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Disk Image Backup

Firstly, I will apologize if this post is not really related directly with a firewall problem.

I am in the process of trying to retrain my brain, so that I can migrate from using the UTM (home version), which I have been using since v3, to the XG firewall (home version).

My preference would be to stay with the UTM, but it is obvious why that is no longer really viable, so... it's time for a change, I guess.

In the past I have used the Acronis backup software (boot disk) to make image backups of the UTM. This has allowed me very fast recovery/recreation of the UTM at a specific point in time, so I can do testing and basically, have a play without the fear of not being able to get back to where I was previously.

Yes, I have used UTM generated backup files to do a similar thing, but each have they advantages.

That has always worked for me, until now, when I tried to do an image backup of a fresh install of the v20 XG firewall which failed to identify all of the partitions.

Unlike the UTM, where all of the partitions are seen by the Acronis software, with the XG firewal I only see 2 partitions;

An Ext4 (boot) partition which is 136MB in size and a FAT32 (Unlabled) partition with a size of 64MB.

I can only assume that the core functional partitions of the XG firewall are using a file type that is unknown to Acronis. Is that the case?

Although Acronis has been my imaging software of choice for many years now, I did try some other brands, like EaseUS, but the result was the same; no more than 2 partitions are detected.

Can anyone explain to me why this is so, or better yet, how I can resolve this issue.

Is there a method, that I am unaware of, that will allow me to do an image backup of the XG home firewall HDD?



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  • Surely there must be someone at Sophos that can explain why I cannot see the partitions on the XG Firewall HDD that contain the file systems.

  • I am still in the dark about this issue, as no one has chimed in with any advice so far.

    As mentioned, I usually use Acronis to do my HDD image creation/restore, but to confirm that this is not simply an issue with that software I have just tried using the latest version of Macrium Reflect (v8.1) and I still get the same result, that being there is no option to save the firewall's system files, as that partition, or partitions, are not shown.

    All that I would like to know is if it is possible to do a HDD image backup of the XG firewall (software version), and if so, what software can I use to do this?



    Added image
    [edited by: Owen at 10:16 AM (GMT -8) on 22 Feb 2024]
  • Hi Owen,

    Thank you for reaching out to Sophos Community.

    I can see where you're coming from. Unfortunately, upon checking internally, there’s no way to backup an HDD image firewall.

    For Backup & restore, we follow the following recommended procedure below

    Erick Jan
    Community Support Engineer | Sophos Technical Support
    Sophos Support Videos Product Documentation  |  @SophosSupport  | Sign up for SMS Alerts
    If a post solves your question use the 'Verify Answer' link.

  • Well, that sucks for me, but thanks for the confirmation that it is not possible.

  • You might be able to virtualize your firewall and use virtualization backups to (or even snaphots) to quickly be able to revert to an earlier point in time....


    Managing several Sophos firewalls both at work and at some home locations, dedicated to continuously improve IT-security and feeling well helping others with their IT-security challenges.

  • I have worked with VMWare for over 20 years so yes, that could be an option, but not one that I want to do.

    All I wanted to do was a simple image backup of the HDD, as I can do with the UTM.
    Alas... Erik has said that this is not possible with the XG.