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FAQ
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Frequently Asked Questions about rancid - last updated 20180408.
This FAQ contains information that may not apply directly to versions of
rancid prior to 3.0. It also contains paths containing tags such as
<PREFIX>, which refer to paths that are site-specific and are determined
by how rancid was configured at installation time. These are explained
briefly in the configure --help output. Below are the defaults used in
rancid.
PREFIX configure --prefix= option. default: /usr/local/rancid
EPREFIX configure --exec-prefix= option. default: <PREFIX>
BINDIR configure --bindir= option. default: <EPREFIX>/bin
The location of clogin, etc.
SYSCONFDIR configure --sysconfdir option. default: <PREFIX>/etc
The location of rancid.conf, etc.
LOCALSTATEDIR configure --localstatedir option. default: <PREFIX>/var
The location of the CVS repository, log files, etc.
The most recent FAQ can be found at http://www.shrubbery.net/rancid/FAQ
ToC
1) Platform/Device specific
2) CVS and filesystem permissions
3) General
4) Extending RANCiD
5) O/S specific
6) E-mail problems
7) I am still stuck
8) License
1) Platform/Device specific
Q. I have a Cisco Catalyst 6500 series switch running the IOS (NOT catOS)
software, is the router.db device type cisco or cat5?
A. A catalyst running IOS is type "cisco". The 'show version' output will
have banner including a phrase similar to "Cisco Internetwork Operating
System Software". See the router.db(5) manual page.
Q. I have Hybrid Cisco switch, like a cat5k with an RSM. How do I collect
both the routing engine and switch configurations?
A. Recommended way is to use two entries in the router.db, one for each.
For example:
cat5k_rsm.domain.com;cisco;up
cat5k_sw.domain.com;cat5;up
Q. I have a Cisco ??? on which collection stopped working, but clogin works
as expected.
A. Check if 'write term' produces output. Some IOS combined with large
configs and low free memory produce zero 'write term' output, esp. combined
with a memory leak. The device will have to be rebooted and/or upgraded.
Q. I have a Cisco Catalyst switch. clogin connects, but after receiving the
prompt, it stalls until it times out. Why?
A. This may be due to your prompt. CatOS does not include an implicit '>' in
it's prompt, like IOS does. clogin looks for '>' during login, so specify
your prompt with a trailing '>'. Also see cat5rancid(1). For example:
cat5k>
cat5k> enable
Password:
cat5k> (enable)
Q. Why won't a saved HP Procurve configuration load onto the switch to restore
the configuration.
A. Stefan Metzger and Per-Olof Olsson have found that the Procurve O/S does
not like the leading comments, the lines beginning with ';', so remove
these comments in whatever manner you wish. Also, they appear to expect a
leading comment line that varies between different models, for example:
"; Running config file:"
OR
"; JJBA8<any other chars>"
Q. Polling a ZebOS box fails from cron, but is successful from the command-
line.
A. This is the tty/pty handling of either your O/S or ZebOS. Supposedly,
changing the TERM in <SYSCONFDIR>/rancid.conf to the following seems to
fix it.
TERM=vt100;export TERM
COLUMNS=160; LINES=48; export COLUMNS LINES
2) CVS and filesystem permissions
WARNING: Be careful when mucking around with the repository!
Q. I am new to CVS, where can I find additional information?
A. The manual page for CVS is quite complete, but can be be overwhelming even
for someone familiar with RCS. There are some excellent resources on the
web. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concurrent_Versions_System and
http://cvshome.org/.
Q. Errors are showing up in the logs like:
cvs [diff aborted]: there is no version here; run 'cvs checkout' first
A. The directory was not imported into CVS properly or was not properly checked
out afterward, so CVS control files or directories do not exist. rancid-cvs
should always be used to create the directories and perform the CVS work.
