Netpicker Automation Platform: Configuration Backup & Restore

The Backup Process in the Netpicker Automation Platform ensures the reliable and consistent preservation of network device configurations. Follow this step-by-step guide to understand how it operates:

1. Identify Supported Platforms: Confirm the device platform is supported. Common examples include Cisco IOS, NX-OS, ASA, Meraki; Juniper Junos; Arista EOS; Fortinet FortiOS; Palo Alto PAN-OS; Linux appliances, and more.
2. Select Backup Method: Choose the type of backup best suited for your needs:
   • Full snapshots to capture complete configurations
   • Incremental backups for changes since the last snapshot
   • On-demand/manual or scheduled (automated) backups
3. Configure Storage Destination: Designate where your backups will be stored, such as local disks, network storage, encrypted cloud buckets (Azure, AWS, Google Cloud), or removable encrypted media. Set up versioning for easy rollbacks.
4. Authenticate to Target Device: Ensure device access using SSH, API, or SNMP with valid credentials.
5. Acquire Configuration: The platform issues required commands or API calls to download the configuration, using secure protocols at every step.
6. Encrypt and Store: Backups are encrypted both during transfer and at rest, meeting security requirements and compliance policies.
7. Notification & Logging:
   • Receive alerts for completion, errors, or configuration changes.
   • Each backup is logged with timestamp, user, and status for audit trails.

This process helps ensure configuration integrity, rapid recovery, and operational compliance in automated network environments.

The Restore Process in the Netpicker Automation Platform is designed to safely and efficiently reapply previous device configurations in response to incidents, scheduled maintenance, or rollback scenarios. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown:

1. Select a Backup Version: Start by selecting a saved backup from the configuration repository. Users can choose from full or incremental backups based on the recovery need.
2. Validate Compatibility: The system checks platform type, firmware version, and current device state to ensure the selected backup is suitable for restoration.
3. Choose Restore Type: Decide on the scope of the restoration:
   • Full restore – applies the entire configuration to the device
   • Partial restore – reverts a specific section such as routing, VLANs, or interface settings
   • Dry-run mode – simulates changes to verify impact before deployment
4. Apply Configuration: The platform securely pushes the configuration to the target device using the appropriate protocol (SSH, API, etc.). This may include a line-by-line injection or a full overwrite, depending on the platform.
5. Run Post-Restore Checks: After deployment, the system verifies device health, configuration integrity, and network connectivity to ensure the restore was successful.
6. Log and Notify: Every restore action is logged in detail, including timestamp, operator, device, and backup version. Notifications are sent in real time via preferred channels (email, messaging apps, or monitoring tools).

This step-driven restore workflow minimizes operational risk, accelerates recovery efforts, and supports compliance with configuration standards.

The Security & Compliance features in the Netpicker Automation Platform are designed to safeguard configuration data and support regulatory requirements at every stage of the backup and restore process. Here’s a step-by-step walkthrough:

1. User Permissions Management: Utilize role-based access controls (RBAC) to tightly restrict who can perform configuration backup and restore operations. Administrators define roles and assign the appropriate privileges to users.
2. Implement Encryption: All configuration backups are encrypted during transfer and while stored, using strong cryptographic standards like AES-256. Access to decryption is granted only to authorized users.
3. Audit and Tracking: Every backup and restore event is automatically logged, capturing details such as operator, device, action type, and timestamp. Logs can be exported for compliance reviews or incident investigations.
4. Retention and Storage Policies: Administrators establish how long configuration data is retained and where it is stored. Retention settings can be aligned with business, legal, or regulatory obligations.
5. Secure Protocols for Transmission: Communication between the platform, network devices, and offsite storage destinations is encrypted using secure protocols (HTTPS, SSH, or similar) to prevent interception.
6. Compliance Monitoring: Built-in checks can alert users of any deviations from defined security or compliance policies, such as unauthorized access attempts, backup failures, or retention violations.

Following these guided steps ensures that configuration data remains confidential, accessible only to authorized individuals, and fully auditable according to accepted security practices.

The Scheduling & Notification capabilities in the Netpicker Automation Platform ensure that configuration backups run automatically and users remain fully informed about job status. Here’s a step-by-step process you can follow:

1. Configure Automated Scheduling: Set up recurring backup intervals according to your needs—this can be daily, weekly, or monthly. The graphical user interface allows for easy scheduling even across large device inventories.
2. Customize Backup Times: Choose specific dates and times for when backups should take place. Advanced options allow for aligning backup windows with maintenance periods or off-peak business hours.
3. Leverage Bulk Scheduling: Apply schedules to all devices, device groups, or filtered device tags. This approach reduces manual effort and maintains backup consistency across the environment.
4. Set Up Notifications: Enable real-time notifications for backup job completion, errors, or missed backups. These alerts can be sent through email, chat systems (such as Slack or Teams), or integrated monitoring tools.
5. Monitor and Audit Scheduled Jobs: Access a centralized dashboard to view upcoming backup schedules, status of recent jobs, and full logs. Audit trails include timestamps, responsible users, and any issues encountered.
6. Integrate with Automation Workflows: Link scheduled backups or job events with other automation routines, allowing for custom follow-up actions—such as compliance checks or post-backup config validation.

This automated approach reduces operational overhead, ensures backups are never missed, and helps teams stay informed and responsive to backup-related events.

