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Assure1 Topology Gather Configurations Agent

Overview

The Assure1 Topology Gather Configurations Agent is used to gather configuration information from devices and saves the output as files. These configuration information files are then tracked in the Assure1 SVN repository and differences can be viewed in the Config DDO of a device in the Topology tab. Gathering configurations can be done via SSH or Telnet.

Gather Configurations Agent Setup

  1. Using the Profiles UI, create a new profile or modify an existing one with the required login information and other settings:

    Configuration -> Device Configuration -> Profiles

  2. Using the Actions UI, create a new set of actions or modify an existing one with the commands needed to gather relevant information:

    Configuration -> Device Configuration -> Actions

  3. Collections need to be pre-configured for this application to be able to function. Collections can be configured by using the following:

    1. Using the "Configuration Discovery" application (ConfigDiscovery).

    2. Manually using the Collections UI (Configuration -> Device Configuration -> Collections).

  4. Enable the default Job, unless a specific configuration option is needed.

    Configuration -> Broker Control -> Jobs

Default Scheduled Job

Field Value
Package Name coreCollection-app
Job Name Config Gatherer
Job Program bin/core/collection/GatherConfigurations
Job Arguments
Job Description Gather Configuration from servers, routers and switches. Specific device can be specified as a on-demand argument: --DeviceID=N
Failover Type Standalone (Supported: Standalone, Primary/Backup)
Status Disabled
Privileged (Checked)
Minutes 59
Hours *
Days *
Months *
WeekDays *

Default Configuration

Name Value Possible Values Notes
LogFile logs/ConfigGatherConfigurations.log Text, 255 characters Relative path to Log File.
LogLevel ERROR OFF, FATAL, ERROR, WARN, INFO, DEBUG Logging level used by application.
Threads 3 Integer The number of process threads created.
Buffer 16 Integer Optional - Maximum Telnet result buffer in MB.
SocketTimeout 30 Integer Optional - Connection timeout.
DeviceGroupID Integer Optional - This entry is used to get a more specific list of devices to gather their configurations.
DeviceZoneID Integer Optional - This entry is used to get a more specific list of devices to gather their configurations.
PollByIP Enabled Enabled/Disabled Optional - If enabled, the device IP address will be used to connect to the device instead of the device DNS name.
PreferIPv4 Enabled Enabled/Disabled Optional - Controls whether or not to prefer IPv4 transport to communicate with Devices. This option is only considered if both IPv4 and IPv6 are available for a device. If this config is missing, IPv6 will be preferred.

Supported Notification Tokens

Keyword Template Types Template Fields Description
$DATE_TEXT Email, Syslog, Trap Email, Syslog, Varbind (#) Value Long date.
$DEVICEID Email, Syslog, Trap Email, Syslog, Varbind (#) Value Device ID being collected for configuration.
$DNS Email, Syslog, Trap Email, Syslog, Varbind (#) Value DNSName of device being collected for configuration.
$IP Email, Syslog, Trap Email, Syslog, Varbind (#) Value IP (either IPv4 or IPv6) of device being collected for configuration. If device has both IPv4 and IPv6, this variable will be IPv6 unless PreferIPv4 is enabled.
$PROFILEID Email, Syslog, Trap Email, Syslog, Varbind (#) Value Topology Configuration Profile ID.
$ACTIONID Email, Syslog, Trap Email, Syslog, Varbind (#) Value Topology Configuration Action ID.
$MESSAGE Email, Syslog, Trap Email, Syslog, Varbind (#) Value Configuration Profile Message.
$FILENAME Email, Syslog, Trap Email, Syslog, Varbind (#) Value Configuration filename.
$FILEOUTPUT Email, Syslog, Trap Email, Syslog, Varbind (#) Value Latest configuration file contents.

Best Practices

  • The default job configuration is to run hourly at x:59:00.

  • Some devices only support executing commands through an interactive shell emulation. The application will fall back to emulation for these devices when normal collection fails, but users can also force the emulation by setting the SSHUseShell meta tag type on the device.

  • If commands are executed on the device directly rather than through an interactive shell, commands that modify the terminal or assume a shell emulation are not necessary and are logged and skipped. It is recommended to remove the following commands from action profiles:

    • term[inal] length y

    • term[inal] width x

    • exit

Administration Details

The following list shows the technical details needed for advanced administration of the application:

  • Package - coreCollection-app

  • Synopsis - ./GatherConfigurations [OPTIONS]

  • Options:

     -c, --AppConfigID  N   Application Config ID (Service, Job, or Request ID)
 -d, --DeviceID     N   Single device ID to gather config, overrides DeviceGroup config and DeviceZoneID config  (optional)
 -i, --CollectionID N   Single collection ID to gather config, overrides --DeviceID, DeviceGroup config, and DeviceZoneID config (optional)
 -?, -h, --Help        Print usage and exit

  • Threaded - Multi-Threaded