Restore data using an external NSO | Manage Backup and Restore | Cisco Crosswork Network Controller 7.2.x Administration Guide

Restore a Crosswork cluster and its associated external NSO from a backup file stored on an SCP server.

Restore a Crosswork cluster and its associated NSO from a backup file located on an SCP server.

Use this task to recover your Crosswork cluster and NSO in the event of data loss or system migration. Perform this operation during a scheduled maintenance window only. Do not allow users to access Crosswork or NSO while the restore is in progress. The operation may be lengthy and will pause other Crosswork applications until complete. NSO must be completely stopped during the restore process.

Note

Restoring from the external NSO backup file is a manual process.

Before you begin

Obtain the full name of the backup file from the SCP backup server (typically the most recent backup). Backup filenames follow this format: backup_JobName_CWVersion_TimeStamp.tar.
- JobName is the user-entered name of the backup job.
- CWVersion is the platform version of the backed-up system.
- TimeStamp is the date and time when backup file was created.
Example: backup_Wed_7-2_2026-01-25-12-00.tar.
Ensure that NSO is not running before you begin the restore operation.

Procedure

	1.	Log in to the remote SCP backup server. Access the backup destination directory and locate the backup file containing external NSO information. `[root@localhost~]# ls -ltr -rw-rw-r--. 1 root root 8265938605 backup_Wed_7-2_2026-01-25-12-00.tar`
	2.	Extract the NSO backup from the main backup file using `tar -xvf`. `[root@localhost~]# tar -xvf backup_Wed_7-2_2026-01-25-12-00.tar ... [root@localhost~]# ls -ltr -rw-rw-r--. 1 root root 8265938605 backup_Wed_7-2_2026-01-25-12-00.tar -rw-r--r--. 1 root root 8267798605 468c4715-ea09-4c2b-905e-98999d.tar`
	3.	Extract the NSO backup file in the destination folder. This will create a folder structure under `/nso/ProviderName/`, where ProviderName is the configured NSO provider name. In the following example, the NSO provider is named `nso121`: `tar -xvf 468c4715-ea09-4c2b-905e-98999d.tar 468c4715-ea09-4c2b-905e-98999d/nso/ 468c4715-ea09-4c2b-905e-98999d/nso/nso121/ 468c4715-ea09-4c2b-905e-98999d/nso/nso121/log/ 468c4715-ea09-4c2b-905e-98999d/nso/nso121/log/nso_backup_result_nso121_Wed.log 468c4715-ea09-4c2b-905e-98999d/nso/nso121/NSO_RESTORE_PATH_nso121 468c4715-ea09-4c2b-905e-98999d/nso/nso121/ncs-5.4.2@backup_Wed_nso121.backup.gz ...`
	4.	Locate the file with a `.backup.gz` extension in the `/nso/ProviderName/` folder. This is the generated NSO backup file.
	5.	Log in to NSO as a user with root privileges. Copy or move the generated NSO backup file from the SCP server to the restore path location of the NSO cluster. `[root@localhost nso121]# more NSO_RESTORE_PATH_nso121/var/opt/ncs/backups/` `[root@localhost nsol21]# ls log ncs-5.4.2@backup_Wed_nso121.backup.gz NS0_REST0RE_PATH_nso121 [root@localhost nso121]# more NS0_REST0RE_PATH_nso121 /var/opt/ncs/backups/ [root@localhost nso121]# ...`
	6.	Stop NSO before starting the restore operation. `$/etc/init.d/ncs stop`
	7.	Restore NSO using the backup file. `#ncs-backup --restore ncs-5.4.2@backup_Wed_nso121.backup.gz` If you encounter issues running this command, ensure you have `sudo su` permission.
	8.	Restart NSO after the restore completes. `$/etc/init.d/ncs start`
	9.	Re-add the NSO provider to Crosswork after restoring both Crosswork and NSO clusters from backups. Complete the NSO configuration to ensure provisioning services function properly. For more information, see Add a Cisco NSO provider.

The Crosswork and NSO clusters are restored from backup and ready for continued operation. Services and provisioning can now resume as normal.

What to do next

Verify that all NSO provisioning services are operational.
Complete any additional configuration as required for your deployment.