Backing Up & Restoring VMware Telco Cloud Automation

This operation backs up the following information:

• Inventory data

• Configuration files

• Certificates

• System UUID

The backup file is saved in the tar.gz format. This doesn’t backup the configurations of the network functions.

Pre-requisites for TCA backup and restore

1. There are two types of backup options available from appliance management interface. A) Set up an FTP server for uploading the backup file. B) Manual backups, where we will save the backup files locally.

2. In this blog, we will use the a FTP server for storing configuration backups.

1. Set up an FTP server.

1. Let’s setup the ftp server in TCA appliance.

2. Log in to the appliance management interface: https://tca-cp-ip-or-fqdn:9443 with Admin privileges.

3. Navigate to > Administration > Troubleshooting > Backup & Restore.

4. Under FTP server setting > Click on the ADD button to configure the FTP server for configuration backup.

5. Enter the following details.

a. IP/Host name: <FTP server IP>

b. Port: 22

c. Username: root

d. Password: <password of the FTP server>

e. Backup Directory: <directory in FTP server>

6. Click on SAVE to complete the configuration.

2. Procedure for creating configuration Backup.

1. Log in to the appliance management interface: <https://tca-cp-ip-or-fqdn:9443>.

2. Navigate to Administration > Troubleshooting > Backup & Restore.

3. Click Generate.

4. Choose ‘Upload to Server Option’ to move the backups to the configured FTP server.

5. You can be able to see the backup progress.

6. After completion you will see the backup listed as below.

7. Also, you will be able see backup file in FTP server.

8. By this, we have successfully completed backing up TCA.

9. Now, we will proceed with testing the restore functionality. For that, we can create a new cluster template with name: lab-workload-testing.

Restoring the system

You use the appliance management interface to restore the system from a backup file. The restore operation is used in cases where the system has become corrupt or unusable due to resource or system failures.

This operation restores the appliance to the state it was in at the time of the backup. The contents of the backup file supersede configuration changes made before restoring the appliance.

1. Prerequisites

1. You must have saved a backup file of the VMware Telco Cloud Automation in the tar.gz format.

2. In our case, we have the backup stored as tar.gz format in the FTP server.

2. Procedure for restoring.

1. Log in to the appliance management interface: https://tca-cp-ip-or-fqdn:9443.

2. Navigate to Administration > Troubleshooting > Backup & Restore.

3. If backup files stored in a SFTP or an FTP server, the list is displayed under Restore.

4. Select the backup file to restore and click Restore (as shown below).

5. Click Restore.

6. The restoration begins. This process can take several minutes to complete.

7. Verify that the system is operating properly:

a. Navigate to the Dashboard tab and confirm that the component status is green.

b. Navigate to the Appliance Summary tab and ensure that the Hybridity Services, Common Services, and System Level Services are running.

8. Once we verify all the services, Navigate to TCA manager, CaaS infrastructure > Cluster Templates. After the configuration restore, the cluster template ‘lab-workload-testing’ should not be present. This could verify the TCA has been successfully restored to a previous state.

Conclusion

We have successfully demonstrated how to create a configuration backup for VMware Telco Cloud Automation Control Plane and restore using the backed-up file.