CatOS Command Sender (catos_send_cmds)

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This program will send any number of commands to a single Catalyst switch running CatOS or a list of switches.  The commands that are sent are defined in a text file (any name), that you create, or specified directly on the command line using the -cmd option.  The commands are sent in sequential order from top to bottom of the file or the order in which they are defined if using the -cmd options.

 

Program Name: catos_send_cmds

 

Script Argument

Description

-rf <filename>

List of switches or IP Address/((DNS hostname) to run script against (REQUIRED -rf or -ipaddr)

 

NOTE: Cannot use the -ipaddr and the -rf option at the same time!

-ipaddr <ip_address or devicename>

IP address or switch name (if defined in hosts file or DNS)

Use -ipaddr to send commands to a single device or -rf to send commands to list of devices specfied in file.  (REQUIRED -rf or -ipaddr)

 

NOTE: Cannot use the -ipaddr and the -rf option at the same time!

-cf <filename>

File which contains a list of commands to send to switches.  One command per line.  Lines that begin with a “#” are considered comments and will not be sent to the router.

(REQUIRED -cf or -cmd)

 

NOTE: Cannot use the -cf and the -cmd option at the same time!

-cmd <command>

Command to send to switch.  Useful when only needing to send a few commands to a single device or list of devices.  It saves you the time of having to create a text file with only a few commands in it.  If the command contains spaces then it must be enclosed in double quotes (only when running script from cli, not GUI). This option can be used up to 7 times when used with the GUI.  The command line version of this script can repeat this option an unlimited number of  times.  However, for more than 5 to 7 commands, it is recommended to put the commands in a text file and use the -cf option. (REQUIRED -cf or -cmd)

 

NOTE: Cannot use the -cf and the -cmd option at the same time!

 

Example:

-cmd "show tech"

-testmode

Test Mode. Build and display the commands that would have been sent to the devices but DO NOT actually connect to the devices and send the commands.  Useful for confirming command looping and variable substitutions are correct or for just double checking the commands that will be sent .  List of commands are

also written to the file $SCRIPT_HOME/<script_name>_sample_cmds.txt".

(OPTIONAL)

-ual (1 or 2)

User Access Level.  Tells the script what access-level (1st or 2nd) to log into the switch before sending the commands.  By default the script will only go into 1st level access.  (OPTIONAL)

-dir <directory>

If specified, tells script to save output for each device into a separate file.  Files will be saved to the directory specified.  If the directory does not exist, the script will create it.  By default output for all devices is only saved to the detailed trace file.  The directory entered can be either an absolute directory or a relative directory.  If running the script from the GUI, a relative directory is relative to the “SCRIPT_HOME” variable. (From the GUI see Options->Settings). (OPTIONAL)

-autodir <date | time>

Automatically create new unique directory to save output for each device into a separate file.  The choices are date or time

 

The date option will create a new directory consisting  of just the date

e.g. 08012010 for Aug 1st 2010. 

 

The time option will append the time to the date:

e.g. 08012010_12h36m15s

 

If used with the -dir option, the new unique directory will be created under the -dir directory.  If the -dir option is not used, then the new unique directory will be created under the SCRIPT_HOME directory.  Note, if the date option is used and that directory name happens to all ready exist, then files in that directory will be overwritten. There are no safety prompts for the user when using this option.

-urfn

Use Route File Name.  When saving the output data to a separate file for each device, the filename used will be the name/IP Address stated in the rf file.  The default filename is the switch hostname configured on the switch.  This option only applies when used with the dir option. (OPTIONAL)

-safe

Safe Mode.  If an error occurs while sending a configuration command to a switch in the list, all subsequent commands to that switch will not be sent.  The script will continue on to the next switch on the list and continue sending commands.  (OPTIONAL)

-ssafe

SuperSafe Mode.  Abort Script if there is an error while sending any of the configuration commands to any of the switchs. (OPTIONAL)

-nokey

Dont prompt user for encryption key when using encrypted password file.  (OPTIONAL)

-ssh

Use Secure Shell when accessing switchs.  Do NOT use with -pw option. (OPTIONAL)

-pw <filename>

Login/Password File.  (OPTIONAL)

-log <filename>

Save detailed trace file to a name other than the default file name.  (OPTIONAL)

-ulog

Unique Log file.  Save detailed trace log file to a Unique filename automatically created by script. Filename will be in format of scriptname_timestamp.log. (OPTIONAL)

 

The command file (-cf <filename>) should contain a list of commands that will be sent to each CatOS Switch.  This is not a TCL file, it is a plain text file that must contain one command per line.  Lines that begin with a “#” are considered comments and will not be sent to the switch as a command.

 

The following command can also be entered in the command file:

 

Command

Description

clear counters

clear counter

The clear counters command requires confirmation after entering the command in the CLI.  The script will automatically send the confirmation to clear the counters.

SLEEP <seconds>

The SLEEP command is not a command that will be sent to the switch.  If desired, this is a method to introduce a delay between commands.  Seconds can be a whole integer (e.g. 2) or a real number (e.g. 1.5).  The SLEEP command must be entered in all CAPITAL letters otherwise it will be interpreted as a command to send to the switch.  It must also start at the beginning of the line (no leading spaces or tabs).  Note, this is not typically needed but may be useful if you would like to watch the script as it is running to visually inspect the output of a particular command.

LOOPSTART <num>

or

LOOPEND

Allows the capability to send the same command(s) over and over, a specified number of times.  The command(s) that will repeated are the commands between the LOOPSTART and LOOPEND commands.  See Command Looping for more information.

 

The following is a sample command file which performs a show vlan, show port, then pauses for 15 seconds because the user wishes to visually examine the output of the show port command (in real time).  Then it performs a show snmp.

 

show vlan
show port
SLEEP 15
show snmp

 

There is also an option for setting the User Access Level.  By default the script will only log into first level access on the switch.  If you are sending commands that require second level access, then use the ual option and set it to 2 (e.g. ual 2).

 

This program also has the option to be run in Safe and SuperSafe mode which should be considered when running scripts in production environments.

 

Sample Command 1: The following command will send the commands listed in file show_cmds.cmds to the switches listed in the file switches.rt. The script will go into enable mode before issuing the commands because of the ual 2 option.  If there are any errors while issuing any of the commands, the script will immediately terminate because of the ssafe option (SuperSafe Mode).  The script will not prompt the user for passwords because the passwords are being read in from the logins.txt file (-pw option).

 

catos_send_cmds -pw logins.txt rf switches.rt cf show_cmds.cmds ssafe ual 2

 

Sample Command 2: The following script will send a "show tech" to the switch 192.168.0.10The output will be saved to the file show_tech_switch1.log  The script will not prompt the user for passwords because the passwords are being read in from the logins.txt file (-pw option).

 

catos_send_cmds -log show_tech_switch1.log -pw logins.txt –ipaddr 192.168.0.10 cmd "show tech"