[comp.dcom.sys.cisco] logging config

rexm@lookout.uswest.com (Rex Mammel) (06/06/91)

Has anyone looked at logging the configuration
mode entries.  We have several people in our network
operations group, and it would be a good change control feature to 
have an automatic record of changes to the AGS configuration.  

Also, is there a good reason to prevent someone from looking at 
the config listing from initial password level.  As far as we we
can tell only changes, debugging and other sensitive
operations need to be restricted. Is there a way to configure this?

Thanks.

MAP@lcs.mit.edu (Michael A. Patton) (06/06/91)

   Date: Wed, 5 Jun 91 09:34:38 MDT
   From: Rex Mammel <rexm@lookout.uswest.com>

   Has anyone looked at logging the configuration mode entries.  We
   have several people in our network operations group, and it would
   be a good change control feature to have an automatic record of
   changes to the AGS configuration.

I have been running a script that gets printouts of various info on my
ASM by telnetting in with a fixed set of commands.  It runs once an
hour and produces a script file (I have available dumps for nearly 3
years [starting June 27, 1988 @10PM], once an hour).  I mostly keep
these long term for the connectivity info of the terminal users (for
usage trend analysis), but the same technique would work for what you
want.  I have occasionally used these to determine when a particular
configuration change was done.  The one possible problem you might
have is that you get no record of WHO did it.

I have two Cisco routers in addition to the ASM.  I don't keep any
data like thi on them.  That's because, in my setup, the official
config is the one on a master server, it's controlled with RCS.  The
Makefile copies it to the individual boot servers from whence it is
TFTP loaded into the Cisco boxes.

   Also, is there a good reason to prevent someone from looking at 
   the config listing from initial password level.

Yes!  One of the things in the config is the privileged password!!!
Most of the information they might want can be obtained by other
non-privileged commands.  In that form, it's also more human oriented.

            __
  /|  /|  /|  \         Michael A. Patton, Network Manager
 / | / | /_|__/         Laboratory for Computer Science
/  |/  |/  |atton       Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are a figment of the phosphor
on your screen and do not represent the views of MIT, LCS, or MAP. :-)

sherk@nmc.cit.cornell.edu (Erik Sherk) (06/07/91)

> 
> 
> Has anyone looked at logging the configuration
> mode entries.  We have several people in our network
> operations group, and it would be a good change control feature to 
> have an automatic record of changes to the AGS configuration.  

	This would be nice. I recently implemented some procedures 
that use Emacs's ChangeLog function. I know of some people who use
SCCS or RCS.
 
> Also, is there a good reason to prevent someone from looking at 
> the config listing from initial password level.  As far as we we
> can tell only changes, debugging and other sensitive
> operations need to be restricted. Is there a way to configure this?
> 
> Thanks.

	Well, you can see the enable password! Other than that, I don't
see a reason either. 

Erik Sherk
sherk@nmc.cit.cornell.edu

Watt-Alan@mickey.ycc.yale.edu (06/07/91)

Rex Mammel (rexm@lookout.uswest.com) writes:
>Has anyone looked at logging the configuration
>mode entries.  We have several people in our network
>operations group, and it would be a good change control feature to 
>have an automatic record of changes to the AGS configuration.  

Keep your configurations in a text file which is under RCS or
SCCS or similar configuration control.  I keep mine as a set
of configuration templates, and generate the specific configuration
for each gateway with m4.  The welcome text includes the RCS revision
number of the last loaded configuration.

You do have the problem on gateways with configuration memory that
the operating configuration can diverge from the stored one; this
requires more in the way of discipline than tools to overcome.

I have found it somewhat irksome in the past that I cannot load a
configuration from a server on a running gateway and have it take
proper effect.  It is not possible to "clear" some configuration
parameters without knowing what they currently are (administrative
distance and static routes are common examples).  Thus loading a stored
configuration on a running gateway can have an additive rather than
absolute effect.  The only sure fix is a gateway reload, which is
probably what you should do anyway.

>Also, is there a good reason to prevent someone from looking at 
>the config listing from initial password level.  As far as we we
>can tell only changes, debugging and other sensitive
>operations need to be restricted. Is there a way to configure this?

There is the small matter of the privileged password.  I don't think
I'd want random people looking at my routing filter lists.  For the
same reason, I really don't want people looking at my access list
definitions, but that isn't privileged in the current scheme.  They
can't find out what a specific access list is applied to without
priviliges, but simply looking at the definitions can be fairly
suggestive.

	- Alan S. Watt
	  High Speed Networking, Yale University
	  Computing and Information Systems
	  Box 2112 Yale Station
	  New Haven, CT  06520-2112
	  (203) 432-6600 X394
	  Watt-Alan@Yale.Edu


Disclaimer:  "Make Love, Not War -- Be Prepared For Both"
		- Edelman's Sporting Goods [and Marital Aids?]

dana@thinman.cray.com (Dana Dawson) (06/07/91)

> Also, is there a good reason to prevent someone from looking at 
> the config listing from initial password level.  As far as we we
> can tell only changes, debugging and other sensitive
> operations need to be restricted. Is there a way to configure this?

If you have access-lists configured, you may not want the specifics of those
lists publicly available as a security precaution.

Dana J. Dawson
Manager, Internetworking Group
Cray Research, Inc.
(612) 683-3056
dana@cray.com

aggarwal@nisc.jvnc.net (Vikas Aggarwal) (06/07/91)

We use RCS to maintain all the jvncnet config files for the routers. Has
served us well so far,,, we also put the revision number in the banners
so that we can compare the loaded config file with the present RCS version
(telnet ford.jvnc.net for an example).



-vikas
vikas@jvnc.net						(609) 258-2403
Network Engineering					         -2400
			JvNCnet, Princeton, NJ
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