If it is just the directories that have been created manually, save a copy of
the router.db file, then remove the group's directory, use rancid-cvs, and
replace the router.db file. If the CVS import was also performed manually,
cd to <LOCALSTATEDIR> and use 'cvs co <rancid group>' to create all the CVS
control bits.
Q. Errors are showing up in the logs like:
cvs commit: Up-to-date check failed for `filename'
A. This could mean that the version of the file that rancid has is older than
the one in repository or that the file is missing. That could be due to a
filesystem error, a system crash, a rancid crash or premature termination,
or some third party altering the repository or rancid's local repository.
Third parties should NOT alter the repository or rancid's local repository,
except for editing the router.db file. All other modificiations should be
left to rancid's automation.
To recover, run cvs update in the group's directory as the rancid user. If
the update fails or creates conflict, the files can be removed and the cvs
update re-run. Some files are not saved in cvs, but these will be
re-created without harm..
Some have asked why rancid does not run a cvs (or svn or git) update itself.
If it did, it could inherit malicious modifications in the repository meant
to hide the modifications.
Q. I keep receiving the same diff for a (or set of) devices, but I know the
data is not changing repeatedly. Why?
A. This is probably a CVS or filesystem permissions problem. Check the log
file from the last run for that group for clues first; it may provide the
exact cause.
Note: It is very important the following be done as the user who normally
runs the rancid collection from cron.
Check the cvs status of the device's file. example:
guelah [2704] cvs status rtr.shrubbery.net
===================================================================
File: yogi.shrubbery.net Status: Up-to-date
Working revision: 1.197 Tue Jul 10 15:41:16 2001
Repository revision: 1.197 /usr/local/rancid/var/CVS/shrubbery/configs/rtr.shrubbery.net,v
Sticky Tag: (none)
Sticky Date: (none)
Sticky Options: (none)
The Status: should be Up-to-date. If the status is "Unknown", then somehow
the file has been created without being cvs add'ed. This should be
corrected by removing that device's entry from the group's router.db file,
run rancid-run, replace the entry in router.db, and run rancid-run again.
If the Status is anything else, someone has most likely been touching the
files manually. Sane state can be achieved by removing the file and running
cvs update <file> to get a fresh copy from the repository.
Check the ownership and permissions of the file and directory and the
directory and file in the cvs repository (<LOCALSTATEDIR>/CVS/). They
should be owned by the user who runs rancid-run from cron. At the very
least, the directory and files should be writable by the rancid user. Group
and world permissions will determined by the umask (default 027), which is
set in <SYSCONFDIR>/rancid.conf. Likely the easiest way to fix the
ownership on the cvs repository is
chown -R <rancid user> <LOCALSTATEDIR>/CVS <LOCALSTATEDIR>/<GROUPS>
Q. I am renaming a device but would like to retain the history in CVS. How
is this done?
A. CVS does not provide a way (AFAIK) to rename files or to rename or delete
directories. The best way is to copy the CVS repository file manually
like this (disclaimer: BE VERY CAREFUL mucking around with the repository):
% su - rancid_user
% cd <LOCALSTATEDIR>
% echo "new_device_name;device_type;up" >> <GROUP>/router.db
% cp -p CVS/<GROUP>/configs/old_device_name,v \
CVS/<GROUP>/configs/new_device_name,v
% cd <GROUP>/configs
% cvs update
where GROUP is the name of the rancid group that the device is a member of.
Once the renaming is complete, remove the old name from the router.db file
and leave the CVS clean-up of the old filename to rancid.
If one wanted to move a device to a different group and maintain the
history, the same procedure would work, substituting the new group name
appropriately and editing the router.db of both old and new groups, of
course.
SVN provides a rename function; but we suggest that you use it's
copy function instead, and leave the clean-up of the old name
to rancid. So, you would use the copy function (proper
substitutions, of course) in place of the cp in the CVS example,
then commit the new file.
Q. I am new to svn. Where can I find more information?
A. The svn so-called "red book" is the definitive guide.
http://svnbook.red-bean.com/en/1.5/svn-book.html
Q. I am removing a group and would like to remove all traces of it from the
rancid directory and the CVS repository. How is this done?
