Configuration Management

 

Configurations maintained in a database, downloaded from all network devices regularly (nightly, weekly), ensure that a very recent configuration can be restored to a router in need. Configuration files may need to be restored if an existing router needs to be replaced , loses its configuration, or becomes misconfigured.

CiscoWorks provides the capability to download configuration files from a router via TFTP. In fact, configuration can be downloaded from the router to any TFTP server. Many organizations use UNIX TFTP servers and Perl scripts, which are run on a regularly scheduled basis to perform their configuration management. An organization's policy may be to store configuration files for 7 days. The filenames may be routername. current and routername. 1, routername. 2, routername. 3, and so on, representing 7 days of configurations. A simple script run nightly could copy the file routername.N to file routername. N +1 (as long as N is 1 through 6), copy the file routername. current to file routername. 1, connect to the router to initiate the TFTP configuration file download into file routername. current, and log out of the router. The script could loop through a list of routers in the network.

NOTE

You can find more information about Perl in the following two books: Learning Perl, Second Edition , by Randal L. Schwartz, Tom Christiansen, and Steve Talbot (Editor) (O'Reilly & Associates, Inc., July 1997), and Programming Perl , by Larry Wall, Jon Orwant, and Tom Christiansen (O'Reilly & Associates, Inc., July 2000).


You should store old configurations for some period of time, at least a week, preferably a month, for restoring known working configurations to routers and for troubleshooting problems that may have occurred as a result of a past configuration change. With the combination of daily configuration files and change management logs, a working configuration can easily be restored to a router.



Routing TCP[s]IP (Vol. 22001)
Routing TCP[s]IP (Vol. 22001)
ISBN: N/A
EAN: N/A
Year: 2004
Pages: 182

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