Just adding my two cents for clarity.
Vera should and usually does perform a Z-Wave network backup when the nightly backup runs, after including a new device. For your safety, in the event that this does not occur as it should, it is best to do a Z-Wave network backup after the successful inclusion or exclusion of a Z-Wave node.
The Z-Wave network backup is stored as file on Vera. That file is included with every Vera backup. But, if you do backups without checking the backup Z-Wave network option, it is possible that the file could be out of date.
When restoring Vera, checking the restore Z-Wave network option applies the Z-Wave network backup file to your Z-Wave dongle. If the Z-Wave network backup file is from a few days ago, that's probably a good thing, but if it is months or years old, you might have to exclude and include devices that are not part of that backup.