A. As far as I know, CVS does not provide a way to remove directories. First,
remove the group from <SYSCONFDIR>/rancid.conf. If rancid is running,
wait for it to complete. Then just recursively remove the
directory. For example, a group named "fubar":
% su - rancid_user
% cd <LOCALSTATEDIR>
% rm -rf fubar CVS/fubar
Q. I would like to place my git repository on a remote machine. How do I do
that?
A. We suggest that you configure git to push a clone to the remote. That is,
create the rancid group as normally done, including running rancid-cvs(1).
Then add a push url to the existing origin.
% cd $BASEDIR/<group>
% git remote add <somename> <giturlofexistingremote>
% git remote set-url --add --push origin $CVSROOT/<group>
% git remote set-url --add --push origin <giturlofexistingremote>
http://www.shrubbery.net/pipermail/rancid-discuss/2018-August/010348.html
Q. I would like to place my CVS repository on a remote machine. How do I do
that?
A. Assuming that you're starting fresh, its quite simple. Before running
rancid-cvs for the first time, adjust CVS_RSH & CVSROOT in rancid.conf
similar to the following:
CVS_RSH=ssh; export CVS_RSH
CVSROOT="myhost:/fqpn/CVS"; export CVSROOT
Note that CVS_RSH is not found in the sample rancid.conf that is distributed
with rancid.
Q. I need a web interface to the rancid CVS repository, for the CVS unsavvy.
A. cvsweb works with rancid. Other software may exist for CVS and there are
similar tools for Subversion and git.
http://www.freebsd.org/projects/cvsweb.html
cvsweb.conf:
@CVSrepositories = (
'rancid' => ['RANCID CVS, '/full_path_to_the_RANCID_CVS'],
where the path will be <LOCALSTATEDIR>/CVS.
3) General
Q. I have upgraded to rancid >=3.0 and I am not receiving updates for any
devices.
A. Have you updated the format of your router.db files? The field separator
changed in 3.0. See the UPGRADING file or router.db(5).
Q. I have a (set of) device(s) on which collection fails. How can I debug
this?
A. Our usual diagnostic procedure for this is:
- Make sure that the appropriate login script (example: clogin for cisco)
works (see rancid.types.base). Use these tests to make sure you don't
have routing or firewall issues, DNS or hostname errors, that your
.cloginrc is correct, your banner does not have some character that the
login script confuses for a prompt, and that the login script doesn't
have a bug of some sort. For example:
clogin cisco_router
This should login to cisco_router and produce a router prompt that you
can use normally (interactively), as if clogin were not used (i.e.:
telnet cisco_router). Also, see the next FAQ entry.
- Verify that commands can be executed on the router via the login script.
This will exercise the script functionality needed for rancid. For
example:
clogin -c 'show version; show diag' cisco_router
Should login to cisco_router, run show version and show diag, then
disconnect and exit. The output will be displayed on your terminal. Use
commands appropriate for the device; for rancid modules converted to perl
modules, rancid -t <device type> -C produces the full list of commands
that rancid would normally run.
- Then see if the correct rancid commands work against the router. For
example:
rancid -t cisco cisco_router
Should produce a cisco_router.new file (cooked to a golden rancid-style
colour) in the current directory. If it does not, try again with the
-d option, so that the cisco_router.new and cisco_router.raw files will
not be removed if an error is detected. The cisco_router.raw file is
the raw output of the dialogue with the device, and with the -d option,
the .raw file will not be deleted at the end, which is helpful to see all
the input. The -l option is also useful for logging. Note: in versions
prior to 3.10, NOPIPE=YES must be set in your environment to produce the
cisco_router.raw file.
If all of these work, make sure that the device's entry in the group's
router.db file is correct and check the group's last log file for errors.
Q. A login script is failing to login to a device with an authentication error.
I have the correct information in my .cloginrc.