Address common issues and optimize your workflow with these step-by-step troubleshooting and best practices for configuration backup and restore in the Netpicker Automation Platform:

1. Diagnose Backup Failures:
   • Check authentication and network connectivity to ensure devices accept backup requests.
   • Review permissions and credentials if backup jobs fail or do not appear in logs.
2. Resolve Decryption or Restore Issues:
   • If an encrypted backup cannot be restored, verify you are using the correct decryption passphrase and that encryption settings match across the system.
   • Check compatibility of the selected backup with the device’s platform and firmware.
3. Validate Partial Restores:
   • If only some configuration sections restore, confirm the target device supports partial restores and that the desired options are available.
4. Troubleshoot Scheduling Issues:
   • For missed or failed scheduled jobs, check schedule definitions, system time, and the health of the scheduling service.
5. Follow Best Practices:
   • Test backup and restore on non-production devices prior to deploying in live environments.
   • Regularly review audit logs for unusual activity or failed operations.
   • Set up notifications for job failures, missed backups, or changes in device status.
   • Document your backup and restore schedules and adjust retention policies to match business and regulatory needs.
   • Perform periodic restore drills to validate that backups are reliable and readily recoverable.

Following this guide will help you quickly resolve issues, enhance reliability, and maintain an effective backup and restore strategy.

The API Integration features of the Netpicker Automation Platform allow network and security teams to embed backup and restore operations into their wider automation ecosystems. Here’s how to get started, step by step:

1. Explore Available Endpoints: Review the documented RESTful API endpoints for backup scheduling, backup retrieval, restore initiation, and status monitoring. Examples include:
   • POST /api/backup — initiate a new backup job
   • GET /api/backup/history — retrieve backup version history for devices
   • POST /api/restore — trigger configuration restore from a selected backup
   • GET /api/job/status — monitor job progress
2. Authenticate API Access: Obtain an API token or credential set through the platform’s security features. Include valid authentication headers with each request to ensure secure interactions.
3. Schedule Backups Programmatically: Use the API to create and update backup jobs directly from custom scripts or other automation tools, allowing for precise backup timing and inclusion in orchestration pipelines.
4. Integrate Restore Actions: Programmatically select backup versions and initiate both full or partial restores via API calls. This enables fast recovery in automated workflows or self-healing scenarios.
5. Receive Real-Time Job Status: Query job status endpoints or subscribe to webhooks for event-based alerts on backup and restore completion, failures, or compliance issues.
6. Connect With External Tools: Integrate Netpicker APIs into CI/CD systems, custom dashboards, or third-party orchestration platforms to support infrastructure as code and closed-loop automation.

Leveraging these API integration steps streamlines network management, accelerates recovery, and supports modern DevOps workflows within any automated infrastructure environment.

Change & Version Management in the Netpicker Automation Platform provides a robust framework to track, compare, and manage configuration changes for network devices. Follow this step-by-step approach to maximize reliability and control:

1. Automate Versioning: Each backup automatically generates a unique version identifier and stores a timestamp, operator, and device information. This creates a complete, accessible record of every configuration change.
2. Track and Compare Changes: The platform offers built-in tools to compare one configuration snapshot with another, highlighting any differences between versions. Teams can quickly identify what has changed and when.
3. Review Change History: Access a timeline or audit log for each device, which includes a detailed history of backups, modifications, and operator actions. This supports operational reviews and regulatory requirements.
4. Validate Configuration Integrity: Each backup is checked for integrity using advanced hashing algorithms. Any discrepancy between expected and actual values triggers an alert, ensuring authenticity.
5. Perform Rollbacks: If a configuration issue is detected, users can simply select a previous backup and trigger a rollback operation. The platform handles the restore process and verifies device health post-rollback.
6. Integrate with Compliance Workflows: Changes can be linked with compliance management or approval processes, ensuring that only authorized modifications are deployed to critical infrastructure.

By following these steps, you can maintain precise change visibility, accelerate issue resolution, and uphold configuration standards across your network infrastructure.

Before starting configuration backup and restore with the Netpicker Automation Platform, make sure the following pre-requisites are addressed using this step-by-step approach:

1. Check Supported Devices and Platforms: Confirm that the devices you want to manage are included in Netpicker’s compatibility list, covering popular vendors such as Cisco, Juniper, Arista, Palo Alto, Fortinet, and others.
2. Prepare Device Access Credentials: Collect valid credentials for each device (such as SSH username and password or API tokens). Ensure login permissions allow for configuration read and write operations.
3. Verify Network Connectivity: Ensure the Netpicker platform can reach target devices over the network using necessary protocols (SSH, API, SNMP), and that required ports are open.
4. Provision Storage: Allocate enough storage for configuration backups. This can be local disk, network-attached storage, or a secured cloud bucket, depending on your retention policy and business requirements.
5. Set Up Vault or Credential Manager: Configure a vault or credential store within Netpicker to securely manage all device access details and secrets.
6. Establish Roles and Permissions: Define user roles and assign appropriate privileges to operators responsible for backup and restore actions.
7. Connect to Source of Truth or Inventory: Integrate Netpicker with your network inventory system (such as NetBox or Nautobot) for automated device discovery and management.
8. Ensure Time Synchronization: Make certain that both Netpicker and managed devices have synchronized system clocks to avoid scheduling and log discrepancies.
9. Review Security and Compliance Policies: Align backup and restore procedures with your organization’s security and compliance mandates before going live.

Completing these steps helps guarantee a smooth rollout and reliable operation of configuration backup and restore workflows within your network infrastructure.