Back up and restore F5 Insight¶

Overview ¶

F5 Insight provides secure, encrypted backup and restore capabilities to protect your system configuration and data. You can use these features to recover from accidental changes, hardware failures, or when migrating to a new appliance.

You can perform backup and restore operations using either the web console or the REST API.

Key capabilities include:

Create backups on demand to capture a point-in-time copy of your system.
Restore onto the same appliance or onto a new one.
Store backups on the appliance or on network storage (NFS or SMB).
Download config backups for offline retention.
Schedule backups to run automatically.

Important

Backup and restore operations are available to administrator users only. If you don’t see Backup & Restore in the sidebar, log in with an admin account.

Concepts ¶

Backup types ¶

F5 Insight supports two backup types:

Type	Contents	Storage requirement
full backup	Data (ClickHouse, VictoriaMetrics), configuration, and system settings	Network storage (NFS/SMB) required
config backup	Configuration, secrets, and system settings	Appliance (local) or network storage

Important

You must save a full backup to a network storage location (NFS or SMB) — you can’t store it on the appliance itself, and you can’t download it from the web console. Retrieve full backups directly from your network storage share.
You can store a config backup on the appliance or on a network share, and you can download it from the web console.

Passphrase ¶

F5 Insight encrypts every backup with AES-256 and protects it against tampering. You choose a passphrase when you create a backup, and you must provide the same passphrase to restore it.

Warning

Store your passphrase securely — you need it to restore the backup. F5 Insight doesn’t store the passphrase. If you lose it, you can’t recover the backup.

Passphrase requirements

Your passphrase must meet the following criteria:

Minimum 12 characters
At least one uppercase letter
At least one lowercase letter
At least one number
At least one special character
No character repeated more than twice in a row

Restore components ¶

When you restore a backup, you select which components to include:

Component	Description
Data	ClickHouse and VictoriaMetrics — analytics telemetry and time-series metrics
Config	PostgreSQL, Vault, secrets, and config files — device database, encrypted secrets, TLS certificates, and system configuration
System Settings	DNS, NTP (time sync), proxy, and SSH access settings

F5 Insight selects Data and Config by default,. There is no “restore everything” option — you must select the components you need explicitly.

Safe restore compared to fast restore ¶

Mode	Description
Safe restore (default)	F5 Insight preserves your current data before the restore begins. If anything fails, the system automatically rolls back to its previous state. This mode requires more free disk space.
Fast restore	F5 Insight replaces existing data directly. This is faster and uses less disk space, but provides no automatic rollback. Use this mode only when you have a separate VM snapshot available as a fallback.

F5 Insight runs a disk-space check before every restore operation. If there isn’t enough space, the restore stops with a clear error message.

Version compatibility ¶

Scenario	Supported
Restore onto the same version	Yes
Restore an older backup onto a newer version	Yes (F5 Insight upgrades the data automatically as needed)
Restore a newer backup onto an older version	Not supported

High availability considerations ¶

In an active/standby deployment, backup history and storage settings stay synchronized across both nodes. However, backup files stored on local storage exist only on the node where you created them.

Important

In high availability deployments, save your backups to network storage (NFS/SMB) to make sure they’re accessible after a failover.

Disk space and sizing ¶

Estimated space requirements

Operation	Estimated disk usage
full backup (to network storage)	~1.2× the compressed size — temporary space while F5 Insight copies data to the share
config backup	~200 MB
Safe restore (default)	~2× the backup size
Fast restore	~1.5× the backup size

For recommended system specifications, see System requirements.¶

Disaster recovery considerations ¶

F5 Insight doesn’t support backup and restore operations on the DR standby node. Run all backup and restore operations from the primary (active) node only.

Use the web console ¶

In the F5 Insight sidebar, open Backup & Restore (visible to administrators only). This section contains two pages:

Backup — Create, upload, restore, and schedule backups, and view backup history.
Settings — Configure the default storage location, maximum backup count, and manage storage locations.

Create a backup ¶

To create a backup:

On the Backup tab, select Create Backup.
Under Backup Type, select Full Backup or Config Backup.
(Optional) Enter a Backup Name using letters, numbers, hyphens, or underscores. If you leave this blank, F5 Insight generates a name automatically.
Under Save to Storage Target, select the storage destination.
- A full backup requires a network (NFS/SMB) target.
- A config backup can use local or network storage.
Enter your passphrase.
Select Create.

