Restrictions and Requirements for Backups

AsyncOS version

The AsyncOS version of the source and target Security Management appliances must be the same. If there is a version incompatibility, upgrade appliances to the same release before scheduling a backup.

Target appliance on the network

The target appliance must be set up on the network.

If the target appliance is new, run the System Setup Wizard to enter the necessary information. For instructions, see Setup, Installation, and Basic Configuration

Communication between source and target appliances

The source and target Security Management appliances must be able to communicate using SSH. Therefore:

• Port 22 must be open on both appliances. By default, this port is opened when you run the System Setup Wizard.

• The Domain Name Server (DNS) must be able to resolve the host names of both appliances using both A records and PTR records.

Target appliance must not be in service

Only the primary appliance should pull data from managed email and web security appliances. To ensure this, see Prevent the Target Appliance From Pulling Data Directly from Managed Appliances.

Also, cancel any scheduled configuration publishing jobs on the backup appliance.

Appliance capacity

The disk space capacity of the target appliance must be the same as or greater than the capacity of the source appliance. Disk space allocated to each type of data (reporting, tracking, quarantine, etc.) on the target appliance cannot be less than the corresponding allocation on the source appliance.

You can schedule a backup from a larger source to a smaller target Security Management appliance as long as there is enough space on the target appliance for all of the data being backed up, for each type of data. If the source appliance is larger than the target appliance, you must reduce the space allocated on the source appliance to match the space available on the smaller target appliance.

To view and manage disk space allocations and capacity, see Managing Disk Space.

For disk capacity of virtual appliances, see the Cisco Content Security Virtual Appliance Installation Guide .

Multiple, concurrent, and chained backups

Only one backup process can run at a time; a backup that is scheduled to run before a previous backup has been completed will be skipped and a warning sent.

Data from a Security Management appliance can be backed up to a single Security Management appliance.

Chained backup (a backup to a backup) is not supported.