Backing Up the Configuration
■
Verify setting for new features -
It is permitted to restore a configuration that was saved
before applying a system update to a new version of the appliance software. In some cases,
services and properties that were present at the time of the backup may have different
effects, and new services and properties may exist in the newer software that did not exist
at the time of the backup. Similar to the system update process, the configuration restore
process makes every effort to transfer applicable settings, and apply reasonable defaults to
those properties that did not exist at the time of the backup. When restoring across software
versions, administrators should manually verify settings for new features following the
restore.
■
Password maintenance -
The root password is
not
changed or reverted to the password
at the time of the backup if it was different. The current root password is maintained on
the system across the restore. For more details about passwords, refer to the summary of
Security Considerations.
Security Considerations for Configuration
Backups
A configuration backup contains information that is normally only accessible to the root
administrative user on the appliance. Therefore, any configuration backup that is exported to
another system or into a filesystem share must apply security restrictions to the backup file to
ensure that unauthorized users cannot read the backup file.
Local user passwords are stored in the backup file in encrypted (hashed) format, not as
clear text. However, on the system, access to these password hashes is restricted, as they
could be used as input to dictionary attacks. Therefore, administrators must carefully protect
configuration backups that are exported, either by restricting file access to the backup, or by
applying an additional layer of encryption to the entire backup file, or both.
Directory user passwords are
not
stored in the appliance, and therefore are not stored in
the configuration backup. If you have deployed a directory service such as LDAP or AD
for administrative user access, there are no copies of directory service password hashes for
directory users stored in the configuration backup. Only the user name, user ID, preferences,
and authorization settings for directory users are stored in the backup and then restored.
Following a configuration restore, the local
root
administrative user password is
not
modified
to the root password at the time of the backup. The root password is left as-is, unmodified, by
the restore process, to ensure that the password used by the administrator who is executing the
restore process (and thus has logged in, using that password) is retained. If the administrator's
intent was to also change the root password at the time of configuration restore, that step must
be executed manually following the restore, using the normal administrative password change
procedure.
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Oracle ZFS Storage Appliance Customer Service Manual • February 2016
