sk108902 - Best Practices - Backup on Gaia OS

Best Practices - Backup on Gaia OS

Product Cluster: 3rd-party, ClusterXL, Multi-Domain Security Management, Security Gateways, Security Management, VSX (Traditional)

Version: R80.30 (EOS), R80.40 (EOS), R81 (EOS), R81.10 (EOS), R81.20, R82, R82.10
OS: Gaia
Last Modified: 2026-07-26

Solution

Table of Contents:
01. Introduction
02. Snapshot Management
03. System Backup (and System Restore)
04. Save Configuration (and Load Configuration)
05. Recommended backup plan
06. Recommended steps in case of Disaster Recovery
07. Backup Tools
08. Comparison of Backup Methods
09. Related Documentation
10. Related Solutions

1. Introduction

There are a few methods to perform a backup of your Check Point system running Gaia OS. They differ by size, time of creation and content. This article provides an overview of all available backup methods and recommendations for configuring an effective backup scheme.

The built-in Gaia backup procedures:

All methods can be used to back up your Security Gateways, Security Management, and Multi-Domain Server.

All methods are appliance-specific and can only be restored on the same model of appliance.

2. Snapshot Management

The snapshot creates a binary image of the entire root ( lv_current) disk partition. This includes Check Point products, configuration, and operating system.

Exporting an image from one machine and importing that image on another machine of the same type is supported.

The log partition is not included in the snapshot. Therefore, any locally stored firewall logs will not be saved.

3. System Backup (and System Restore)

System Backup can be used to back up current system configuration. A backup creates a compressed file that contains the Check Point configuration. This file includes the networking and operating system parameters, such as routing and interface configuration etc., but unlike a Gaia snapshot, it does not include the operating system, product binaries, and hotfixes.

Note: A Gaia backup, unlike a Gaia snapshot, can be restored on the same or a different appliance running the same Check Point Gaia OS version and hotfixes.

4. Save Configuration (and Load Configuration)

Allows saving Gaia OS configuration settings as a ready-to-run CLI script. This allows you to review your current setup and quickly restore the Gaia OS configuration.

5. Recommended Backup Plan

For complete backup of the system and maximum confidence, Check Point recommends combining all three methods as part of the backup plan (Snapshot Management, System Backup/Restore, Save/Load Configuration). This allows multiple restore points, redundancy, and reliability of overall restore procedure.

Collect:

6. Recommended Steps in Case of Disaster Recovery

  1. Do one of these:
    • Revert to a Gaia Snapshot - restores the Check Point version with all the setup details, including type (management/gateway) and installation of hotfixes.
    • Restore from a Gaia Backup - restores latest system configuration with all recent network and security configuration.
  2. Compare the output of Gaia Clish command " show configuration" to the saved configuration to verify that Gaia OS configuration was restored properly.
  3. If this is a Security Gateway / Standalone, install policy on this machine.

7. Backup Tools

Tool Description
migrate_server Applies to R80.20 and higher versions. Refer to the Command Line Interface (CLI) Reference Guide for your version > Chapter "Security Management Server Commands" > Section "migrate_server". Refer to the Command Line Interface (CLI) Reference Guide for your version > Chapter "Multi-Domain Security Management Commands" > Section "migrate_server".
migrate export Applies to R80.10 and lower versions. The migrate tool is located in the $FWDIR/bin/upgrade_tools/ directory. This command backs up all Security Management configuration, independent of hardware, OS, or Check Point version. The output file does not include OS information. For built-in help, run: [Expert@HostName:0]# $FWDIR/bin/upgrade_tools/migrate --help. Refer to the Command Line Interface (CLI) Reference Guide for your version > Chapter "Multi-Domain Security Management Commands" > Section "mds_backup".
eva_db_backup.csh
evs_backup		 These tools are used to back up SmartEvent / SmartReporter Server R77.30 and lower. For details, refer to sk102452.
mds_backup This tool is used to perform advanced backup of Multi-Domain Security Management Server. Refer to the Command Line Interface (CLI) Reference Guide for your version > Chapter "Multi-Domain Security Management Commands" > Section "mds_backup".

8. Comparison of Backup Methods

Snapshot
Management		 System
Backup		 "show
configuration"		 "upgrade_export" /
"migrate export"
How much time
does it take?		 30 - 60 minutes 5 - 30 minutes Few seconds Depends on
configuration
Size of output file
on Security Gateway		 5-100 GB Depends on
configuration		 Few KB N/A
Size of output file
on Management Server		 5-100 GB 5-100 GB Few KB Depends on
configuration
Does it back up
Gaia OS configuration?		 Yes Yes Yes No
Does it back up
Products configuration?		 Yes Yes No Yes
Does it back up
Hotfixes?		 Yes No
(does not apply to "mds_backup")		 No No
Does it back up
Check Point
logs?		 No No No Not by default.
Use the flag " -l"
in the syntax
to back up the
SmartView Tracker
logs as well.
Does it support
automatic scheduling?		 R81 and higher - Yes
R80.40 and lower - No		 Yes No No
Can you restore
from different version?		 Yes
Note: Snapshots cannot be restored from a version which includes different partitioning system (e.g. GPT) or default filesystem (e.g. XFS).
For example, you cannot restore a snapshot from the R77.30 version on an R80.30 3.10 version.		 No With manual
adjustments		 Upgrade is performed
when importing to a newer version
Does it require to close
SmartConsole GUI clients?		 No R81 and higher - No
R80.40 - No (only from R80.40 Jumbo Hotfix Accumulator Take 53)
R80.30 - No (only from R80.30 Jumbo Hotfix Accumulator Take 215)
R80.20 - Yes
R80.10 - No (only from R80.10 Jumbo Hotfix Accumulator Take 278)
R80 and lower - Yes		 No No
Does it require to stop
Check Point services?		 No No No No
Does it require reboot? No No No No

9. Related Documentation

10. Related solutions