Patch Files

A patch file is a compact way to represent differences between plan files. These differences or patches can be applied to other plan files or deployed to the network.

You can create, apply, view, and send patches by choosing Tools > Patches.

A common WAE Design use case is to create a plan file for deployment. One potential workflow for doing this is the following:

  1. Open a plan file from a WAE Automation server. (File > Open from > WAE Automation Server.)

  2. Duplicate the plan file by saving it as a different name.

  3. Make LSP modifications as needed in the duplicated plan file.

  4. Open both plan files, and create a patch file. (Tools > Patches > Create.)

  5. Perform a dry run to test the patch before deploying it. (Tools > Patches > Send, Dry Run option.)

  6. Deploy the patch file to the network. (Tools > Patches > Send.)

This section contains the following topics:

Opening a Remote Plan File

From the WAE Design GUI, you can open plan files residing on WAE Archive, WAE Automation Server, WAE Modeling Daemon, and Design Archive to make modifications before deploying LSPs.

Prerequisites:

  • You must know the username and password of the server, or its authentication must be disabled.

  • The server must be configured for the type of deployment you are using.

Table 1. Opening a Remote Plan File

To...

Do This...

open a file from WAE Archive

  1. Choose File > Open from > WAE Archive.

  2. Identify the remote server. Enter or choose the hostname or IP address of the server. Specify how to connect to the server by entering or choosing the port number and network.

    To automatically populate the Network field with the list of available networks, click Refresh List of Networks.

  3. If authentication is enabled, enter the same username and password. If authentication is disabled, the username and password fields must be empty.

  4. Choose the latest plan or select a plan from the archive.

  5. Click OK.

open a file from WAE Automation Server

  1. Choose File > Open from > WAE Automation Server.

  2. Identify the remote server. Enter or choose the hostname or IP address of the server. Specify how to connect to the server by entering or choosing the port number and network.

  3. If authentication is enabled, enter the same username and password. If authentication is disabled, the username and password fields must be empty.

  4. Click OK.

open a file from WAE Modeling Daemon

  1. Choose File > Open from > WAE Modeling Daemon.

  2. Identify the remote server. Enter or choose the hostname or IP address of the server. Specify how to connect to the server by entering or choosing the port number.

  3. If authentication is enabled, enter the same username and password. If authentication is disabled, the username and password fields must be empty.

  4. Click OK.

open a file from Design Archive

  1. Choose File > Open from > Design Archive.

  2. Identify the remote server. Enter or choose the hostname or IP address of the server. Specify the protocol and the port.

  3. Select the Archive.

  4. If authentication is enabled, enter the same username and password. If authentication is disabled, the username and password fields must be empty.

  5. Enter the UTC Offset.

  6. Select Ignore SSL Options to display the SSL errors as warnings.

  7. Choose the latest plan or select a plan from the archive or select a template.

  8. Click OK.

Creating Patch Files

The patch created identifies how to get from the plan file identified in the From Plan field to the plan file identified in the To Plan field. These patch files only include differences in new, modified, and deleted objects that are supported by the WAE YANG model.

Examples:

  • If From Plan Edge-AK contains 33 LSPs and To Plan Edge-EP contains 23 LSPs, the patch file identifies which 10 LSPs to delete from plan Edge-AK to create plan Edge-EP.

  • If From Plan Edge-AK contains 10 LSPs and To Plan Edge-EP contains 15 LSPs, the patch file identifies which 5 LSPs to add to plan Edge-AK to create plan Edge-EP.

  • If both plan files contain the same LSP, but in From Plan Edge-AK the LSP has a SetupBW property equal to 100, whereas in the To Plan Edge-EP it does not, the patch file identifies the need to modify the SetupBW property of this LSP in plan Edge-AK so that it matches plan Edge-EP.

Procedure

Step 1

Open the two plan files that you are using for the patch file creation.

Step 2

From the plan file used as the To Plan, which is the plan file you want to achieve using the patch file, choose Tools > Patches > Create.

Step 3

In the From Plan field, choose one of the following options:

  • Plan File—Choose the plan file from which you are determining required changes to achieve the plan file identified in the To Plan field.

  • Get Plan from WAE—Obtain the plan file from WAE with a specified location.

Step 4

The default patch filename combines the From and To plan filenames. If needed, change the filename. It must have a .plp extension. Unless you want the patch file to be overwritten, the patch filename must be unique to its location.

Step 5

Enter or browse to the location where you want the resulting patch file to reside.

Step 6

Click OK.

Applying Patch Files

You can apply patch files to plan files.

Procedure

Step 1

Open the plan file to which you want to apply the patch.

Step 2

Choose Tools > Patches > Apply.

Step 3

Enter or browse to the location where the patch file resides.

Step 4

Enter a unique name for the plan file you want to create as a result of this applied patch.

Step 5

Specify whether you want to stop or continue in case of error.

Step 6

To verify the patch file’s contents before applying it, click View Patch. (After viewing the patch, click Close.)

Step 7

Click OK.

Viewing Patch Files

Viewing patch files lets you ensure they meet your needs before applying or deploying them.

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Tools > Patches > View.

Step 2

Browse to and choose the patch file, and then click Open.

Step 3

View the patch and then click one of the following:

  • Send Patch—To deploy the patch as is.

  • Edit Patch—To edit the patch before sending it. A dialog box opens, displaying the contents of the patch as XML text. You can save or discard the patch text edits. The tool warns you if you try to save invalid XML syntax. You can right-click in the patch text dialog and choose Undo to undo changes. Other standard text editing (cut, copy, paste, and so on) is also supported.

  • Close—To close the dialog box without deploying the patch.

Sending Patch Files

When sending a patch file, it is applied to the specified network, and related deployment actions are triggered.

Procedure

Step 1

Choose Tools > Patches > Send.

Step 2

Browse to or enter the full path to the patch file.

Step 3

Identify the remote server:

  1. Enter or choose the hostname or IP address of the server.

  2. Specify how to connect to the server by entering or choosing the port number and network.

    To automatically populate the Network field with the list of available networks, click Refresh List of Networks.

  3. If authentication is enabled, enter the same username and password. If authentication is disabled, the username and password fields must be empty.

Step 4

(Optional) Check Dry Run.

Best practice is to perform a dry run to verify the patch file can be successfully applied. If you choose this option, a status popup shows whether the deployment of this patch would be successful, unsuccessful, or only partially successful. To save the status of the dry run, click Save Status.

Tip

 

If you check Dry Run or set the Test Option to Test Only, and the patch dry run succeeds, you can deploy the patch easily. Click Send Patch in the status popup; you then return to the Send Patch dialog box with the patch preselected.

Step 5

Specify what to do in case of an error: roll back, stop, or continue.

Step 6

Click View Patch to ensure the patch meet your needs before deploying it. (After viewing the patch, click Close.)

Step 7

Click OK.

Saving and Clearing Settings

Procedure

Step 1

To save all settings for use the next time you open the Send Patch dialog box, check Save Settings. This saves all settings whether the fields are empty or not.

Step 2

To save the authentication password, check Save Password.

Step 3

To clear all current user-specified settings from the fields, click Clear Settings. Note that this does not clear the default port value, although any manual entries are cleared.

Step 4

To delete all user-specific settings so the next time you open the Send Patch dialog box all fields are empty (except for the default port value), follow these steps:

  1. Click Clear Settings.

  2. Ensure that Save Settings is checked.

  3. Click OK to exit.

  4. At the prompt to continue, click Yes.