F5 Insight displays a progress bar during the backup operation. When the backup completes, it appears in Backup History with its date, type, size, and status. You can then select Restore, Delete, or Download (config backups only).

Restore a backup ¶

To restore a backup:

On the Backup tab, locate the backup in Backup History and select Restore.

Alternatively, upload or import a backup file first (see Import a backup from another system).
Enter the backup’s passphrase.
Select the components to restore — Data, Config, and/or System Settings (DNS, NTP, Proxy, SSH). F5 Insight selects Data and Config by default.
Select Confirm to start the restore.

F5 Insight displays a progress bar during the restore operation.

Warning

Restoring a backup overwrites your current data. Stop any running operations before you initiate a restore. F5 Insight displays a confirmation prompt before proceeding.

For details on rollback behavior, see Safe restore compared to fast restore.

Import a backup from another system ¶

To bring in a backup from another system, use Upload Backup on the Backup tab:

Upload backup file — Upload a backup file from your local computer.
Import backup file — Register a backup that already exists on a network storage target by providing the Storage Target Name and Backup Filename.

After you upload or import a backup, it appears in Backup History and you can restore it.

Migrate to a new appliance ¶

To migrate F5 Insight to a new appliance:

Restore a backup onto the new appliance.
Select Data, Config, and the System Settings you want to carry over (DNS, NTP, Proxy, SSH).

The new appliance retains its own IP address and hostname, while your configuration and data transfer cleanly. Because full backups are stored on network storage, the new appliance reads the backup directly from the same share.

Configure network storage ¶

To add a network storage location:

On the Settings tab, navigate to Storage Locations and select Add.
Enter a Location Name.
Select the Storage Type — NFS or SMB. Local storage is always available by default.
Enter the Host / Server and Path. For SMB, also provide a Username and Password (F5 Insight stores these securely).
Select Test.

A Connected successfully message confirms the share is reachable and writable.
Select Save.

The storage location appears in the Storage Locations list and is available when you create backups. You can also set it as the default location.

Schedule automatic backups ¶

To schedule an automatic backup:

On the Backup tab, open Scheduled Backups and select Create.
Enter a Schedule Name, such as daily-full-backup.
Set the Frequency (Daily or Weekly), then select a Time and Timezone. For weekly schedules, also select the Day of Week.
Select the backup type, a storage location, and enter a passphrase.
Select Save.

The schedule appears in the Scheduled Backups list and runs automatically at the configured time.

You can maintain one full backup schedule and one config backup schedule at a time. To change a schedule’s backup type, delete the existing schedule and create a new one.

Configure backup settings ¶

To configure general backup settings:

On the Settings tab, locate the General Settings section.
Configure the following options:
- Default Storage Location — The default destination for backups unless you select a different location when creating a backup.
- Maximum Backup Count — The maximum number of recent backups to retain on the appliance (1–100, default: 3). After each successful backup, F5 Insight checks the count. If it exceeds the limit, F5 Insight deletes the oldest backup automatically.
Select Save.

Backups stored on network storage aren’t affected by the maximum backup count. Manage your network storage backup lifecycle directly on your storage system.

Use the REST API ¶

All backup and restore tasks available in the web console are also available through the F5 Insight REST API. You can use the API to automate backups and integrate with your existing tooling.

Authentication

All endpoints are under /api/system/ and require an administrator JWT token. If you aren’t an administrator, the API rejects your request.

Important

Only one backup or restore operation can run at a time. If you send a request while another operation is in progress, the API returns HTTP 409 Conflict.

Backup endpoints ¶

Method	Endpoint	Description
`POST`	`/api/system/backups`	Create a backup. Body: `passphrase` (required), `backup_type` (`full` \| `config`), `name` (optional), `storage_target` (optional; network target required for `full`).
`GET`	`/api/system/backups`	List all backups, newest first.
`GET`	`/api/system/backups/{id}`	Get a backup’s details and live progress (phase, 0–100%, message).
`GET`	`/api/system/backups/{id}/download`	Download the backup file. config backups only — full backups return an error. Retrieve full backups from your network storage share.
`POST`	`/api/system/backups/upload`	Upload a backup file (multipart form data).
`POST`	`/api/system/backups/import`	Register a backup already present on a storage target (`storage_target`, `file_path`).
`DELETE`	`/api/system/backups/{id}`	Delete a backup file and its record.

