---
title: Back Up a Device
slug: bhdo/back-up-a-device
createdAt: 2022-10-07T14:45:34.000Z
---

You can backup your Belden Horizon Data Operations with its configurations by navigating to **System **>** Device Management > Backup/Restore**.

:::hint{type="warning"}
**Important**: If you create a backup on an instance of Belden Horizon Data Operations running on a virtual machine, you can't use the same backup to restore an instance of Belden Horizon Data Operations running on a physical device. 
:::

There are two ways to back up a device: 

- Back up a device manually 
- Back up a device to the Cloud

# Back Up a Device Manually

You can back up a device manually and save a copy of the device to your local drive. 

## Before You Begin

Review the following resources before manually backing up a device. 

- [Prepare for Backup](docId\:FDAaUSq5AJhpN8L5rBIwm)
- [Backup File Contents and File Management](docId\:tAeZSKILtJ2BD7iIG3GNT)

## How To Back Up a Device Manually

**To manually back up a device:**

1. In Belden Horizon Data Operations, navigate to **System **> **Device Management**.
2. Click the **Backup/Restore** tab.  
3. From the *Backup/Restore Configuration* section, click **Backup**.
   A backup.dat file is save to the Downloads folder. 
4. Move the **backup.dat **file to a designated folder on your local drive.
5. Rename the **backup.dat **file according to your naming convention.

## Recommended Alternative: Use Belden Horizon Data Manager to Backup Device

As instructed above, backing up a Belden Horizon Data Operations device is a *manual *process. Belden Horizon Data Manager offers an *automatic *backing up feature for your Belden Horizon Data Operations devices. This option automatically creates a new backup every time a Belden Horizon Data Operations device’s configuration setting changes. This includes setting changes such as saving a flow, adding a new user, or adding a new Analytics processor.

See [Backup](docId:0ml1xGiqqrJlNIYqxHKH9) from the Belden Horizon Data Manager documentation to learn more. 

# Back Up a Device to the Cloud

Backup to the Cloud facilitates backups to Belden Horizon Data Manager. Backups allow you to save a Belden Horizon Data Operations device configuration to the cloud and later restore the configuration for the same device.

You can save the current device configuration to the cloud. This enables you to store full license and configuration information within a backup JSON file. You can later restore the full license and configuration to the same Belden Horizon Data Operations device.

- Use this option to save a Belden Horizon Data Operations device configuration so that you can later revert to a previous configuration.
- Use this option to store a local backup of the Belden Horizon Data Operations device configuration.

## Before You Begin

Before completing the steps below, make sure you do the following:

- Obtain a license for backup and restore.
- Activate the device with Belden Horizon Data Manager. See [Activate an Edge Device](docId\:FiGJ3m0TBM7HTGJOzD9VN) for more information.

## How To Back Up a Device to the Cloud

:::hint{type="warning"}
**Important**: When you configure a device backup to the Cloud, you have the option of selecting the backup time interval. The selection you make determines the frequency of the backup mechanism that checks the device configuration for changes. If a configuration change is detected before the configured time, a backup automatically occurs. 
:::

**To save a device configuration to the cloud:**

1. In Belden Horizon Data Operations, navigate to **System **> **Device Management**.
2. Click the **Backup/Restore** tab.  
3. From the *Restore/Backup to the Cloud *section, click **Configure **and select an option from the drop-down list: None, 1 Day, 1 Hour, 10 minutes, custom interval in minutes. 
4. After you have made your selection or entered an interval in minutes into the **Interval **field, click **Set Custom**.
5. From the* Restore/Backup to the Cloud* section, click **Save**.
   The backup configuration is saved to the cloud according to your selections. The backup files appear as files in the *Restore/Backup to the Cloud* section for the interval you have selected.