Best Network Configuration Backup Tool
Netpicker is a network configuration backup tool designed for enterprise environments, providing free automated backups for Cisco, Juniper, and multi‑vendor networks.
But there is more!
Netpicker makes Network Automation fun & easy, with config backup, compliance, automated testing, CVE detection, AI integration and orchestration for over 150 vendors.
Network device configuration backups are one of those things everyone knows they should have — yet many enterprise networks still rely on manual exports, brittle scripts, or legacy tools that haven’t kept pace with modern operational requirements.
When a switch fails, a firewall is replaced, or a change needs to be rolled back quickly, having reliable and up‑to‑date configuration backups is the difference between a short incident and a long outage.
This is where Netpicker comes in.
Netpicker is a free network configuration backup tool designed for enterprise environments, supporting Cisco, Juniper, and many other vendors, with a focus on automation, visibility, and operational safety.
Why do you need a network config backup tool?
Automated backup of network device configs gives you one less thing to worry about.
Enterprise networks change constantly:
- Emergency fixes
- Planned maintenance
- Hardware refreshes
- Compliance‑driven configuration changes
Without automated backups:
- Configurations drift silently
- Rollbacks become manual and error‑prone
- Audits turn into scavenger hunts
- Engineers hesitate to make necessary changes
Automated network configuration backups with a proper network configuration backup tool ensures that every version of every device configuration is captured, stored, and recoverable — automatically.
Common Problems with Traditional Backup Approaches
Many organisations still rely on one of the following:
- Manual
copy run startand exports - Ad‑hoc scripts tied to one engineer
- Legacy tools that require heavy maintenance
- Paid platforms that lock basic features behind licences
These approaches struggle at enterprise scale:
- They don’t track historical changes cleanly
- They’re hard to extend to new vendors
- They create knowledge silos
- They often fail silently
Enterprises need something automated, transparent, extensible — and trustworthy.
Netpicker is a modern, alternative to RANCID or Oxidized and so much more.
Beyond automated configuration backups, Netpicker provides a broader operational foundation for modern network teams. In addition to capturing and retaining configuration history, Netpicker enables detailed change tracking, allowing engineers to see exactly what changed, when it changed, and how configurations have evolved over time. This historical visibility supports audits, incident reviews, and safer rollbacks when changes don’t go as planned.
Netpicker also extends into configuration compliance and validation, helping teams compare device configurations against expected standards and detect drift before it becomes a problem. Built‑in automation and testing capabilities allow network changes to be validated systematically rather than relying on manual spot checks. For security‑conscious environments, Netpicker integrates vulnerability and CVE awareness into network workflows, adding further context around configuration risk.
Unlike tools focused on a single task, Netpicker is designed to be extensible and automation‑friendly. With broad multi‑vendor support, API‑driven workflows, and orchestration capabilities, it can be integrated into existing CI/CD pipelines, change‑management processes, and infrastructure tooling. This makes Netpicker not just a replacement for RANCID or Oxidized, but a platform that supports the full lifecycle of configuration management — from backup and visibility through to compliance, testing, and continuous improvement.
Introducing Netpicker: Not just a Free Network Configuration Backup Tool
Netpicker is built to solve these problems without introducing new ones.
Key Principles
- ✅ Free for backups — no licence costs, no vendor lock‑in
- ✅ Enterprise‑focused — designed for real networks, not just labs
- ✅ Multi‑vendor — Cisco, Juniper, and many more
- ✅ Automation‑first — backups run without human intervention
Netpicker continuously retrieves device configurations and stores them in a structured, auditable format, making it easy to answer questions like:
- What changed?
- When did it change?
- Who made the change?
- Can we roll it back safely?
Cisco, Juniper, and Multi‑Vendor Support
One of the most common searches engineers make is for a Cisco config backup tool. Cisco devices are everywhere — but enterprise networks are rarely Cisco‑only.
Netpicker is designed for heterogeneous environments, allowing you to back up:
- Cisco routers and switches
- Juniper devices
- Firewalls, access switches, and over 150+ network vendors
This means:
- One backup system
- One operational model
- One source of truth for configuration data
Change Tracking, Auditing, and Accountability
Backups aren’t just about recovery — they’re about visibility.
With Netpicker, you gain:
- Historical configuration versions
- Clear tracking of configuration changes over time
- An auditable record of how the network evolved
This is especially valuable for:
- Compliance requirements
- Security investigations
- Operational reviews
- Change management processes
Free – Without Compromise
“Free” often implies “limited”.
Netpicker is different.
You can backup the configs of an unlimited number of devices, free forever. Then if you want to explore all the other features you can with up to 10 devices before you require a license.
- You can inspect exactly how it works
- You control how it’s deployed and extended
- You’re never blocked by licensing decisions
- You’re free to integrate it into existing workflows
For enterprises, this means lower cost and greater control — a rare but powerful combination.
A Modern Alternative to Legacy Tools
Many engineers look for alternatives to long‑standing tools like RANCID or Oxidized. While those tools paved the way for network backups, modern enterprise environments demand:
- Better extensibility
- Cleaner workflows
- Easier onboarding
- Multi‑vendor flexibility without hacks
Netpicker is built with these modern expectations in mind, while remaining familiar and engineer‑friendly.
What is Netpicker?
Netpicker is a modern, containerised network automation and validation platform designed to automate configuration backups, compliance checks, and security vulnerability (CVE) assessments for multi-vendor network environments.
Netpicker is developed by Flock9 and offers backups for life for unlimited devices, network automation functionality and compliance checks for up to 10 devices for free. For more devices you will need to obtain a license.
Get Started with Netpicker
If you’re looking for a:
- Network configuration backup tool
- Free to backup all your configs and explore all the features with up to 10 devices without a license.
- Suitable for enterprise networks
- Supporting Cisco, Juniper, Aruba and 150+ vendors
Then Netpicker is worth a look.
👉 Learn more or get started at:
https://netpicker.io
Final Thought
Backups shouldn’t be an afterthought. They should be automatic, reliable, and boring — so that when something goes wrong, recovery is fast and uneventful.
Netpicker helps make network configuration backups exactly that.
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