A. It is useful to verify that the information that you this is used, really
id. See clogin(1) for the [Mm] options.
Q. I am receiving persistent diffs for up/down/added/deleted devices in
router.db, but nothing has changed and the cvs repository is up to date.
A. Check that the configure process run during the installation of rancid
determined the proper options for diff(1); look for diff in the
control_rancid script.
If you also run rancid from the command-line, be sure that your locale
environment variables are consistent between your interactive and non-
interactive (ie: cron) environments. On some O/Ses, the locale will
affect the operation of sort(1).
Q. I have received an e-mail with the subject "rancid hung - <group>". What
does this mean?
A. It means that the lockfile for <group> already exists and rancid-run is
attempting to run again. The lockfile prevents two instances of rancid
from running simulaneously for the same rancid group.
This could be due to a system crash or rancid being killed and this not
having an opportunity to remove the lock or rancid could indeed be hung.
Look at the system process list for an existing instance of rancid for
the given group. If none exist, simply remove the lockfile named in the
email. If it does exist, note what process in the progress group is hung
and where it is hung (see system utilities ps, lsof, truss, ktrace, strace,
dtrace and so on). Kill the hung process and rancid may run to completion
from there.
If the hang occurs again, further debugging will be necessary and will be
dependant upon what is hanging. It has been observed that some devies
have had bugs that cause interactive sessions to hang at exit and exhibit
other exciting behaviors.
Q. Are there any characters in the banner that rancid has problems with OR
I changed the device's command prompt and now collection is failing?
A. The trickiest part about clogin (et al) is recognizing the prompt
correctly. clogin looks for '>' and '#' to figure out if it is logged
in or in enable mode. So if you have a '>' or '#' in your login banner
(or other motd), then clogin gets confused and will not be able to log
in correctly, and thus rancid will fail.
Don't use '>' or '#', or whatever the termination character of the given
device's prompt is, in your prompt or in your banner or other motd.
Q. I am experiencing random login failures using telnet and am seeing a
kerberos message like:
Kerberos: No default realm defined for Kerberos!
A. This diagnostic output can confuse rancid if it appears amid a login prompt.
The easiest work around is to tell telnet not to attempt kerberos
authentication:
echo DEFAULT unset autologin >> ~/.telnetrc
Q. I use <BINDIR>/*login -c to run commands on multiple boxes. Sometimes
these are commands that take secondary input, like a filename. How can I
enter the data for that secondary prompt?
A. Two methods will work. Write an expect script to be used with clogin's
-s option, for which a few examples come with rancid like cisco-load.exp.
OR provide all the input in one command with the -c option like so:
Router#clear counters
Clear "show interface" counters on all interfaces [confirm]
Router#
clogin -c 'clear counters\n'
The specific return (\n) will be entered after 'clear counters' followed
by the normal return after the command. Some devices apparently eat the
linefeed of the typical Unix \r\n sequence and require that a carriage-
return be used instead (\r).
Q. I would like to collect device configurations every hour, but only receive
diffs every Nth collection or every N hours. Is this possible?
A. Certainly, but rancid does not provide such a mechanism natively. Two
approaches are recommended:
1) Using your preferred mail-list software, add a list with a digest
and configure your MTA (example: sendmail) to send diffs to the
list. Configure the mail-list software to force the digest at the
interval desired. This allows folks to choose which type they
prefer, after each collection or every N hours.
This method also provides easy methods to archive the diff mail and
retrieve previous diffs.
2) Write a script to send diffs, which saves the time it last ran
and passes this to the -D option of CVS.
Obviously, the first option is the cleanest and most featureful, which is
why the script mentioned in the second option is not provided.
Q. I'd like to have RANCID automatically begin collection when someone
finishes configuring a router. How can I do this?
A. Using a syslog watcher script, one can trigger RANCID from the syslog
line emitted by, for example, an IOS router after configuration mode is
ended.
