There are two ways to easily backup Asterisk nodes;
1.  Copy files to your PC, using freeware applications like WinSCP , or   
2.  Backup to the AllStar portal.
 
WinSCP can quickly and easily copy all the /etc/asterisk files to your PC.  WinSCP works a lot like any other Windows program, and instructions can be found on the WinSCP website. 
 
The AllStar portal backup method has the advantage of being offsite, on a server, which could be accessed by the primary and backup administrators for a club or repeater association.  The setup and operation of that method follows:
 
SETUP
1.  Logon to the Allstar website with your callsign and website password.
2.  From the menu at the top, select 'Node' and then 'Node Configuration'
3.  Select the appropriate server
4.  Select any node from that server
5.  The AllStar Node Configuration page will show you
    -node number
    -status of the node (hopefully 'active') and
    -the eight digit node password. 
Copy the node number and node password. 
6.  Log off the AllStar site.
7.  Use WinSCP, or any other program to access the server.
8.  Goto the /etc/asterisk directory
9.  Edit the 'savenode.conf' file with the information you copied from the AllStar site.
 
A typical savenode.conf file looks like;
 
# config file for /usr/local/bin/savenode
 
NODE=xxxxx
PASSWORD=yyyyyy
ENABLE=1
Where:    xxxxx is the four or five digit node number. 
                yyyyyyyy is the eight digit password from the AllStar site
 
If you comment the file, expect errors when setup.sh is run.  It still seems to run, but you will see error messages
10.  Restart Asterisk to ensure it reads the new files.
 
USAGE
1.  Log onto the node as the root administrator. 
2.  At the Linux prompt (#)
3.  Enter the command 'savenode.sh'
The console output will be similar to:
[root@AST_27465_BAL ~]# savenode.sh
Saving Asterisk node configuration to register.allstarlink.org
File transfer successful and file verified
On a multi node server,  the information for all nodes is transferred to AllStar by this one operation.
 
Information in this posting is an accumulation from the "[App_rpt-users] worthwhile asterisk/app_rpt files to back-up?" thread.  Thanks to all who participated.

VE3GIH Gordon Hewit