Restore endpoint ¶

Method	Endpoint	Description
`POST`	`/api/system/backups/{id}/restore`	Restore a backup. Body: `passphrase` (required), `components` (required), `force` (optional, default: `false`).

Components parameter

Specify restore components as a JSON array of strings. Valid values: data, config, dns, ntp, proxy, ssh, and (through the API only) network and hostname.

Data covers the databases and config covers configuration. System settings (dns, ntp, proxy, ssh) must be listed individually.

Example request

POST /api/system/backups/19358e5a-4135-8150-7dab-c9c649a3fd4/restore
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

{
  "passphrase": "<passphrase>",
  "components": ["data","config"],
  "force": false
}

Example response (202 OK)

{
  "task_id": "b2c3d4e5-f6a7-8901-bcde-f23456789012",
  "status": "restoring",
  "components": ["data", "config"],
  "progress": 0
}

Scheduled backup endpoints ¶

Method	Endpoint	Description
`GET`	`/api/system/backup-schedules`	List all backup schedules.
`POST`	`/api/system/backup-schedules`	Create a schedule (`name`, `cron`, `passphrase`, `backup_type`, `storage_target`). You can create one schedule per backup type.
`GET`	`/api/system/backup-schedules/{id}`	Get a specific schedule.
`PUT`	`/api/system/backup-schedules/{id}`	Update a schedule.
`DELETE`	`/api/system/backup-schedules/{id}`	Delete a schedule.

Storage location endpoints ¶

Method	Endpoint	Description
`GET`	`/api/system/storage-targets`	List all storage locations.
`POST`	`/api/system/storage-targets`	Create a storage location (`local` \| `nfs` \| `smb`; `server` and `share_path` required for network types).
`GET`	`/api/system/storage-targets/{id}`	Get a specific storage location.
`PUT`	`/api/system/storage-targets/{id}`	Update a storage location.
`DELETE`	`/api/system/storage-targets/{id}`	Delete a storage location. You can’t delete the default local location.
`POST`	`/api/system/storage-targets/{id}/test`	Test connectivity for a saved storage location.
`POST`	`/api/system/storage-targets/test`	Test connectivity before saving a new location.

Backup settings endpoints ¶

Method	Endpoint	Description
`GET`	`/api/system/backup-settings`	Get the default storage location and maximum backup count.
`PUT`	`/api/system/backup-settings`	Update the default storage location or maximum backup count (1–100).

Troubleshooting ¶

Issue	Cause	Resolution
“An operation is already in progress” (HTTP 409)	A backup or restore is already running.	Only one operation can run at a time. Wait for the current operation to complete before you start a new one.
“Full backups require an NFS or SMB target”	You requested a full backup without specifying a network storage target.	Add a network storage location under Settings ‣ Storage Locations, then select it when you create the backup. Alternatively, choose config backup.
No download option for a backup	Full backups can’t be downloaded from the web console.	You can download config backups only. For full backups, retrieve the file directly from your network storage share.
Restore fails with a decryption error	You entered the wrong passphrase, or the backup file is corrupted.	Re-enter the exact passphrase you used when you created the backup. If the file is corrupted, re-download or re-copy it from the original source.
Restore rejected before it starts	There isn’t enough free disk space.	Free up disk space. Safe restore requires approximately 2× the backup size. Alternatively, use fast restore with a VM snapshot available as a fallback.
“Downgrade not supported”	The backup was created on a newer version of F5 Insight than the target appliance.	Restore onto the same version or a newer version.
Storage test fails	The network share is unreachable or the credentials are incorrect.	Verify the Host/Server, Path, and (for SMB) Username and Password.
Backup & Restore not visible in the sidebar	You’re logged in as a non-admin user.	Log in with an administrator account.
Local backups unavailable after failover	Local backup files aren’t replicated between HA nodes.	Save your backups to network storage (NFS/SMB) to make sure they’re accessible after a failover.

If an issue persists, contact F5 Support with the backup or restore’s date, type, and status from Backup History.

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