Chapter 2.8 – Configuration backup management
Router identity (system identity)
Although it is not a tool, it is important to establish the identity of the system
- You cannot have a network with 100 routers and all of them have the same name “Mikrotik”. This makes troubleshooting almost impossible.
- Once established, the router with which you are working will be identified and will make the identification much simpler.
- Syntax:
/system identity print
Name: Mikrotik
/system identity set name=my-router
/system identity print
Name: my-router
Setting a password
By default when starting on a MikroTik computer we start with these credentials:
- User: admin
- Key: “blank”
With the option (system/password) you can define an administration password for the user “admin”
The backup Configuration (backups) can be used to backup the configuration of a MikroTik RouterOS to a binary file, which can be stored on the router or downloaded via FTP for future use.
The option restore (restore) can be used to recover the router configuration, as it was at the time the backup was created, from a backup file.
The option export can be used to dump full or partial Mikrotik RouterOS configuration to the console screen or to a text file, which can be downloaded from the router using the FTP protocol.
Types of Backups
- Binary Backup
- export command
Binary Backup
- Perform a full system backup
- Includes passwords and users
- The backup files will be saved by default on the same router.
It is recommended that the backup file be saved on a PC or on an external drive since it would be illogical for it to be saved on the same device. “N” backup files can be generated, and it is saved by default, with host name, year, date, time.
export command
- You can view the complete or partial configuration
- The command is used compact to show non-default settings
- Sentence print allows you to view partial or total configuration. If only the command is entered on the main page export, then all router configuration is backed up
/export file = file_name
- The export command does NOT support router users.
/ip firewall filter export
# jan/01/2014 01:58:17 by RouterOS 5.24
# software id = PEVF-794H
#
/ip firewall filter
Add action=Accept chain=input comment=”default configuration” disabled=no \
Protocol=icmp
Add action=Accept chain=input comment=”default configuration” disabled=no \
Connection-state=established
Add action=Accept chain=input comment=”default configuration” disabled=no \
Connection-state=related
Add action=drop chain=input comment=”default configuration” disabled=no \
Protocol=ethernet-gateway
Cloud Backup
Starting with RouterOS v6.44 it is possible to ensure the storage of our device's backup files on MikroTik's cloud servers. The backup service allows you to upload encrypted backup files, download them and apply the backup file to our router as long as it can reach the MikroTik cloud server. Important data must be taken into account to work with this new option for the backup service:
- 1 free backup slot for each device
- Allowed backup size: 50 MB
- Send encrypted packets to cloud2.mikrotik.com using ports UDP/15252 and TCP/15252
To create a new backup and upload it to the MikroTik cloud server we use the following command:
/system backup cloud upload-file name=test action=create-and-upload password=test1234
To download the previously uploaded backup file and save it on the router, we use the following command:
/system backup cloud download-file action=download number=0
It can also be used
/system backup cloud download-file action=download\
secret-download key=AbCdEfGhIjKlM1234567890
Save Backup Files
- Once the backup files have been generated, it is recommended to copy them to a server
- Via SFTP as recommended
- FTP (Enabled in the IP Services menu
- Drag and Drop using the Files window
- Leaving backup files on the router is not good practice or at least not recommended. Routers do not make backups to tapes or CDs.
- Share this Article
