Centreon CLAPI Restore Role

Overview

This role restores Centreon monitoring configuration from a CLAPI (Command Line API) backup file. It automatically identifies the latest backup, imports the configuration, and applies it to the Centreon server. This role is the companion to centreon_clapi_backup.

Purpose

Disaster Recovery: Restore complete Centreon configuration after system failure
Configuration Rollback: Revert to a previous configuration snapshot
System Migration: Transfer Centreon configuration to a new server
Testing: Create test environments from production backups
Automated Recovery: Streamline the restoration process

Requirements

Ansible 2.9 or higher
Centreon installed with CLAPI available (centreon command)
Admin credentials for Centreon stored in Ansible Vault
CLAPI backup files created by centreon_clapi_backup role
Target host must have the centreon CLI tool in PATH

Role Variables

Required Variables

Variable	Required	Description
`vault_centreon_admin_password`	Yes	Centreon admin password (stored in Ansible Vault)

Optional Variables

Variable	Default	Description
`centreon_clapi_restore_backup_path`	`/media/nas_win_share/centreon/clapi`	Directory containing CLAPI backup files
`centreon_clapi_restore_admin_user`	`admin`	Centreon admin username for CLAPI operations

Variable Details

vault_centreon_admin_password

The password for the Centreon admin user. This must be stored in an Ansible Vault file.

Example vault variable:

vault_centreon_admin_password: "YourSecurePassword123"

centreon_clapi_restore_backup_path

Directory where CLAPI backup files are stored. The role will search for files matching the pattern centreon_clapi_backup_*.txt.

Example:

centreon_clapi_restore_backup_path: /mnt/backup/centreon/clapi

centreon_clapi_restore_admin_user

The Centreon admin username. Default is admin but can be changed if you use a different admin account.

Example:

centreon_clapi_restore_admin_user: monitoring_admin

Dependencies

This role has no dependencies on other Ansible roles, but requires:

CLAPI backup files created by centreon_clapi_backup role
NAS mount configured if restoring from network storage
Centreon server with CLAPI functionality

Example Playbook

Basic Usage (Restore Latest Backup)

---
- name: Restore Centreon Configuration
  hosts: centreon
  become: true

  roles:
    - centreon_clapi_restore

Restore from Custom Backup Location

---
- name: Restore Centreon from Custom Location
  hosts: centreon
  become: true

  vars:
    centreon_clapi_restore_backup_path: /mnt/backup2/centreon

  roles:
    - centreon_clapi_restore

Restore with Custom Admin User

---
- name: Restore Centreon with Custom Admin
  hosts: centreon
  become: true

  vars:
    centreon_clapi_restore_admin_user: monitoring_admin

  roles:
    - centreon_clapi_restore

What This Role Does

Finds all CLAPI backup files in the specified backup directory
Identifies the latest backup based on file modification time
Fails gracefully if no backup files are found
Displays the backup being restored for user confirmation
Imports the configuration using centreon -i command
Applies the configuration using APPLYCFG to poller 1
Confirms successful restoration with debug output

Restoration Process Details

Step 1: Import Configuration

centreon -u admin -p 'password' -i /path/to/backup.txt

This command imports all objects from the backup file:

Hosts and host templates
Services and service templates
Commands, time periods, contacts
All other Centreon configuration objects

Step 2: Apply Configuration

centreon -u admin -p 'password' -a APPLYCFG -v 1

This command:

Generates new configuration files
Validates the configuration
Deploys to poller 1 (Central)
Reloads monitoring engine

Backup File Selection

The role automatically selects the most recent backup using these criteria:

Searches for files matching pattern: centreon_clapi_backup_*.txt
Sorts by modification time (mtime)
Uses the newest file

Example backup files (newest first):

centreon_clapi_backup_20260107_190530.txt  <- This will be used
centreon_clapi_backup_20260107_143022.txt
centreon_clapi_backup_20260106_020000.txt

What Gets Restored

The CLAPI import restores all Centreon configuration objects:

Hosts and host templates
Services and service templates
Commands (check, notification, discovery)
Time periods
Contacts and contact groups
Host groups and service groups
Host categories and service categories
SNMP traps
Escalations
Dependencies
ACLs and access groups
Pollers and broker configurations

The restoration does NOT include:

RRD data (performance metrics)
Event logs
Historical acknowledgements
Historical downtimes

Behavior on Conflicts

When importing:

Existing objects with same name: Will be updated with values from backup
New objects in backup: Will be created
Objects not in backup: Will remain unchanged on the server

This means restoration is additive and updates - it does not delete objects that exist on the server but not in the backup.

Security Considerations

Password Protection: Admin password is marked with no_log: true to prevent logging
Vault Storage: Admin password must be stored in Ansible Vault
Destructive Operation: Imports will overwrite existing configuration objects
Testing Recommended: Test restores in a non-production environment first

Error Handling

The role handles errors gracefully:

No Backup Files Found

TASK [Fail if no backup found]
fatal: [centreon]: FAILED! => {"msg": "No Centreon CLAPI backup files found in /media/nas_win_share/centreon/clapi"}

Import Failure

The task will fail if the centreon -i command returns a non-zero exit code. Check Centreon logs for details:

tail -f /var/log/centreon/centreon.log

Apply Configuration Failure

If APPLYCFG fails, check the Centreon Engine configuration:

/usr/sbin/centengine -v /etc/centreon-engine/centengine.cfg

Notes

The role uses changed_when: centreon_clapi_restore_import_status.rc == 0 for proper idempotency tracking
APPLYCFG is applied to poller 1 (Central) - adjust if using remote pollers
Restoration can take several minutes for large configurations
The role displays the backup filename being used for transparency

Troubleshooting

”centreon: command not found”

Ensure Centreon CLAPI is installed and the centreon binary is in PATH. Typically at /usr/share/centreon/bin/centreon.

”Authentication failed” errors

Verify the vault_centreon_admin_password variable is correctly set. Test manually:

centreon -u admin -p 'password' -i /path/to/backup.txt

“No backup files found”

Verify:

NAS is mounted: mount | grep nas_win_share
Backup files exist: ls -l /media/nas_win_share/centreon/clapi/
Filename pattern matches: centreon_clapi_backup_*.txt

Import succeeds but objects don’t appear

Run APPLYCFG manually to check for errors:

centreon -u admin -p 'password' -a APPLYCFG -v 1

Configuration validation errors

The imported configuration may have validation errors. Check:

/usr/sbin/centengine -v /etc/centreon-engine/centengine.cfg

Best Practices

Test in non-production before restoring to production
Backup current configuration before restoring (create a new CLAPI export)
Verify poller connectivity after restoration
Check service statuses to ensure monitoring resumed correctly
Review broker configuration if using remote pollers

centreon_clapi_backup: Creates the backup files this role restores

License

MIT

Author

Created for homelab infrastructure management.