When restoring settings from a backup archive to new hardware it's important to not restore the Ethernet settings. The Ethernet settings contain data regarding the original network cards and restoring this setting to new hardware will cause the old network card references to be imported, which can cause a few problems.
Ethernet settings contain the IP addresses of the network cards, the designation and the MAC address. When those settings are restored, the Smoothwall will add this information to the list of physical cards even though they are not present. For example, if there are 2 network cards in the backup archive and the settings are restored, the result will be something like this:
- Network card 1: Original card 1 (not present)
- Network card 2: Original card 2 (not present)
- Network card 3: New card 1 (present)
- Network card 4: New card 2 (present)
The problem arises from the fact that the designation of the network cards, not the IP address, is used for configuring services. When a proxy is setup, the configuration will reference "Network card 1" as the interface the proxy should be run on, which means that after restoring these settings, the proxy configuration will need to be amended to reflect the new card.
To prevent this from happening, do not restore the Ethernet settings item in a backup archive when restoring settings to new hardware. The only drawback to this, is that IP addresses need to be reconfigured after the restore. Existing IP addresses already configured on the system will not be changed.
Procedure
- Prepare the new Smoothwall Filter and Firewall by following the normal install process for software version or appliance. Do not restore any settings during installation.
- Configure the interfaces by adding IP addresses and setup the Smoothwall with the same interface and IP address information that the original had.
- Update the Smoothwall to the latest release.
- Upload the settings archive. Once uploaded, select it in the archive list and click restore. A list of settings will appear. Go through the list and clear any selected "Ethernet settings" options. Then restore settings and reboot the Smoothwall.