vlan.dat and RME device config backup

prakadeesh · ‎10-28-2008

I am currently facing an issue with RME4.0.5. I run device config backup on all my devices regularly. The audit reports generated have SYNC ARCHIVE : VLAN/RUNNING config fetch succesful. I was under the impression that the vlan.dat binary will also get backed up when I use the RME device config management( If I check the reports on the config mgmt on RME I can see some devices with VLAN primary succesful). Now please let me know.

*If I can restore a vlan.dat file using ciscoworks in case of a disaster recovery?

*Can I view the Vlans that are backed up, something like diffs in the config viewer but for VLANs. I am aware that campus manager has some VTP and VLAN management features, are those the only ones that I can use?

*Other than the messages in the audit report, I cant see any concrete evidence that my vlan.dat is backed up

please help,

Thanks,

Deesh

Joe Clarke · ‎10-28-2008

Yes you can restore a vlan.dat in the case of a disaster.

No, the vlan.dat contents are not viewable as this file is opaque data. The Campus Manager VTP/VLAN features are the only way to get visibility into the domains and VLANs on your network.

The vlan.dat files are stored in the config archive on the file system. You can find the latest copy for each device in the shadow directory under your configured config archive directory. These files should match the byte size of vlan.dat on your switches.

prakadeesh · ‎10-29-2008

Hi,

thanks for the prompt reply. I have ciscoworks on solaris..i dnt have shadow directory enabled as of now...but I was able to find the file as below...

server:$pwd

/var/adm/CSCOpx/files/rme/dcma/devfiles/448/VLAN/RUNNING/3

server:$ls

448-20080815010158.cfg

server:$

is this the vlan.dat file for the device...but it is saved as a .cfg . Incase of disaster will i have to used this.cfg file to tftp to flash but save it as a .dat file? please help...thanks for your support on this.

regards,

deesh

vergeerf · ‎10-29-2008

what triggers the collection of the vlan.dat

I've seen multiple collections of the vlan.dat on a single device on a single day. When I look at the timestamp on this file via dir flash:vlan.dat the file was not changed. So why does RME collect is even when it's not changed (the enviroment uses VTP transparant only)

prakadeesh · ‎10-29-2008

Hi,

There was this bug CSCsb86166 in RME4.0.3 which addressed the inability of ciscoworks to compare the binary file, so everytime it polled for config change it ended up backing up vlan.dat even if it didnt change( my understanding of the bug)..but this was supposed to be fixed in RME4.0.5 but I am using this version and I still get a audit change for a VLAN config even if nothing has changed. The actual fix was a workaround rather than a code fix for this issue..it seems that in RME 4.0.5 user will be prompted to opt out for vlan changes..but I cant see it in my GUI. hope that helps.

-Rgds

Deesh

Joe Clarke · ‎10-29-2008

The vlan.dat is backed up every time the running config is backed up. Since RME has no way of knowing if the vlan.dat actually changed, this is the safest course of action.

If your switch uses VTP transparent, you can delete vlan.dat from flash, and RME will no longer back it up. Newer versions of IOS do not require vlan.dat for transparent mode configs.

There is also an option you can enable which will prevent RME from creating Change Audit records for vlan.dat "changes." This is done under RME > Admin > Change Audit > Config Change Filter.

prakadeesh · ‎10-31-2008

Hi,

Please can you comment on my query regarding the .cfg file in my server. Please refer to previous message for the details.

Thanks,

Deesh

Joe Clarke · ‎10-31-2008

Yes, the .cfg file is the vlan.dat file. It should match in byte size to the file on the switch.