User`s guide

How You Can Use ECM
Introduction
1-2
Enterprise Configuration Manager
User’s Guide
ECM is designed so you can divide the tasks of network management between
the network experts who set policy and create the configurations for the
network and the system administrators who manage day-to-day operations.
The network expert can use ECM in the following ways:
• To create templates with the attribute lists that ECM provides.
• To create configurations by capturing attribute values from existing
devices and then modifying them, if necessary.
• To set up a schedule of automatic captures, loads, and verifications to
ensure stable configurations.
The system administrators can use ECM in the following ways:
• To detect configuration problems by verifying actual-to-expected device
configurations.
• To load configurations to one or more devices on the network.
• To monitor the SPECTRUM Event Log to see the status and history of
configurations.
!
CAUTION
ECM is a powerful network configuration management tool. It is not
intended for the novice user! The application should be used only by network
administrators and technicians who know how to manually configure routers
and other devices on their network. ECM gives network administrators the
ability to quickly reconfigure any number of devices from their own
workstations. An inexperienced user could easily reconfigure devices that are
central to the network and severely interfere with the flow of information on
the network.
ECM does provide features that help you manage the risks involved in using
this application. Among these are ECM community strings and the Safe
Load option.
ECM community strings provide a layer of ECM security in addition to the
existing SPECTRUM security. Administrators should use caution when
assigning ECM community strings so that each user is granted the
appropriate access to ECM operations.
The Safe Load option helps administrators control the load process. When
Safe Load is on, ECM captures the device’s configuration before loading a
new configuration to it. If the load fails, ECM tries to restore the original
configuration to the device. Safe Load cannot make the load process “fail-
safe,” but it does make it safer. At most, with Safe Load on, you may have to
manually reconfigure one device.
However, even with the Safe Load feature, ECM is not risk-free. To protect
your network, make sure that the experienced network administrators and
technicians who have access to the application, work with extreme care and
take appropriate precautions.