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System and method for verifying a network device's configurationRelated Patent Categories: Electrical Computers And Digital Processing Systems: Multicomputer Data Transferring, Network Computer ConfiguringSystem and method for verifying a network device's configuration description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070150561, System and method for verifying a network device's configuration. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
PRIORITY [0001] The present application is a continuation application of commonly owned and assigned application Ser. No. 09/942,833, Attorney Docket No. CNTW-008/00US, entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MODELING A NETWORK DEVICE'S CONFIGURATION, filed on Aug. 29, 2001, which is incorporated herein by reference. RELATED APPLICATIONS [0002] The present application is related to commonly owned and assigned application Ser. Nos.: [0003] Ser. No. 09/730,864 entitled System and Method for Configuration, Management and Monitoring of Network Resources, filed Dec. 6, 2000; [0004] Ser. No. 09/730,680 entitled System and Method for Redirecting Data Generated by Network Devices, filed Dec. 6, 2000; [0005] Ser. No. 09/730,863 entitled Event Manager for Network Operating System, filed Dec. 6, 2000; [0006] Ser. No. 09/730,671 entitled Dynamic Configuration of Network Devices to Enable Data Transfers, filed Dec. 6, 2000; [0007] Ser. No. 09/730,682 entitled Network Operating System Data Directory, filed Dec. 6, 2000; and [0008] Ser. No. 09/799,579 entitled Global GUI Interface for Network OS, filed Mar. 6, 2001; all of which are incorporated herein by reference. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0009] The present invention relates to network device configuration. In particular, but not by way of limitation, the present invention relates to systems and methods for retrieving configurations from network devices and generating corresponding command models. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0010] Networks, and in particular, the Internet, have revolutionized communications. Data vital to the continued prosperity of the world economy is constantly being exchanged between end-users over these networks. Unfortunately, the expansion and maintenance of present networks is outpaced by the demand for additional bandwidth. Network equipment is often difficult to configure, and qualified network engineers are in extremely short supply. Thus, many needed network expansions and upgrades must be delayed until these engineers are available. While these upgrades and expansions are pending, end-users continue to suffer poor network performance. [0011] Cisco.TM. routers, for example, are notoriously difficult to configure--especially in light of the new XML-based interfaces introduced by competitors such as Juniper Networks.TM.. Instead of a user-friendly XML-based interface, Cisco.TM. uses a cumbersome command line interface (CLI) for its routers. Cisco's.TM. CLI is the result of many years of semi-controlled modifications to its router operating systems and has resulted in a tangled mess of commands and subcommands. This cumbersome interface is one reason that Cisco.TM. requires that Cisco-certified engineers work on its routers. [0012] Cisco.TM. could reduce the complexity of its routers and reduce the need for Cisco-certified engineers by producing a user-friendly interface. If Cisco.TM. attempted to abandon its CLI in favor of such a user-friendly interface, however, many years of development and expertise could be lost. Moreover, even if it could develop a user-friendly interface, there is presently no economical way to integrate it into the thousands of existing Cisco.TM. routers. Despite the difficulties in implementing a more user-friendly interface, to remain competitive, Cisco.TM. and similarly situated companies need to move away from their present interfaces. Present technology, however, does not provide these companies with an acceptable option that allows continued use of their extensive interface knowledge base while simultaneously providing system administrators and network engineers with a user-friendly interface. Moreover, present technologies do not provide an acceptable way to provide backward compatibility of new user-friendly interfaces with existing network devices. [0013] Cisco.TM., of course, is not the only network device manufacturer to face this interface-upgrade problem. Many manufacturers would like to continue using their existing interface knowledge base while providing system administrators a user-friendly, consistent interface. Accordingly, a system and method are needed that will allow manufacturers, like Cisco.TM., to create user-friendly interfaces for both next-generation and existing devices. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0014] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention that are shown in the drawings are summarized below. These and other embodiments are more fully described in the Detailed Description section. It is to be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the forms described in this Summary of the Invention or in the Detailed Description. One skilled in the art can recognize that there are numerous modifications, equivalents and alternative constructions that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the claims. [0015] In one embodiment, for example, the present invention can provide a system and method for modeling the configuration of a network device. Such a system could include a CLI-to-XML converter connected to a schema storage device or a CLI-to-XML converter in combination with a document object model (DOM) generator. Other embodiments could include, for example, a CLI-to-XML converter, a schema hash system, and a DOM generator. [0016] In operation, one embodiment of the present invention can model a network device's configuration by retrieving a the network device's configuration, in a native format, from the network device--or an alternate location--and converting it into a standard-format configuration such as an XML document or a DOM. This standard-format configuration provides system administrators with an easy-to-use, familiar device configuration format for different network devices. That is, instead of being forced to manipulate a difficult CLI-based configuration format, or other format system administrators can use the standard-format configuration to interact with the target network device. Moreover, one embodiment of the present invention can allow system administrators to use the same standard configuration format across multiple brands and models of network devices. Thus, in networks that employ multiple brands and models of network devices, system administrators can be presented with similar configuration formats for each device despite the fact that the native configuration formats for the different devices are significantly different. [0017] The process for actually converting a native-format configuration for a network device into a standard-format configuration is generally a multi-step process. For example, one embodiment of the present invention initially determines the target network device's characteristics such as manufacturer, model, operating system version, etc. Next, using some or all of this characteristic information, an appropriate configuration schema can be retrieved from a schema storage device. Briefly, the schema can include a standard representation of the command structure for a particular type of network device. For example, one schema could contain a representation of the command structure for all model 7500 Cisco.TM. routers using OS version 12.1, and another schema could contain a representation of the command structure routers using OS version 12.2. The schema, its creation, and its use are fully described in commonly owned and assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/942,834, Attorney Docket No. CNTW-007/US, entitled System and Method for Generating a Configuration Schema, which is incorporated herein by reference. [0018] In certain embodiments, this schema can be directly used to generate an XML document that represents the configuration of the particular network device. In the presently preferred embodiment, however, an intermediate representation, e.g., a hash representation, of the schema is generated and the intermediate representation is used to more quickly generate the corresponding XML document. By using the intermediate representation, the number of instruction cycles needed to generate the XML document is reduced significantly when compared to generating the XML document directly. [0019] To actually assemble an XML document, one embodiment of the present invention generates an XML representation of each native-format command in the network device's configuration by associating each command with the schema, or its hash representation. The XML document itself can be used to represent the standard-format configuration, or alternatively, the XML document can be converted into a DOM, and the DOM can represent the standard-format configuration. Notably, the integrity of the generated DOM can be verified via the schema that was used to generate the XML document, thereby providing a "closed-loop" capability. [0020] As previously stated, the above-described embodiments and implementations are for illustration purposes only. Numerous other embodiments, implementations, and details of the invention are easily recognized by those of skill in the art from the following descriptions and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0021] Various objects and advantages and a more complete understanding of the present invention are apparent and more readily appreciated by reference to the following Detailed Description and to the appended claims when taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings wherein: [0022] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional network; [0023] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a conventional router; [0024] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a system constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention; Continue reading about System and method for verifying a network device's configuration... 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