Here's a simple example using the Simple Event Correlator:
(http://simple-evcorr.sourceforge.net/)
If the syslog line in your logs looks like this (wrapped for readability):
Apr 5 09:56:52 acc1.geo269.example.com 72: 000069: *Mar 6 21:40:13.466 \
AEDT: %SYS-5-CONFIG_I: Configured from console by gwbush on vty0 (10.1.1.1)
You would use a SEC configuration stanza like this:
# example rancid trigger
#
type=SingleWithSuppress
ptype=RegExp
pattern=\s\S+:\S+\S+\s(\S+)\.example\.com.*SYS-5-CONFIG_I
action=shellcmd /opt/rancid/bin/run-rancid -r $1
window=1800
This will execute the command '/opt/rancid/bin/run-rancid -r acc1.geo269'
when it is fed a line like that syslog line. The command will be run at
most once every 1800 seconds. If you do not get hostnames in your
log lines that match your router.db entries, either fix your reverse
DNS or remove the '-r $1' part. And, if it can identify the group the
device is part of, include the group on the command line to reduce the time
it takes rancid to locate the group and avoid lock contention.
Q. I would like to limit the permissions of the rancid user on my devices. Is
this possible?
A. Strictly speaking, no. Rancid needs permission to read device configuration
and other data which is often not available to underprivileged users.
However, if you use TACACS+, you can limit the commands that are available
to a user.
For example, to allow ping and show, but not "show tcp", and nothing else:
user = rancid {
cmd = "ping" {
permit .*
}
cmd = "show" {
deny tcp.*
permit .*
}
# the default is to deny other commands
}
For RADIUS, Justin Grote suggested privilege levels:
http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/software/ios122/122newft/122t/122t13/ftprienh.htm
Or, on a Juniper, configure a login class, such as below:
set system login class RANCID permissions access
set system login class RANCID permissions admin
set system login class RANCID permissions firewall
set system login class RANCID permissions flow-tap
set system login class RANCID permissions interface
set system login class RANCID permissions network
set system login class RANCID permissions routing
set system login class RANCID permissions secret
set system login class RANCID permissions security
set system login class RANCID permissions snmp
set system login class RANCID permissions storage
set system login class RANCID permissions system
set system login class RANCID permissions trace
set system login class RANCID permissions view
set system login class RANCID permissions view-configuration
set system login user rancid class RANCID
Q. For approximately X hosts (configs), what size server should we be
considering - speed and data storage?
A. On modern machines it is unlikely you will have issues with disk space or
memory - A heavily laden access router with a complex config won't consume
more than a few megabytes of disk space for its configs over several
years time (roughly 3 times the sum of all the config or */configs/* over
2 years is a decent approximation).
Rancid is typically CPU bound, if you have adequate network bandwidth, but
truthfully it spends most of its time waiting for information from the
devices it is polling and network RTT.
Experience shows rancid takes around 50 Mhz * minutes / device of processing
power. This means that a 1Ghz machine can poll:
1000 Mhz * 60 (min/hour) / 50(Mhz min / device) = 1200 devices/hour
That's obviously a ball park estimate which varies with many different
factors such as the CPU type, the types of devices on your network, and
the speed of your network.
Q. How can I run rancid to make the most efficient use of resources (i.e.
run in the shortest amount of time)?
A. You can adjust PAR_COUNT in rancid.conf to achieve maximum efficiency
during polling. You can watch the output of the standard unix command
vmstat command during polling to determine whether or not the cpu is being
wholly utilized - there should be little idle time and no process blocking
(see vmstat(8)).
Another simpler method is to look at the time stamps on the rancid log
files, and adjust PAR_COUNT until the least amount of time is taken
during polling. Make sure all devices are being polled by rancid before
using this method - failing devices can extend the amount of time rancid
takes to finish by a *LONG* period and throw your times way off.
