Summary
RouterOS backup feature allows you to save your current device's configuration, which then can be re-applied on the same or a different device (with the same model name/number). This is very useful since it allows you to effortlessly restore the device's configurations or to re-apply the same configuration on a backup device. The system's backup file also contains the device's MAC addresses, which are also restored when the backup file is loaded.
If The Dude and user-manager are installed on the router, then the system backup will not contain configuration from these services, therefore additional care should be taken to save configuration from these services. Use provided tool mechanisms to save/export configuration if you want to save it.
System backups contain sensitive information about your device and its configuration, always consider encrypting the backup file and keeping the backup file in a safe place.
Saving a backup
Sub-menu: /system backup save
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| dont-encrypt (yes | no; Default: no) | Disable backup file encryption. Note that since RouterOS v6.43 without a provided password the backup file is unencrypted. |
| encryption (aes-sha256 | rc4; Default: aes-sha256) | The encryption algorithm to use for encrypting the backup file. Note that is not considered a secure encryption method and is only available for compatibility reasons with older RouterOS versions. |
| name (string; Default: [identity]-[date]-[time].backup) | The filename for the backup file. |
| password (string; Default: ) | Password for the encrypted backup file. Note that since RouterOS v6.43 without a provided password the backup file is unencrypted. |
If a password is not provided in RouterOS versions older than v6.43, then the backup file will be encrypted with the current user's password, except if the dont-encrypted property is used or the current user's password is empty.
The backup file will be available under /file menu, which can be downloaded using FTP or using Winbox.
Loading a backup
/system backup load
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| name (string; Default: ) | File name for the backup file. |
| password (string; Default: ) | Password for the encrypted backup file. |
Example
To save the router's configuration to file test and a password:
[admin@MikroTik] > /system backup save name=test password=<YOUR_PASSWORD> Configuration backup saved [admin@MikroTik] > /system backup
To see the files stored on the router:
[admin@MikroTik] > /file print # NAME TYPE SIZE CREATION-TIME 0 test.backup backup 12567 sep/08/2018 21:07:50 [admin@MikroTik] >
To load the saved backup file test:
[admin@MikroTik] > /system backup load name=test password: <YOUR_PASSWORD> Restore and reboot? [y/N]: y Restoring system configuration System configuration restored, rebooting now
Cloud backup
Since RouterOS v6.44 it is possible to securely store your device's backup file on MikroTik's Cloud servers, read more about this feature on the IP/Cloud page.