Firmware management change configuration?

Alex_91
Alex_91 Posts: 27  Freshman Member
First Comment Friend Collector Sixth Anniversary
edited April 2021 in Security

Hi, maybe I'm posing a problem that instead is a normal operation, but I wanted to understand.

I have a USG40 with Firmware versione 4.33 (AALA.0), I noticed that if I select the firmware that is in stand-by (the second in firmware management) the firewall correctly restarts but then I notice a different configuration is loaded from the previous firmware, password of the admin is the only thing that remains same.

to restore the previous situation (configuration) I have to restart the firewall with the firmware at first position in firmware management.

In the previous versions I knew that I could restart the firmware but the configuration remained the same.

All Replies

  • Zyxel_Stanley
    Zyxel_Stanley Posts: 1,379  Zyxel Employee
    100 Answers 1000 Comments Friend Collector Seventh Anniversary

    Hi @Alex_91

    There are “Running” and “Standby” partitions in USG system.

    Both of partitions have own configuration files.


    When you uploading firmware to standby partition, system will copy and overwrite “startup-config.conf” to standby partition.

    (1) If you reboot system(and boot up by Standby partition) after uploaded firmware immediately, then configuration would be the same.

    (2) If you do not reboot system and having some configurations on the original running partition after loading the firmware to the standby partition. The newly changed settings won’t be copied to the standby partition’s startup-config.


    I guess you did not reboot system after uploaded firmware, so configurations between running and standby partitions are different.

  • touristsis
    touristsis Posts: 2  Freshman Member
    First Comment Third Anniversary

    how can you copy running config to startup config?

  • PeterUK
    PeterUK Posts: 3,460  Guru Member
    100 Answers 2500 Comments Friend Collector Seventh Anniversary
    edited October 2019

    startup config is running config thier is no running config

  • Alex_91
    Alex_91 Posts: 27  Freshman Member
    First Comment Friend Collector Sixth Anniversary

    new question about this:

    Is it possible, before restarting the firewall, to directly upload the current configuration (present in running partition) in the startup config on the standby partition?

  • PeterUK
    PeterUK Posts: 3,460  Guru Member
    100 Answers 2500 Comments Friend Collector Seventh Anniversary

    No I don't think you can you would have to upgrade the standby partition to have it run startup config thats on the running partition. Or save the startup config run the standby firmware and upload the startup config.

  • Alex_91
    Alex_91 Posts: 27  Freshman Member
    First Comment Friend Collector Sixth Anniversary

    and if I login via FTP? is there a possibility to upload the configuration to the correct folder?

    PS: is there a guide on how to load / overwrite the startup configuration?

  • Zyxel_Emily
    Zyxel_Emily Posts: 1,396  Zyxel Employee
    Zyxel Certified Network Administrator - Security Zyxel Certified Sales Associate 100 Answers 1000 Comments

    Hi @Alex_91,

    It is not allowed to overwrite the startup-config.conf in the standby partition via FTP on ZyWALL.

    Here is the behavior of firmware upgrading.

    Use the following case for example:

    Running partition: 4.35P0

    Standby partition: 4.35 WK46


    Upload firmware 4.35P2 to standby partition and reboot the device right after the firmware is uploaded.

    The startup-config.conf in the running partition will be copied to the standby partition at the moment when the firmware is uploaded to the standby partition.

    After the device finished firmware upgrading and rebooted, the partition becomes as follows.

    Standby partition: 4.35P0

    Running partition: 4.35P2


    The startup-config.conf in the running partition is the same as that in 4.35P0.


    Hence, you can either use the same startup-config.conf as the running partition in standby partition, or reboot the device with the standby partition and upload/apply a new configuration file. 

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