Subject: (usr-tc) Backing up NMC and ARC configs

From: Campbell Simpson <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2000 23:51:05 +0000

Hi all

Just following on from the ARC tftp upload thread, does anyone have an cunning way to backup and restore the full config of an NMC or ARC card. 

Its a real pain if you have to swap out cards and re-configure the cards manually.

Cheers

Campbell

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From: Charles Sprickman <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2000 01:06:53 +0000

> Just following on from the ARC tftp upload thread, does anyone have an cunning way to backup and restore the full config of an NMC or ARC card. 

Not to be an ass, but since I never found a way, I initially ran a script
of my first config and saved it out as a file.  Whenever I make any
changes, I also make it to this file.  So far, it's made configuring new
ARCs extremely easy...

Now of course a single config file like a Cisco has would be wonderful, as
it makes it super easy to back things up.  Long ago I tftp'd down all the
files I could grab off the thing and really couldn't find a single file
with all settings...

Charles

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From: Mike Andrews <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2000 03:03:26 +0000

> changes, I also make it to this file.  So far, it's made configuring new

I do this too, but, it gets way out of sync with reality very quickly as
soon as you log into the ARC and start tweaking things to work around
problems.
 
> files I could grab off the thing and really couldn't find a single file

There is one, but it's binary.  Look up "bulk configuration" in the docs,
or use HARM to do it.

There's no way that I know of to dump the config out in text like a Cisco
does.  Someone hinted a while ago that 3Com had such a tool internally...
but I never got anyone to confirm the existence of something like that.  

Since I can't find one, I'm going to write one if nobody else fesses up
and saves me the work.  I've already started, but it's slow going, because
I'm still trying to come up with an elegant data structure for mapping the
command names to the SNMP OIDs that store the values without hardcoding
every stupid verb into the program...

Mike Andrews (MA12) * [email-masked] * http://www.bit0.com/
VP, sysadmin, & network guy, Digital Crescent Inc, Frankfort KY
Internet services for Frankfort, Lawrenceburg, Owenton, Shelbyville
"Don't sweat the petty things, and don't pet the sweaty things."

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From: Jeff Mcadams <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2000 04:17:00 +0000

Thus spake Mike Andrews
>every stupid verb into the program...

Do you really need to convert it back to CLI format?  Can you store it
in a way that your tool could restore the config back automatically, or
copy it over to another automatically?  Personally, I think that would
be even better than a CLI config tool...an SNMP config tool.
Say...here's a template that I want all of my ports configured
like...and let it go in and do all of them that way.  Something like
that would be even better IMHO.  Still have to come up with a data
structure to store that, but that should be rather more easy to do than
a conversion to CLI commands.
-- 
Jeff McAdams                            Email: [email-masked]
Head Network Administrator              Voice: (502) 966-3848
IgLou Internet Services                        (800) 436-4456

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From: Mike Andrews <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2000 20:43:34 +0000

> a conversion to CLI commands.

Well, it doesn't HAVE to be in CLI format, it'd just be nice. :)  Just
dumping a config in *any* kind of text format so you could at least diff
it against another config would be handy.  And that much I could do with
just a bunch of snmpwalk commands.

Sounds like you're talking about making it work like my 'checkusrcfg.pl'
script does, which configures everything in the box except for the ARC.  
I could probably just throw ARC config data into that, using the SNMP
proxying thing, though of course that'd be a lot slower than just doing it
directly.  That doesn't deal with tables all that well, and the code's
already pretty ugly. :)

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