last updated time	The date and time when automatic backup was last done (noneditable).

3. Click Apply.

Configuring automated backup settings on the CLI

config system backup

set status {enable | disable}

set cipher <passwd>

set type {time-based | change-based}

set server-type {ftp | sftp | http | https}

set server-address <string>

set server-path <path>

set server-copyname <string>

set server-user <string>

set server-pass <passwd>

set filename-pattern {$SN $YYYY $MM $DD $hh $mm $ss $ID}

set interval <integer>

set max-id <integer>

set backup-id <integer>

set last-version <integer>

set updated-time <integer>

end

Variables	Description
status {enable | disable}	Enable/disable automatic backup (default = enable).
cipher <passwd>	Enter the cipher key.
type {time-based | change-based}	Set the backup type: time-based: Time based trigger. change-based: Change based trigger (default).
server-type {ftp | sftp | http | https}	Set the server type: ftp sftp http https (default)
server-address <string>	Enter the address of file server.
server-path <path>	Enter the path of file server (default = /).
server-copyname <string>	Enter the copy name of the file (default = files).
server-user <string>	Enter the username of the server account.
server-pass <passwd>	Enter the password of the server account.
filename-pattern {$SN $YYYY $MM $DD $hh $mm $ss $ID}	Enter the file name pattern of the backup configuration (default = $ID.conf). Note: The $ID variable is mandatory in the filename pattern.
interval<integer>	Enter an interval for the backup, in minutes (60 - 4294967295, default = 60).
max-id <integer>	Enter the limit for backup-id (default = 0). Note: Use 0 to set no limit.
backup-id <integer>	The current backup id number. Note: The variable cannot be modified.
last-version <integer>	The last backup version. Note: The variable cannot be modified.
updated-time <integer>	The time when the last update was done. Note: The variable cannot be modified.

Example CLI configuration Example

Backup to SFTP/FTP server

config system backup

set status enable

set server-type sftp

set server-address "10.59.112.254"

set server-path "backup/"

set server-user "sftp_user"

set server-pass <sftp_user_password>

set filename-pattern "$SN-$YYYY-$MM-$DD-$hh-$mm-$ss-$ID.conf"

end

Backup to HTTPS/HTTP server

config system backup

set status enable

set server-type https

set server-address "10.59.112.254"

set server-path "/http_user/upload.php"

set file-field-name "file"

set server-user "http_user"

set server-pass QA@fortinet

set filename-pattern "$SN-$ID.conf"

end

If user authentication is not required for HTTP and HTTPS servers, server-user and server-pass variables are not required.

Following is an example of php file to accept the submitted backup file.

fwd-svr@fwdsvr-virtual-machine:/var/www/html/http_user$ cat upload.php

<?php

$name = $_FILES['file']['name'];

$temp = $_FILES['file']['tmp_name'];

if(move_uploaded_file($temp,"backup/".$name)){

echo "Your file was uploaded";

}

else

{

echo "Your file couldn't upload";

}

?>