Making a backup of a catalyst 3550

julienf28 · ‎10-01-2007

I'm new to this switch. The company has multiple 3550's for their VoIP and Video Conferencing. My question is this. How do I do a dump of the config. I would like to have all configs of all switches just in case that 1 breaks down and I have to replace it. Thx

Kevin Dorrell · ‎10-01-2007

If you have a TFTP server on your network, then it is easy. Do a copy running-config tftp, and it will prompt you for the name of address of the server, and the file name.

To get the configuration back, do the minimum configuration by hand, then do copy tftp start, then reload the switch.

If using UNIX, make sure that the permissions are correct on the directory, otherwise it will not be able to create the file.

There are other options for the copy. Just try copy ?

Kevin Dorrell

Luxembourg

julienf28 · ‎10-02-2007

Thanks, This is easier than I thought with the tftp.

jacobss914 · ‎10-02-2007

You can also copy a file that is in flash if you need a complete backup. Not sure why but hey IOS might be important to you also.

copy flash:"filename" or "Directory/filename" tftp

This is lot faster than uploading an IOS via a serial cable, even at 115200 baud.

And since you are new to this switch, nothing ruins your day faster than configing a switch, and not doing a copy run start.

I do a lot of my configs off line, copy tftp start ( copies my tftp file to startup-confg. Then I schedule the reload for down time at night.

Just remember copy (from) (to) so:

Copy run start - running-config overwrites startup-config

Copy run tftp - running-config writen to tftp server

jcoke · ‎10-02-2007

IOS has recently taken on some really great features for config management. The root of these features is the "archive" global config command. Disclaimer: I've not done any testing with this command on the Cat platform and Cisco lists it as unsupported but they're in the code. Caveat emptor, YMMV etc etc.

Contextual Configuration Diff Utility

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6350/products_configuration_guide_chapter09186a0080454f71.html

Configuraton Change Notification and Logging

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6350/products_configuration_guide_chapter09186a0080454f73.html

Configuration Archive, Replace and Configuration Rollback

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6350/products_configuration_guide_chapter09186a0080454f8c.html

Of course, there are some 3rd party products out there as well and I've used several (including free). I won't link them here but feel free to e-mail me if you have questions.