The following are the different options available for UCS data backup:

• Full state backup: Full state backup is the backup of an entire system in the binary format. It contains the system configuration, logical configuration, and the state of the system, such as assignment of pools, MAC addresses, FSM, faults, and so on. This type of backup can be used in a disaster recovery scenario to recover the whole configuration of a failed Fabric Interconnect. This type of backup cannot be imported to a different system. Full state backup is a snapshot of the system at a specific time. Any changes to the system render it obsolete. Any changes after the full state backup are lost if a system is restored from the backup.
• System configuration backup: System configuration backup consists of administrative settings such as username, RBAC, and locales in XML format. This backup does not contain the system state and hence cannot be used to restore a system. This backup can be used to import system configuration settings to the original or a different Fabric Interconnect.
• Logical configuration backup: Logical configuration backup consists of administrative settings such as pools, policies, service profiles, and VLANs in XML format. This backup does not contain the system state and hence cannot be used to restore a system. This backup can be used to import system configuration settings to the original or a different Fabric Interconnect.
• All configuration backup: All configuration backup consists of system and logical configuration backups in XML format. This backup does not contain the system state and hence cannot be used to restore a system. This backup can be used to import all configuration settings to the original or a different Fabric Interconnect.

UCS backup is non-disruptive and can be performed while the system is in production without any impact on the operating system running on the blade servers. A backup operation can be used to take a one-time backup or it can be scheduled to take a full state or all configuration backup using the backup and export policy. Backups can be exported to multiple types of destinations including the local filesystem (the filesystem of the computer where UCS Manager is running), FTP, TFTP, SCP, and SFTP.