Lessons · Network switches · backing up to a server
A copy of the configuration that is not on the switch
`copy running-config tftp://<server>/<name>` sends the live configuration to a server as a text file. Source first, destination second, always.
Hone is a place to practise programming. This is one of its lessons, written out in full and free to read without an account.
What it is for
write memory writes to the same box that just died. A configuration on a server is what turns replacing a switch into ten minutes of pasting.
How to think about it
Save on the box, copy off the box, name the file after the switch and the date. Then read it back once, so you find out today that the backup works rather than on the day you need it.
Worked example
enableThe # prompt.
configure terminalSomething worth keeping.
hostname WARD3Named.
endOut.
write memoryOn the box, which protects against a reboot and nothing else.
copy running-config tftp://10.31.6.2/ward3.cfgOff the box. This is the backup; everything before it was housekeeping.
show running-configThe same text that was just sent. A configuration is plain text, which is why a rebuild is a paste rather than a project.
Your turn
Send the live configuration to the server as ward3.cfg.
running-config tftp://10.31.6.2/ward3.cfg
Console into a switch
The trap
Getting the two arguments the wrong way round. `copy tftp://... running-config` pulls the file ONTO the switch and merges it into what is running, which on a live box is a very different afternoon.