Documentation forNetwork Configuration Manager
Managing network configurations is a key capability of SolarWinds Observability Self-Hosted (formerly Hybrid Cloud Observability) and is available in the Advanced edition. Network Configuration Manager (NCM) is also available in a standalone module.

Examples of NCM config change templates

A config change template consists of two parts: parameters and commands. The following sections describe the parameters and commands in the example templates:

For more information, see:

Change VLAN Membership on Ports Cisco IOS example

A config change template named Change VLAN Membership on Ports Cisco IOS is installed with NCM. Its purpose is to change VLAN membership on Cisco IOS device ports.

The following sections explain the specific components of a config change template by demonstrating how to use the Change VLAN Membership on Ports Cisco IOS template to make VLAN membership config changes on hypothetical Cisco device interfaces.

This section assumes that you know how to make VLAN membership changes to device interfaces from the Cisco IOS command line. This section also assumes that you are familiar with using variables, data arrays, foreach loops, if/else conditional statements, and logical operators in creating system administration scripts.

The following sections show the reference template broken up into parameter, command, and output sections.

Parameters

These are the parameters for the Change VLAN Membership on Ports Cisco IOS template. Notice that the parameters already have values associated with them, which are either a string or a variable.

/*
.CHANGE_TEMPLATE_DESCRIPTION
	This change template configures VLAN membership on
	Cisco IOS devices.  The template was verified on
	Cisco 2950 Catalyst Switch running IOS software
	version 12.1(12c).
.CHANGE_TEMPLATE_TAGS
	Cisco, IOS, VLAN Membership
.PLATFORM_DESCRIPTION
	Cisco IOS

.PARAMETER_LABEL @ContextNode
	NCM Node
.PARAMETER_DESCRIPTION @ContextNode
	The node the template will operate on. All
	templates require this by default. The target
	node is selected during the first part of the
	wizard so it will not be available for selection
	when defining values of variables.

.PARAMETER_LABEL @TargetPorts
	Select Port(s)
.PARAMETER_DESCRIPTION @TargetPorts
	Select the port(s) for which you would like to
	change VLAN membership.

.PARAMETER_LABEL @VlansToRemove
	VLAN(s) to remove
.PARAMETER_DESCRIPTION @VlansToRemove
	Select the VLAN(s) to remove. Selecting VLANs
	irrelevant to interfaces results in no actions
	taken for those interfaces.

.PARAMETER_LABEL @VlanToAssign
	VLAN to assign
.PARAMETER_DESCRIPTION @VlanToAssign
	Select the VLAN you would like to assign.
*/

Commands

There is one instance of the script command and multiple instances of the CLI{ } command, and all variables have declarations.

script ConfigureVLANmembershipCiscoIOS (    
 NCM.Nodes @ContextNode, 
 NCM.Interfaces[] @TargetPorts, 
 NCM.VLANs[] @VlansToRemove,
 NCM.VLANs @VlanToAssign )
{
 // Enter configuration mode
 CLI 
 { configure terminal }
 
 // Loop through selected ports
 foreach (@portItem in @TargetPorts)
 {
  CLI
  { interface @portItem.InterfaceDescription } 
    
 // Loop through list of vlans to remove
 foreach (@vlanRemove in @VlansToRemove)
 {
  CLI 
   { no switchport access vlan @vlanRemove.VLANID }
 }
  CLI 
   { switchport access vlan @VlanToAssign.VLANID }
  CLI 
   { exit }
 }

 // Exit configuration mode
 CLI
  { exit }
}

Output commands

These are the commands that NCM executes after logging on to the NCM device(s) selected as the target for this config change template. We are changing VLAN membership on one interface of two different Cisco switches.

bgp-2651-03

    configure terminal
    interface FastEthernet0/0
    no switchport access vlan 1004
    switchport access vlan 1002
    exit
    exit

cur-3725

    configure terminal
    interface FastEthernet0/1
    no switchport access vlan 1004
    switchport access vlan 1002
    exit
    exit

Enable NetFlow on Cisco ASA example

A config change template named Enable NetFlow on CiscoASA is installed with NCM. It configures a Cisco ASA for NetFlow export.

Here are the commands that this template executes on the command line of the targeted devices selected in the template's run-time setup wizard. For this example, we are including values as if the user entered them in the wizard interface.

configure terminal
flow-export destination inside 10.10.18.157 2055
flow-export template timeout-rate 1
flow-export delay flow-create 60
logging flow-export syslogs disable
access-list netflow-export extended permit ip any
class-map netflow-export-class
match access-list netflow-export
policy-map netflow-policy
class netflow-export-class
flow-export event-type all destination 10.10.18.157
service-policy netflow-policy global
flow-export enable
exit
end

You could execute this set of CLI commands on your target device and the result would be config changes in the status of NetFlow data processing by the device.

