Viewing and Analyzing Your Configuration Snapshots

Overview

The Snapshot History page is your window into the history of your Meraki configurations.

Every time Safeguard backs up an entity (organization-level settings, network, or template), it creates a Snapshot that captures the complete configuration state at that specific moment in time. The Snapshot viewer lets you view these snapshots, track changes over time, compare different configuration states, and understand who made changes and when.

This powerful tool helps you monitor configuration drift, troubleshoot issues, and maintain visibility into your network's evolution.

This guide explains how to navigate and use all features of the Snapshot History page.

What is a Snapshot?

A Snapshot is a point-in-time backup of an entity's configuration state. What gets captured:

• All configuration settings available through a valid Meraki Dashboard API
• Timestamp of when the backup occurred
• Who made changes (if any) since the previous snapshot

Supported entity types:

• Organization-level settings
• Individual networks (connected devices will be automatically backed up)
• Individual templates

Accessing the Snapshot History Page

To open the Snapshot History page:

1. Navigate to Safeguard in your workspace
2. Select an organization from the dashboard
3. Choose the entity you want to explore, then click on ‘View Snapshots’:
   • Click on the organization entity to view organization-level snapshot history
   • Click on a network entity to view that network's snapshot history
   • Click on a template entity to view that template's snapshot history
4. The Snapshot History page will open, showing all available snapshots for that entity

Understanding the Snapshot History Page

The Snapshot History page has a two-panel layout:

Left Panel: Snapshot History

Displays all snapshot events for the selected entity, organized chronologically:

• Most recent snapshots appear at the top
• Each snapshot shows:
  • Timestamp (date and time in human-readable format)
  • Label (if assigned)
  • Trigger source badge (Manual or Automatic)
• Use the search bar to find snapshots by timestamp or label
• Click any snapshot to view its contents in the right panel
• Once a snapshot is selected, you can hide this section to increase the size of the right panel

Right Panel: Snapshot Viewer

Displays the selected snapshot's information and configuration data through three tabs:

• Full Backup: Overview of all backed up settings
• Change Log: Differences from the previous snapshot
• Compare: Side-by-side comparison with another snapshot

Snapshot Information

At the top of the Snapshot Viewer, you'll see key information about the selected snapshot:

Name (Timestamp)

The snapshot's timestamp displayed in human-readable format (e.g., "Oct 29, 2025 at 3:45 PM")

Labels

• Purpose: Labels help you categorize and find snapshots quickly
• Usage: Labels are optional but recommended for important snapshots
• How to add/edit: Click on the label field and type or select from existing labels
• Limitation: Only one label per snapshot is supported
• Examples: "Pre-Production Release", "Before Firewall Update", "Quarterly Audit", "Initial Backup"

Changed By

Displays who made the configuration changes captured by this snapshot (if any):

• Shows a list of Meraki admin users (name and email) who made changes
• Multiple users may appear if several admins made changes within the same backup interval
• When no users are displayed, the system shows the operation that triggered the backup

Full Backup Tab

The Full Backup tab displays the complete contents of the selected snapshot event, organized for easy navigation.

How Configuration Data is Organized

Configurations are categorized in a two-level hierarchy:

Level 1: Product Type

• Organization
• Network-Wide
• Security & SD-WAN
• Switching
• Cameras
• Wireless
• Devices (for networks)
• And more, depending on your Meraki products

Level 2: Setting Type

• Within each product type, settings are grouped by API endpoint
• Examples: "Layer 7 Firewall Rules", "SSIDs", "Content Filtering", "SNMP Settings"

Viewing Configuration Data

1. Click on any product type category to expand it
2. Click on a specific setting to view its configuration
3. All configurations are displayed as formatted JSON
4. Each category shows a count of how many settings are backed up

Special Features for Networks

When viewing network snapshots, the Full Backup tab also displays:

Template Binding Information:

• Shows if the network is bound to a template
• Displays which template it's bound to

Device-Level Settings:

• Settings are organized by device
• Then by setting within each device
• Examples: Switch port configurations, wireless radio settings, appliance WAN settings

JSON Viewer Features

The JSON viewer includes GitHub-style keyboard shortcuts for easy navigation:

• Copy/paste functionality: Select and copy JSON data
• Collapsible sections: Click to expand or collapse nested JSON objects
• Search within JSON: Use the search bar to find specific settings or values
• Syntax highlighting: Color-coded for easy reading

Search Functionality

Use the search bar at the top of the Full Backup tab to filter displayed configurations:

1. Type your search term (e.g., "Content Filtering", "SSID", "MX")
2. Press Enter to add the search term as a filter
3. The view updates to show only categories and settings matching your search
4. Add multiple search terms (up to 10) to narrow your results
5. Click the X on any filter tag to remove it

Change Log Tab

The Change Log tab shows you exactly what changed between the current snapshot and the previous one.