It may help to run rancid niced (man nice) if it will be sharing
resources with other processes, as it may eat whatever is available if
PAR_COUNT is set high. This is done by changing the crontab to be
something like:
5 * * * * nice -19 /usr/local/rancid/bin/rancid-run
If you _do_ share resources with other processes but want rancid to
run efficiently, probably the vmstat method above will work better -
rancid may take a little longer to run but you won't be stepping on
other processes.
Q. *login is failing to connect to devices via ssh with an error about the lack
of a matching key or cipher, etc..
A. openssh has disabled (or removed from the default list offered) a number of
legacy cryptography algorithms, but many devices are still running old code
without support for newer algorithms. Also, as of RANCiD 3.5, the ssh -c
option default of "3des" has been dropped from all of the login scripts due
to its affect on offered ssh version 2 (sshv2) ciphers, allowing sshv2
negotiation to proceed as normal.
See http://www.openssh.com/legacy.html, use ssh -v to display details about
the connection negotiation to see what the remote device supports. Also see
Cisco bug https://tools.cisco.com/bugsearch/bug/CSCuo76464 and
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/25341773/cisco-ssh-key-exchange-fails-from-ubuntu-14-04-client-dh-key-range-mismatch.
Suggested fixes for these failures may include the following options being
added to /etc/ssh/ssh_config or ~/.ssh/config:
Host *
KexAlgorithms +diffie-hellman-group1-sha1
Cipher +3des
Ciphers +3des-cbc
Options can also be set in .cloginrc, such as:
add sshcmd * {ssh\ -o\ KexAlgorithms=+diffie-hellman-group1-sha1}
Q. What else can I do with rancid?
A. The possibilities are endless...rancid is non-toxic when applied properly.
see Joe Abley and Stephen Stuart's NANOG presentation:
http://www.nanog.org/mtg-0210/abley.html
or our NANOG presentation:
http://www.shrubbery.net/rancid/NANOG29/
4) Extending RANCiD
Q. I wrote scripts for an unsupported device in rancid 2.x, but I am upgrading
to 3.x and rancid-fe no longer works in the same manner. Can I use the
script with 3.x?
A. Yes. The device type must be added to etc/rancid.types.conf such as:
DeviceTypeName;script;RancidScriptName
DeviceTypeName;login;LoginScriptName
eg:
alteon;script;arancid
alteon;login;alogin
See rancid.types.conf(5).
Q. I Have a device that is not supported by rancid. How can I add support
for it?
A. You should first search the rancid-discuss mail list and the web for
previous art. Someone may have already accomplished or begun the task.
If that is fruitless, you should query the rancid-discuss mail list, for
someone still may have done the work or you may be able to hire or bribe
someone.
If you must write one, it is helpful to have a basic understanding of
rancid's general process. See rancid_intro(7) and this maillist thread
thread:
http://www.shrubbery.net/pipermail/rancid-discuss/2015-August/008630.html .
You should begin with installation of the latest version of rancid. Adding
device support has been made easier in 3.0 and is being made easier as it
progresses.
Now, following the advice from Alan in the mail thread, choose the login
script and rancid library that most closely resembles the new device. If
it resembles none of them, clogin and ios.pm are reasonable starting points.
If you wish to contribute your scripts to the community, it is easier if
they are already in the format that autoconf and automake require. You
accomplish this by beginning with the .in version of the scripts/libraries.
The new files must also be added to automake &/ autoconf configuration files;
configure.ac and various Makefile.am files.
In some cases, it is possible to use an existing script without modification
or just simple changes. Do so, if possible, BUT we encourage you to
contribute those changes back to the community so that they will be in the
next version and it will be easier for you to upgrade in the future, AND
be careful making changes as it is easy to break the login scripts.
Otherwise, copy the files to the new names that you have chosen. We normally
use the name of the device's O/S for the library name; eg: iosxr.pm. For
the login script, we use a one or two character prefix added to login to
differentiate them and try to keep the names unique within the filesystem.
