The Greenbone Operating System (GOS) now checks whether a backup is suitable before restoring the backup. Unsuitable backups cannot be restored, and warnings may be displayed. This feature prevents errors when restoring backups.
Use Case
- Preventing errors when restoring backups
Background Information
Starting with GOS 20.08, only backups created with the same GSM model can be restored, e.g., a backup created on a GSM 600 can only be restored on a GSM 600.
The limitation from GOS 6 that only backups created with the currently used GOS version or the previous GOS version can be restored still applies in GOS 20.08.
This change was done to prevent errors when restoring incompatible backups. Although such backups could be restored freely in previous GOS versions, they would often fail or leave the system in an inconsistent state.
In addition, a warning is now displayed, if the GSF subscription keys differ between the backup and the GSM where the backup should be restored. This warning will not prevent the restoration of the backup.
All in all, the following checks will now be done when restoring a backup:
- GSM model: this must be an exact match by name. Exception: GSM 150V and GSM CENO are interchangeable.
- GOS version: only the current and the previous GOS version is valid.
- GSF subscription key: if the key does not match, the users needs to confirm that they want to overwrite the key.
Changes in GOS
When using the GOS menus Maintenance > Backup > USB Backup > Restore or Maintenance > Backup > List , the GSM now checks whether the backup is compatible.
If the backup cannot be restored, an appropriate message is displayed. Corresponding messages are also saved to the logs, and included in the Greenbone Support Package.
Note for Transferring Data Between GSMs
If data is to be transferred between two GSMs, the new Beaming feature should be used in GOS 20.08 (see GOS 20.08: Introduction to Beaming). The backup functionality is only intended for copying the state of a specific GSM, and to restore it in case of a data loss event.