Executing a script

jkoelker

Hi,

I'm attempting to set up a scheduled job that will copy the running configuration of my Cisco switches and routers to the startup configuration each night. So far, all my attempts have failed, stating that the node refused the connection. When I ran a sniffer trace of the transaction, it looks like the server running NCM is trying to contact the node using telnet, something that we don't allow on our network. Is there any way to do this using SSH? I've seen discussion threads from a couple of years ago about this, but couldn't find whether or not it was ever addressed.

Thanks for any help.

Jon Koelker

rschroeder

SSH commands work fine through NCM, Jon, assuming you have SSH set up on the Cisco gear, and the gear allows NCM to manage it.

If you can SSH into your switch or router, you can set NCM to use SSH instead of Telnet.  Open up NCM and then open up the Device Details for one of your switches or routers.  Scroll down to Communication (three sections up from the bottom).  When you open the Communication section you should see three options below Device Command Template.  The one to modify is "Excecute Scriptions Using".  Choose the drop down and change it from Telnet to SSH auto.

Build a simple script (e.g.: show clock) and run it as a scheduled job.  If there are problems, look at the logs in the Session-Trace directory.  You may find it helpful to delete everything in that directory before you run your tests.  That way the only files present will be the new ones associated with your new scripts.

Keeping the startup-config and running-config separate can be a useful feature in Cisco IOS--if you make a mistake from a distance that causes you to lose connectivity, you can have someone reboot the device to recover.  When you finish config changes, and the running-config is known to be good, it's a great idea to get in the habit of doing a copy run start before you leave the CLI.  

I build in a number of aliases on my Cisco gear to make some things simple and intuitive:

IOS:

alias exec c config t
alias exec s sh run
alias exec si show run | include
alias exec sb show run | begin

NXOS:

cli alias name c config t
cli alias name si show run | include
cli alias name sb show run | begin
cli alias name s show run
cli alias name wr copy run start

As you can see from the last line, just typing in "wr" will copy the running-config to the startup-config, even though "write memory" is being deprecated.

Good Networking!

Rick