If you must create an pre-rancid 3.0 style rancid script, the name typically
follows the same format as the login script.
Add your definitions to rancid.types.conf(5). Alter the login script so
that interactive login works; then make -c, -s, and -x work. There are
more tips on testing the login script earlier in this FAQ.
After the login script works, work on the rancid library. First the inloop
function, followed by the filter functions. See tips regarding rancid -d
and .raw files earlier in this FAQ.
Q. I wish to extend an existing rancid device type with an additional command
or alter the filtering of an existing command. What is the recommended way
to do this?
A. It is recommended that a new device type is defined, so that future upgrades
can proceed more smoothly. To do so, read the previous question in this FAQ
and see the device type iosshtech in rancid.types.conf(5) for an example of
altering the commands run for an existing device type ("ios"), adding a
command and adding a new filtering function.
5) O/S specific
5a) General
Q. After an O/S upgrade, ssh logins are failing errors such as:
Unable to negotiate with IP port 22: no matching key exchange method found. Their offer: diffie-hellman-group1-sha1
or
%SSH-3-DH_RANGE_FAIL: Client DH key range mismatch with maximum configured DH key on server.
A. The latest openssh has dropped support for less secure ciphers, but many devices
do not support the newer ciphers, kex, etc. Work-arounds:
Set a different cipher in your .cloginrc, eg:
add cyphertype * {aes256-cbc}
Re-enable the old kex method in your ssh_config (weakdh.org):
Host *
GSSAPIAuthentication yes
KexAlgorithms +diffie-hellman-group1-sha1
Increase the key size in Cisco config:
ip ssh dh min size 4096
5b) Linux
Q. Some device collections have erroneously duplicated characters and which
characters are duplicated often change between collections. Such as:
- access-list 1 permit x.x.x.101
+ access-list 1 permitt x.x.x.101
A. This is likely a problem with Kerberized-telnet. See
http://www.shrubbery.net/pipermail/rancid-discuss/2011-September/005929.html
http://www.shrubbery.net/pipermail/rancid-discuss/2012-February/006210.html
There was also a bug prior to 3.0 affecting hlogin and other login scripts
that use hpuifilter.
6) E-mail problems
Q. Can you help with e-mail delivery problems?
A. No. rancid-discuss@, etc. are not Mail Transport Agent (MTA) support
lists. There are lists specific to Postfix, Sendmail, and all other MTAs;
google for those lists and ask there.
But, to explain basic information about rancid's use of the MTA is simple,
rancid simply uses sendmail (the executable, named so for historical
purposes and not to be confused with the MTA Sendmail) to send mail to the
per-rancid-group aliases described in the rancid source README and
rancid.conf(5) and affected by rancid.conf(5) and build-time configure
options.
All mail delivery is performed by the MTA.
For debugging the MTA, review logs that your MTA generates and try sending
mail to the per-rancid-group aliases manually using your favorite Mail User
Agent (MUA) (Mail, mail, mutt, pine, etc) and see debugging options that
your MTA and MUA offer for providing more logs, delivery receipts, etc.
Q. I just want to store configrurations, I do not want to receive diffs. How
can I accomplish this?
A. Use procmail to filter them out of your inbox.
OR, redirect the mail aliases in your MTA's aliases file or database to a
mailman list with no subscribers.
OR, redirect the mail aliases to /dev/null.
OR, set DIFFSCRIPT in rancid.conf to something that eats it's input, such
as "dd of=/dev/null bs=16k".
7) I am still stuck
Q. I'm still stuck on this problem. Where can I get more help?
A. A discussion list is available, [email protected]. You must
be a subscriber to post. Subscribe like this:
shell% echo "subscribe" | mail [email protected]
Please, no questions about Unix or MTAs. This is not a Unix, MTA, or
Perl help list. If you ask such questions, you will most likely be
ignored.
8) License
Q. Please explain the RANCID license.
A. Quite simple; read it. It is a slightly modified BSD license; it has an
additional clause.