Config Backup Utilities?

[j.shrewsbury]

Looking for an automated backup tool to backup router/switch configs for approximately 20 devices. We are not running CiscoWorks, any suggestions?

[rmushtaq]

You may find some opensource tools for this at: http://cosi-nms.sourceforge.net/

[dave.keith]

Have a look at Kiwi Enterprises CatTools. You can download it from www.kiwisyslog.com. He also has a nice little Syslog tool, as his domain name suggests.

Dave

[jbarger]

You might try the archive command. Although it is only in new versions of code. 12.3.x?? on routers and 12.2.x on switches. I am guessing.

To see if archive command is supported type archive ? at the prompt.

If you find you want to use it setup any FTP server "quick and easy FTP" seems to be a decent free one.

From the configure terminal you add the following commands:

ip ftp source-interface Loopback0

ip ftp username XXXXXX

ip ftp password XXXXXX

exception protocol ftp

exception dump 192.168.1.1

archive

path ftp://192.168.1.1/devicename.cfg

write-memory

That will give you exception dumps also if your device crashes. The write-memory command will save a copy of your config file every time you save it to startup.

The best thing about this is you can compare previous configuration files with a show command since each version of the config file gets an incremented extension

show archive config differences ftp:locationx

The archive command also supports a time peroid but I am certain that it doesn't work correctly yet.

You can force an archive to happen by typing archive config at the prompt.

I really like this but I wish it was in all versions of code.

Hope that helps,

Joe

[j.shrewsbury]

Great, thanks for the info. Can you configure it for tftp as well?

[jbarger]

Yes it does support TFTP.

Here is a breakdown of some of the commands so you can get an idea... You will probably have to upgrade the ios on your devices if you have not done so in the last year or so. Some of this stuff is not working correctly either. Like time-peroid doesn't seem to work. I tried to setup a 1 week time-peroid but nothing showed up. Also maximum (default of 14) doesn't seem to work at all. I have many backup copies of devices I have modified a bunch one device has 43 versions and counting... This command is fairly new but does work good enough to be worth having.

bcewk1#archive ?

config Archive the running config

copy-sw copy software from one system to one or more systems in stack

download-sw Download a new copy of software from a server

download-ucode Download a new copy of microcode from a server

tar List or extract files in a tar image

upload-sw Upload an existing copy of the software to a server

bcewk1(config)#archive ?

bcewk1(config-archive)#?

Archive configuration commands:

default Set a command to its defaults

exit Exit from archive configuration mode

log Logging commands

maximum maximum number of backup copies

no Negate a command or set its defaults

path path for backups

time-period Period of time in minutes to automatically archive the running-config

write-memory Enable automatic backup generation during write memory

bcewk1(config-archive)#

bcewk1(config-archive)#path ?

ftp: Write archive on ftp: file system

http: Write archive on http: file system

rcp: Write archive on rcp: file system

tftp: Write archive on tftp: file system

bcewk1(config-archive)#log ?

config Logging changes to the running configuration

bcewk1(config-archive)#maximum ?

<1-14> maximum number of backup copies

bcewk1(config-archive)#time

bcewk1(config-archive)#time-period ?

<1-525600> Number of minutes to wait between archive creation

bcewk1(config-archive)#wri

bcewk1(config-archive)#write-memory ?

Cheers,

Joe

[ocajica]

Hi Joe

There is something similar when the device works with CATOS.

best regards

Manuel

[j.shrewsbury]

Thanks Joe, that is great info. This is definitely the way I would like to go in the future. However, only about 50% of the devices have the correct IOS, thefore to keep things somewhat standardized I will probably have to find another solution for the near term.

[Marvin Rhoads]

To see only config differences, you may want to look at the open source tool, RANCID. It is available from:

www.shrubbery.net/rancid

It was also profiled in a recent Network Computing article:

http://www.networkcomputing.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=165701527