RANCID NCM
RANCID (Really Awesome New Cisco confIg Differ) is an open-source Network Configuration Management (NCM) tool that tracks changes to network device configurations and maintains version-controlled backups.
Disclaimer: RANCID and the RANCID logo are trademarks of Shrubbery Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by them.
At Altnix, we help enterprises implement RANCID for robust network change monitoring, compliance, and operational efficiency across multi-vendor environments.
RANCID NCM Features
What is RANCID?
Automates retrieval of the configurations and archives them Functions as:
Backup tool
Audit tool
Blame allocation
The data is stored in a VCS (Version Control System) - supported are: CVS (Concurrent Versions Systems), SVN (SubVersioN)
How does it work?
Run (manually or automated) Lookup list of groups - For each device in each list of groups:
Connect to the equipment (telnet, ssh, …)
Run ”show” commands - config, inventory, ...
Collect, filter/format data
Retrieve the resulting config files
CVS check-in the changes
Generate a diff from the previous version
E-mail the diff to a mail address (individual or group)
What can you use it for?
Track changes in the equipment configuration
Track changes in the hardware (S/N, modules)
Track version changes in the OS (IOS, CatOS versions)
Recover from accidental configuration errors
Post Processing
Run traditional filtering commands on your configs (grep, sed, for information)
Re-use the automated login tools to build your own batch tools or do interactive login
On large configurations, you can parallelize operations
Other Applications
Automated checks (verify configs for strange/ inconsistent setup)
Generate a DNS file from the equipment list
Use IP address adjacency to produce a graph of your network
Why Choose Altnix for RANCID NCM?
Altnix Advantage
RANCID NCM Consulting
Altnix provides consulting services for RANCID NCM for network configuration management. RANCID NCM Consulting includes the following:
In-Depth Analysis of your business requirements and scope study
Consulting on best practices with RANCID NCM
Hardware Sizing Guidelines and choice of physical versus virtual hardware
Solution Design Document that can be handed over to engineers for implementation
RANCID Implementation and Deployment
Altnix will implement RANCID for network configuration management keeping in mind the business requirements. Implementation includes the following:
RANCID NCM Installation and Setup
RANCID configuration
Network Configuration setup for Routers, Switches and Network Devices
Device Libraries and Plugins for Non-standard devices
Design and Development
Testing and UAT sign off after consultation with the customer
Production Implementation and Go Live
Documentation for future reference
RANCID NCM Customization
Altnix will customize your RANCID installation so that it is a better fit for your business environment.
Creating new scripts for different types of network devices, switches, and routers to be used inside RANCID
Creating new visualizations and dashboards as per customer needs
Creating custom reports and charts as per customer needs
Adding new scripts, plug-ins, and components if needed
Third-Party Integration
Altnix will integrate RANCID with other third-party tools to meet several business use cases.
Ticketing systems such as IBM Netcool, BMC Remedy, Zendesk, and OTRS Community Edition
ITSM tools such as OTRS Community Edition, GLPi Network Edition, ServiceNow and HP Universal CMDB
Monitoring tools such as OpenNMS, Nagios, Zabbix and Prometheus
IT Automation Tools such as Ansible, Jenkins, and StackStorm
Visualization Tools such as Cacti, Grafana, and Graphite
24x7 AMC Support Services
Altnix offers 24x7 support services on an AMC or per hour basis for new or existing installations on RANCID NCM. Our team of experts are available round the clock and respond to you within a predefined SLA.
GET CONSULTATIONS
Bridging the Gap in Your IT Solutions
