NCM backs up my Startup and Running Config files every day. It stores them for as long as the Weekly Purge Config Archive Job allows:
However, it seems more efficient for space conservation to change the daily backup jobs so that they only keep configs that have changed. Let me know if you think this isn't a good idea, please?
Now imagine that multiple devices have no config changes in many days or many months--perhaps even in a year or more.
Using the Daily Backup Job logic of only saving configs that have changed, and combing that with the above Purge Archive Job, it seems this will result NCM completely losing all configs for any nodes that have not had recent config changes.
Am I mistaken or confused here? I ALWAYS want to be able to see the current running and startup configs for every node, no matter their age and no matter how long it's been since they had a change, if only for compliance checking and having the ability to restore them in case the node's current config is lost or corrupted.
If I'm not wrong , then it seems like the Purge Config Archive Job, as configured above, and in combination with only saving configs that have changed, is going to eventually purge the configs of every node that haven't had recent changes because they'll age out by not being saved due to not having changes.
To counter losing configs for nodes that have not had recent changes, I'd like to have an option in the Weekly Purge Job that adds the logic of NOT purging the last X jobs from the Archive, no matter their age. That way we'll always have the configs for nodes, while simultaneously keeping the Archive as lean as possible for space saving purposes.
If you'd like to save archive space but NOT lose the configs of nodes whose configurations haven't changed in the last year or more, please vote this UP!
Swift Packets to you all!
Rick Schroeder
