Procedure 13: Backing up your configuration

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You can back up an ISA Server configuration, or any part of the configuration, using the ISA Server export functionality. You can export a rule element, a single rule, a policy, an array configuration, or an enterprise configuration. The configuration information is exported as an XML document, which you can later import to copy a configuration element to another array, or to restore a previous configuration.

You might want to export a rule to use it on another array. In that case, you can import that rule from its XML document into the firewall policy of the other array.

In this exercise, you will export the configuration of the entire enterprise or of a specific array, so that the resultant XML file will serve as a backup. A configuration backup is important in the case of a catastrophic system failure, or to allow you to revert to a previous configuration if changes you make result in unexpected behavior.

If you want to back up an enterprise or an array, perform this operation on the Configuration Storage server or an ISA Server Management computer that is connected to the Configuration Storage server. If you want to back up an array, you can also do so from an array member or from an ISA Server Management computer connected to an array member.

To back up your configuration

  1. In the ISA Server console, right-click the item you want to export and select Export:

    • You can export the entire enterprise configuration, by right-clicking the top node in the console, Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2004 and selecting Export (Back Up). This will export all of the configuration details of the enterprise and the arrays in the enterprise, including the firewall policies and rule elements of all of the arrays.
    • You can export the enterprise configuration exclusive of the array configurations, by right-clicking the Enterprise node and selecting Export.
    • You can export the configuration of any array by right-clicking the array and selecting Export (Back Up).

  2. On the Welcome page, click Next.

  3. On the Export Preferences page, you can select the following options:

    • You can choose to export confidential information. If you do, it will be encrypted during export. If you want to export confidential information, select Export confidential information and provide a password.
    • You can choose to export user permission settings, by selecting Export user permission settings. User permission settings contain the security roles of ISA Server users, for example, indicating who has administrative rights.

  4. Click Next.

  5. On the Export File Location page, provide the location and name of the file to which you want to save the configuration. Choose a meaningful name, and consider including the date in the name of the file, such as Cleveland Array ISA Backup 15 October 2004. Click Next.

  6. On the Completing the Export Wizard page, click Finish.

  7. When the export has completed, click OK.

[Topic Last Modified: 02/23/2008]