Toggle between two different views using the view mode selector:

1. Structured View (Default)

Displays changes in an organized, easy-to-read format:

• Changes are categorized by configuration setting
• Each category shows a count of changed settings
• Expand any category to see specific changes

JSON diff viewer:

• By default, the JSON viewer automatically focuses on the line containing the change
• Scroll up and down to see surrounding context
• Side-by-side comparison shows "before" and "after" values

2. Raw JSON View

Displays the raw Meraki change log JSON directly from the Meraki Dashboard API.

What you'll see:

• Complete change log data for the given timeframe as provided by Meraki
• Shows who made each individual change
• Includes timestamps for each change
• Contains all change details captured by the Meraki Change Log

Using the Change Log

Common use cases:

• Troubleshooting: Identify what changed before an issue started
• Configuration review: Verify that changes were applied correctly
• Compliance: Track configuration changes for regulatory requirements

Compare Tab

The Compare tab enables side-by-side comparison of two different snapshot events, making it easy to see how your configuration evolved between any two points in time.

How to Use Compare

Step 1: Select a Snapshot for Comparison

1. The current snapshot is already selected (shown on the left side)
2. Use the Snapshot Selector dropdown to choose a second snapshot to compare against
3. Search by timestamp or label to find the snapshot you want

Step 2: View the Comparison

• Both snapshots are displayed side by side
• By default, only different parameters are displayed
  • Select 'View all' if you want to see all parameters, regardless of whether they are different or the same
• Left panel: Current snapshot (the one you selected in the events list)
• Right panel: Comparison snapshot (the one you chose in the dropdown)
• Each panel shows the snapshot's timestamp, label, and trigger source

Step 3: Analyze Differences

• Configurations are organized by product type and endpoint (same hierarchy as Full Backup tab)
• Expand any category to drill down into specific configuration endpoints

Common Comparison Scenarios

Scenario 1: Before and After a Major Change

• Compare a snapshot from before a configuration change with one from after
• Verify that only expected changes occurred
• Useful for validating maintenance windows or updates

Scenario 2: Configuration Drift Detection

• Compare an older "known good" configuration with the current state
• Identify unintended changes or drift
• Useful for compliance and security audits

Scenario 3: Comparing Different Environments

• Compare snapshots of similar networks to identify configuration differences
• Useful when standardizing configurations across multiple sites

Understanding What Gets Backed Up

API Coverage

What you'll see in the Snapshot Viewer:

• All backed-up settings are displayed in the Full Backup tab
• The Change Log Raw JSON view may show changes to unsupported settings
• These changes are detected by Meraki but cannot be captured by Safeguard

Best Practices for Using the Snapshot Viewer

Regular Reviews

• Periodically review your snapshot history to monitor configuration changes
• Use the Change Log tab to audit recent modifications

Pre-Change Documentation

• Before making significant configuration changes, create a manual backup and label it
• This gives you a clear reference point for comparison
• Makes it easier to rollback if needed

Troubleshooting Workflow

1. Identify when the issue started
2. Use the Snapshot History to find snapshots before and after that time
3. Use the Compare tab or Change Log to identify what changed
4. Focus on the specific configurations related to the issue

Compliance and Auditing

• Label snapshots that represent compliance checkpoints
• Export or document configuration states for audit trails

Common Questions

Q: How long are snapshots retained?
A: Snapshots are typically stored for 365 days, although this can be prolonged in the scenario where there is a time gap.

Q: Can I download or export a snapshot's configuration?
A: Yes, snapshot event configurations can be exported. You can also copy JSON data from the viewer.

Q: Why don't I see some settings that I configured in the Meraki Dashboard?
A: If a setting doesn't appear in the Full Backup tab, it may not be accessible through a valid Meraki Dashboard API endpoint. Check the Raw JSON view in the Change Log tab to see if Meraki detected changes to that setting.

Q: Can I compare snapshots from different entities (e.g., two different networks)?
A: No, the Compare tab only allows comparisons between snapshots of the same entity. Each entity has its own independent snapshot history.

Q: What does the trigger source badge mean?
A: The trigger source indicates how the backup was initiated:

• Manual: Triggered by a user through the "Backup now" button.
• Automatic: Triggered by a scheduled backup, a change detection, a new connection or a reinstate operation.

Q: Can I delete snapshots I no longer need?
A: Snapshot deletion are currently not supported.

Q: Why does the Change Log sometimes say "No changes detected" even though I know I made changes?
A: This can happen if:

• The changes were to settings not covered by valid Meraki API endpoints
• The changes were made but then reverted before the snapshot was taken
• The backup captured the same state as the previous snapshot