UCSM stores all the object information and their states in a local database; in a HA-configuration, the database is always replicated to the peer Fabric Interconnect, and each Fabric Interconnect contains a running database. The data stored in the database can be backed up or restored. There are currently two available options for backup:
- Full state backup
- Configuration-only backup
The full state backup performs a full backup. This backup includes current operational states (Runtime states) like servers current power state, and all the configuration information (Objects like Service Profiles, Policies, Pool information, etc.). This is a complete backup of the object model.
The configuration backup-only captures all the configuration information of the UCS, but not the runtime state. There are three different options on what to back up:
- Configuration all—Backs up all configuration information.
- Configuration Logical—Backs up up all configuration information but not AAA (Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting) related information.
- Configuration System—All AAA-related information.
The Full State Restore is a complete restore, and it is run on a non-configured UCS. One of the first options during an initial installation of a UCS is restoring from the backup.
The restore is very similar to the backup process. The client software running inside the Fabric Interconnect downloads the specified backup file and perform the restore. During the restore process (also known as Import Operation), there are two options available:
- Merge—Will merge data from backup with existing objects and create any non-existing object.
- Replace—Will overwrite the current configuration.