Loading Cisco Device from a Backup Config File

1.    Log into your Cisco device.
2.    From user mode, type in the following:
    a.    #copy tftp statup-config
    b.    Address or name of remote host []? The host IP address or the host name of the system you wish to backup from.
    c.    Source filename []? Type in the name of your backup file.
    d.    You should start to see an “Accessing tftp://x.x.x.x” on your screen.
3.    Wait for the system to restore from the backup file.
4.    Now you can reload the device and load to the restored backup file.

Backup Cisco Device Config

1.    First off, log into your Cisco device.
2.    Launch your TFTP program you wish to have pull the file (I utilize SolarWinds free TFTP too, but you can use any out there.). Just make sure your program is running and ready to pull the config.
3.    You can execute the following commands to backup your config:
    a.    #copy running-config tftp:
    b.    Address or name of remote host []? YourIPAddressYouCopyingTo
    c.    Destination filename [default]? NameforYourFile
4.    Then you just need to wait for the file copy/transfer to finish. Then check your file destination to verify it finished copying.

Backup Cisco IOS on 4500X

1.    First, log into the Cisco device you wish to upgrade.
2.    Perform the following command to verify which IOS version you are currently running:
    a.    #show version
    b.    Scroll up and look for system image file, will say something like “bootflash:cat4500….” or something like this talking about the booting on flash.
3.    Depending on the version or type of switch, you can do either of the following commands to check the directory to verify how much space and what images are loaded on the Cisco system.
    a.    #dir
    b.    #dir flash:/
4.    So once you find the version IOS you are running, and the name of the config file in the directory, you can copy the original IOS to your TFTP server/client by typing in the following, (again, this is to back up the currently running IOS in case any issues arise with the new IOS. If there are any issues, you can easily re-upload this file back into the Cisco system and recover).
    a.    #copy flash tftp
    b.    #Source filename[]?YourCurrentRunningIOS
    c.    #Address or name of remote host[]?YourIPAddressOfSystemToSendIOS
    d.    Then just wait for the copy to transfer to the backup destination.
    e.    You can check the file location you have your TFTP set to download to in order to verify the IOS has been downloaded.

Reference:
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/switches/lan/catalyst4500/release/note/OL_24829.html#96288

Simple PowerCLI Backup for OVA/OVF

• Before performing this process, make sure you have your VM CD-Rom not pointing to a datastore and pointed to the “Client Device” and have the CD Rom disconnected. Having the CD-Rom pointed to a datastore can cause problems.
• Open PowerShell ISE in Administrator Mode
•  Open the "Initialize-PowerCLIEnvironment.ps1 script located at C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\Infrastructure\PowerCLI\Scripts
•  This will be here after you installed PowerCLI
• In order to get the Power CLI to connect to servers on the network, you have to bypass the certificate error by putting in the following code:
•  Set-PowerCLIConfiguration -InvalidCertificateAction Ignore
•  Then you can connect to your server with the following command:
•   Connect-VIServer -Server x.x.x.x -User vsphere.local\example - Password XXXXXXX
• Once this is done, you can now start your exporting of your OVA/OVF with the next steps.
•  Make sure you know your destination folder and the name of your VM from vCenter. Once you have this, perform the following command:
•  Get-VM –Name ExampleTest | Export-VApp –Destination C:\Users\Example\Desktop –Format Ovf or ova