Download configurations

1. In the Entity Explorer, find a device for which you are gathering configurations.

2. Click the Config Management tab to see available configurations. They are saved and named after the time stamp when they were downloaded.

3. To download a configuration, click the Download button.

   • To download the configuration the device started with, click Download Startup Config.

   • To download the configuration that is currently applied on the device, click Download Running Config.

     Downloading the configuration starts. Click the Events link in the message to follow the download progress.

Sign scripts or upload jobs

Some actions, such as uploading configurations or running scripts, require a digital signature before they can be executed. This signature is generated using a pair of cryptographic keys: a private key and a public key. You must set up these keys before performing any signed action.

When prompted during an action, run a signing script and paste the output of it into the Signature field.

Set up signing

1. Ensure that you have OpenSSL installed on your computer and available in your system path. See OpenSSL Downloads and Path (Windows commands) for details.

2. Create a private key. Use the following script to create a 4096-bit RSA private key encrypted with AES-256.

   openssl genpkey -algorithm RSA -out private_key.pem -aes256 -pkeyopt rsa_keygen_bits:4096

3. Create a public key. Use the following script to extract the public key from the private key.

   openssl rsa -in private_key.pem -pubout -out public_key.pem

4. Create the following folder on your Network Collector, and paste the public key into it.

   C:\ProgramData\SolarWinds\UAMSClient\plugin-storage\nim-actions\signature-public-keys

Sign actions

When you perform an action that requires a signature, run the provided signing script and paste the output into the Signature field.

--EnableSignatureVerificationFeature=true

Upload configurations

1. In the Entity Explorer, find a device for which you are gathering configurations.

2. Click the Config Management tab to see available configurations. They are saved and named after the time stamp when they were downloaded.

3. To upload a configuration, click the Upload Config button. This launches a wizard.

4. On Upload operation details, review the configuration you want to upload to the device and click Next. In this step, you can modify the configuration before uploading it to the device. The updates will only be part of the configuration that will be uploaded, the downloaded configuration will not be changed.

   Additional options:

   • To write the configuration to non-volatile RAM, select the Write to NVRAM box.

   • To reboot the device after the upload, select Reboot.

5. On Signing, select your operating system. Copy and run the provided script. Paste the output into the Signature field and click Upload.

   Uploading the configuration starts. Click the Events link in the message to follow the download progress.

Manage and run scripts

Click Network > Configuration Management, and then open the Script Management tab in the lower part of Configuration Management. You can view and manage available scripts via the vertical ellipsis at the end of the row.

Execute scripts

1. In Script Management, click Execute in the vertical ellipsis for a script to launch the Execute Script wizard.

2. On Script Details, review the script. You can change the script here. If you want to reboot the device after running the script, select the Reboot box.

3. On Select Network Devices, select one or more devices to run the script on.

4. On Signing, select the operating system of the devices, run the command line code and paste the output into Signature.

5. Click Execute to run the script.

Delete scripts

In Script Management, click Delete in the vertical ellipsis for a script and delete the script.

Edit scripts

In Script Management, click Edit in the vertical ellipsis for a script and make your changes.

Add scripts

You can add any scripts to run on devices with monitored configurations. For details on supported operations, see the device vendor's documentation.

1. In Script Management, click Add Script.

2. Enter a name for the script.

3. Type your script in the Content box.

4. Provide more details on why you created the script and what it does in the Comments box.

5. Save the script.

The script is added to the Script Management. You can execute or edit it there.

Schedule and manage configuration jobs

Schedule configuration jobs to automate the management of network devices and configuration files. Configuration jobs include regular downloads of device configurations.

You can define and run configuration jobs either in SolarWinds Observability SaaS, on the Network Collector/Platform-connected SolarWinds Observability Self-Hosted, or in both places.

SolarWinds Observability SaaS

• Supported job types: Download Configurations from Devices, Upload Change to Devices, Execute Command Script on Devices.
• There are no pre-defined jobs.

Network Collector /Platform-connected SolarWinds Observability Self-Hosted

• Supported job types: Download Configurations from Devices, Upload Change to Devices, Execute Command Script on Devices. See NCM job types for a comprehensive list.
• There are pre-defined daily jobs.

Before you create a new job in SolarWinds Observability SaaS, check whether a similar job already exists on the Network Collector/Platform Connect SolarWinds Observability Self-Hosted. If you find the job there, consider disabling the job to avoid duplication.