The config change template that produces this output of CLI commands is:

/*
.CHANGE_TEMPLATE_DESCRIPTION
	This change template configures your Cisco ASA for
	NetFlow export. This was verified on an ASA 5505
	running ASA software version 8.2(1)12.
.CHANGE_TEMPLATE_TAGS
	Cisco, ASA, NetFlow
.PLATFORM_DESCRIPTION
	Cisco ASA

.PARAMETER_LABEL @ContextNode
	NCM Node
.PARAMETER_DESCRIPTION @ContextNode
	The node the template will operate on.
	All templates require this by default. The target
	node is selected during the first part of the
	wizard so it will not be available for selection
	when defining values of variables.

.PARAMETER_LABEL @NetFlowCollectorIPAddress
	NetFlow Collector IP Address
.PARAMETER_DESCRIPTION @NetFlowCollectorIPAddress
	Enter the IP address of the server running the
	NetFlow traffic analysis solution (for example:
	SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer).

.PARAMETER_LABEL @NetFlowExportPort
	NetFlow Export Port
.PARAMETER_DESCRIPTION @NetFlowExportPort
	Enter the NetFlow export port
	The default for SolarWinds NTA is 2055.
*/

script EnableNetflowOnCiscoASA (   
		NCM.Nodes @ContextNode, 
		string @NetFlowCollectorIPAddress, 
		int @NetFlowExportPort             )
{
	// Enter configuration mode and generate
	   NetFlow commands
	CLI 
	{
		configure terminal
		flow-export destination inside @NetFlowCollectorIPAddress @NetFlowExportPort
		flow-export template timeout-rate 1
		flow-export delay flow-create 60
		logging flow-export-syslogs disable
		access-list netflow-export extended permit ip any any
		class-map netflow-export-class
		match access-list netflow-export
		policy-map netflow-policy 
		class netflow-export-class
		flow-export event-type all destination @NetFlowCollectorIPAddress
		service-policy netflow-policy global
		flow-export enable 
		exit
	}
}

Parameters

The parameters defined at the beginning of this script create an interface in which the user types the IP address and port of the NetFlow receiver. 

.PARAMETER_LABEL @NetFlowCollectorIPAddress
	NetFlow Collector IP Address
.PARAMETER_DESCRIPTION @NetFlowCollectorIPAddress
	Enter the IP address of the server running the NetFlow traffic analysis solution (e.g. SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer--NTA).

.PARAMETER_LABEL @NetFlowExportPort
	NetFlow Export Port
.PARAMETER_DESCRIPTION @NetFlowExportPort
	Enter the NetFlow export port (default for SolarWinds NTA is 2055).

The first line defines the parameter or variable name (in this case, @NetFlowCollectorIPAddress) for which the user enters a value in the wizard interface text box at run time. The second line defines the label (in this case, NetFlow Collector IP Address) that appears in the wizard interface to prompt the user to enter the IP address. The third and fourth lines define the description that appears below the wizard interface text box.

The parameters for NetFlow Export Port (in lines 5-12) function exactly the same way as the first four. The parameter variables, labels, and descriptions guide the config change template's run-time execution by receiving specific user input.

Command declarations (script)

The script declarations include all the variables for which the template prompts the user to provide input. In this case, three variables and their data types are declared: 

script EnableNetflowOnCiscoASA (   
		NCM.Nodes @ContextNode, 
		string @NetFlowCollectorIPAddress, 
		int @NetFlowExportPort             )
{

NCM.Nodes is applied to the @ContextNode variable. NCM.Nodes refers to the Nodes entity in the SolarWinds Information Service (SWIS). In the interface wizard, the user enters a string value for the NetFlow Collector IP Address and an integer value for the NetFlow Export Port on the device.

For a complete list of entities and properties, see SWIS entities used in config change templates.

CLI commands

The majority of config change template code outputs original CLI commands with only a few parsed variables. Any time a variable is referenced, a value is used in its place. For example, since the user typed 10.10.18.157 as the IP address and 2055 as the collector port number, @NetFlowCollectorIPAddress is replaced with 10.10.18.157 and @NetFlowExportPort is replaced with 2055 when the script runs. 

flow-export destination inside @NetFlowCollectorIPAddress @NetFlowExportPort

The previous line of code generates the following output: 

flow-export destination inside 10.10.18.157 2055

Include a custom property

The following example updates the SNMP location to a defined custom property called City.

script ScriptToChangeSomething (NCM.Nodes @ContextNode)
{
   //Reference Node Custom Property
   CLI
   {
      configure terminal
      snmp-server location @ContextNode.City
   }
   CLI {exit}
}