Troubleshoot FTD Scheduled Backup Failure to SFTP Server in FMC-Managed Environment

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Updated:September 21, 2026
Document ID:226213

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Contents

Issue

In a deployment of Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) devices managed by Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC), scheduled automatic FTD backups fail to appear on the configured SFTP server. Manual FTD backups and FMC backups to the same SFTP server succeed. This results in lack of availability of automated FTD configuration backups for disaster recovery and compliance purposes.

Environment

The information in this document is based on these software and hardware versions:

  • Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) version 7.4. Other software versions can also be affected.

  • Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC) version 7.7. Other software versions can also be affected.

Resolution

The resolution involves modifying the scheduled FTD backup task configuration in the FMC to enable proper backup retrieval and export functionality.

Step 1: Access the Scheduled FTD Backup Task in FMC

Navigate to the FMC UI (Tools > Scheduling) and locate the existing scheduled FTD backup task that is configured but not successfully uploading backups to the SFTP server.

Scheduling-Tasks

Step 2: Edit the Scheduled Backup Task Configuration

Edit the scheduled FTD backup task configuration and enable the "Retrieve to Management Center" option. This option ensures that the backup is first retrieved to the FMC before being exported to the configured SFTP server.

Retrieve to FMC

Step 3: Allow Scheduled Backup Task to Execute

After making the configuration change, allow the scheduled backup task to run according to its configured schedule to test the modified configuration.

Step 4: Verify Backup Retrieval and Export

Verify that the backup is successfully retrieved to the FMC and then properly exported to the configured SFTP server.

Step 5: Test and Validate Results

Monitor subsequent scheduled backup executions to ensure consistent operation and validate that the automated FTD backup process is functioning as expected.

Cause

The scheduled FTD backup task was not configured with the Retrieve to Management Center option enabled. Without this option scheduled FTD backups are not retrieved and not sent to the remote server. Manual backups are not affected by this option.

Related Content

Revision History

Revision Publish Date Comments
2.0
21-Sep-2026
Recertification
1.0
03-Aug-2026
Initial Release
TAC Authored

Contributed by Cisco Engineers

  • Shweta Ashok
    Cisco TAC Engineer
  • Mikis Zafeiroudis
    Cisco TAC Engineer
  • Ilkin Gasimov
    Cisco TAC Engineer

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