Automatically resetting Cisco lab Equipment

Hello everyone,

I am in the process of completing a great project our site started almost a year ago - a Free Cisco lab for the World's IT community.

This lab's concept came from our site's main goal - to provide free education and services to the world, no matter what the educational level or financial state of our individual visitors are.

We've already purchased our equipment and setup our Cisco labs and have stumbled across one last detail which is causing much trouble and frustration. As a result, we are unable to launch the labs and make them freely available to the IT community.

As such, I'd like to share this problem with this new's group community, in hope of a resolution.

Our Cisco lab is based on a 2511 terminal server, online booking system and Tacacs+ server (freeware edition based on Linux). The problem we are experiencing has to do with each lab's equipment, where we are having trouble resetting them to a default state after a user has completed his session. Resetting them is required to ensure the lab's equipment are ready for the next user.

I've noticed that many of the Cisco lab facilities offered by sites where you pay for this server, offer such features where you can reset all lab equipment with the touch of a button, but also save your configuration for your next session!

We are planning to add such advanced features in the future, but need to take care first of critical features such as resetting to a default state.

Any help or suggestions are highly appreciated.

Thank you.

Chris P.

Reply to
Admin32
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I would think this could be as easy as storing the default configuration for each router in the network in a place where the routers can tftp them from and then when the reset to default is needed, you would simply copy the default config to the startup-config and then reload the system.

Or you could store the default config on the router's flash itself and then copy from there to the startup-config and then reload the system. In either case the router will come up in the default config after the reload.

Note that for the latter case you will have to adjust privilege levels for users using the testbed such that they cannot write to flash or else they might unintentionally (or maliciously) erase the default config or replace it with something more suitable for them. The first method suggested is more secure from the pov of administering the system.

Cisco da Gama

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Reply to
ciscodagama

Hello, I wish I can help.. but I'm new in this field and so interested in your site.. can you please update us when the site is finished.. Thanks,

Reply to
searcher

If you like you can visit the site at

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though the Cisco lab is not yet available to the public until we resolve this last problem :)

Chris P.

Reply to
Admin32

In addition to what "Cisco da Gama" recommended. Have you (Admin32) looked at possibility of automating this task with the use of a scripting language such as expect or tcl/tk? Your problem sounds like it could be solved with the use of a scripting language. If your really pressed for time I'd outsource:

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My 0010 cents.

Reply to
captain.murphy

Chris P,

I have some scripts that I use for some unrelated server equipment. It controls power servers and quite a few other things that would probably be relevant. If you could share some information about how your labs are set up I might be able to adapt the code for you.

So how are you guys running this thing? Are you a non-profit or what? I see you've got what appears to be sponsors. How are you guys paying for this project?

-Thanks

-Psy

Reply to
shrike

I guess your problem is the IP address will change and you'll need to be on the same network to tftp the device may not even have an interface configured ..

Maybe you can create a script to automate a console session but then again the student could have changed the console password.

I guess the only way would be to somehow remove the power to device, when the device reloads use a console scripted session to alter the configuration register and then perform the relevant actions.

Another thought, you can create in visual basic for example a terminal client (I'm sure the source code is available) that will need to be used to configure the devices, this way you'll be able use simple code the input and restrict the student to what passwords are set for console. If you can guarantee what the password is you'll be able to script a console session to reload a default configuration.

The above are just thoughts.

Reply to
corb

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