Set Up Device Configuration File Management
- Control How Archiving is Triggered
- Set Up Event-Triggered Archiving
- Specify Items to Be Excluded When Configuration Files Are Checked for Changes
- Control the Timeouts for Configuration Archive Operations
- Control How Often the Archive Summary Is Updated
- Control How Many Files Can Be Archived In Parallel
- Control Whether Configuration File Content Is Masked During Exports
- Control When Device Configuration Files are Purged from the Database
Control How Archiving is Triggered
By default, Prime Infrastructure saves device configuration files to the archive when:
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A new device is added to Prime Infrastructure
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When a device change notification is received
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Archive collection is not carried out in case of full or granular sync.
Note
If there is an event occurrence, archive data is collected after the period of configured hold off timer.
Users with Administrator privileges can change these settings.
Procedure
Step 1 |
Choose , then choose . |
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Step 2 |
Adjust the archiving settings depending on the following criteria.
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Step 3 |
To schedule regular archiving for groups of devices (or single devices):
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Set Up Event-Triggered Archiving
By default, Prime Infrastructure backs up a device’s configuration file whenever it receives a change notification event. This function will work only if devices are configured properly; For example, for devices running Cisco IOS XR and Cisco IOS XE, the following setting must be configured:
logging server-IP
When Prime Infrastructure receives a configuration change event, it waits 10 minutes (by default) before archiving in case more configuration change events are received. This prevents multiple collection processes from running at the same time. To check or change this setting, choose , then choose and adjust the Hold Off Timer.
To turn off event-triggered archiving, choose Collect Configuration Archive whenever configuration is changed check box.
, then choose and uncheck the![]() Note |
This feature is not supported for WLC, because WLC does not send any syslog message for configuration change events. |
Specify Items to Be Excluded When Configuration Files Are Checked for Changes
Some lines in device configuration files should be excluded when Prime Infrastructure compares different versions of same configuration type to identify changes. Prime Infrastructure excludes some lines by default, such as clock settings for routers and switches. If you have Administrator privileges, you can check which lines are excluded, and add more lines to be excluded.
Procedure
Step 1 |
Choose , then choose . |
Step 2 |
Click the Advanced tab. |
Step 3 |
In the Product Family list, choose the devices or groups to which you want to apply the command exclusions. |
Step 4 |
In the Command Exclude List, enter a comma-separated list of configuration commands you want to exclude for that selection. These are the parameters Prime Infrastructure will ignore when checking devices for configuration changes. |
Step 5 |
Click Save. |
Control the Timeouts for Configuration Archive Operations
The Configuration Archive task uses the Device CLI Timeout value for each fetch activity. A single Configuration Archive task entails 1 to 5 files. Consequently, the overall job timeout value is determined using the following logic:Overall job timeout = Number of files*Device CLI Timeout
To configure a CLI timeout value, choose Telnet/SSH option, and then enter a value in the Timeout field.
, click the edit device icon, select the![]() Note |
You must increase the Device CLI timeout value if the Configuration Archive task fails due to CLI timeout. |
Control How Often the Archive Summary Is Updated
When you choose Prime Infrastructure lists the configuration archives that it has collected. This summary data is updated whenever a new archive is collected. It is also updated by default at least every 30 minutes according to a summary refresh timer. You can change the time setting by choosing , then choose and adjust the Summary refresh Hold off timer.
,Control How Many Files Can Be Archived In Parallel
Prime Infrastructure uses 10 thread pools for copying configuration files to the archive. A larger number may be helpful when archiving of changes involving more than 1,000 devices; however, making the number too large can negatively impact system performance. To change this number, choose , then choose and adjust the Thread Pool Count value.
Control Whether Configuration File Content Is Masked During Exports
Prime Infrastructure supports exporting startup and running configuration files to a local file system. By default, the contents of these files are masked when they are exported. To export configuration files, See Download Configuration Files.
Download Configuration Files
You can download the Startup and Running configuration files of up to a maximum of 1000 devices at a time, to your local system.
Procedure
Step 1 |
Choose Inventory > Device Management > Configuration Archive. |
Step 2 |
From the Export drop-down list, select one of the following options to download the configuration files:
This option downloads all supported configuration from the device as a csv file. To specifically download only the Startup or the Running configuration from the device, use the alternate steps below. The Unsanitized option appears based on the user permission set in Role Based Access Control (RBAC). You can also download the configuration files by doing the following:
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Control When Device Configuration Files are Purged from the Database
Device configuration files cannot be automatically deleted from the database (you can manually delete the files); they can be periodically purged by Cisco Prime InfrastructurePrime Infrastructure based on your settings. Users with Administrator privileges can adjust when configuration files are purged as follows. If you do not want any configuration files purged, follow this procedure but leave both fields blank.
Procedure
Step 1 |
Choose , then choose . |
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Step 2 |
Adjust the archiving settings depending on the following criteria.
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