Overview of the Configuration Editor

The Configuration Editor is an applet used for viewing and editing configurations and command sets.

Each configuration or command set, regardless of the vendor/type/ model/operating system (VTMOS), is displayed as a configuration catalog for ease of use. The following topics promote an understanding of the Configuration Editor and how you can use it to effectively view and edit configurations and command sets:

  • Understanding configuration catalogs
  • Understanding Configuration Editor features
  • Importing configurations and command sets
  • Working with configurations
  • Working with command sets

Understanding configuration catalogs

Configuration catalogs are the graphical folder trees that Netcool Configuration Manager uses to represent resource configurations and command sets. The configuration catalog is similar to a typical Windows list of folders and files, except some of the folders also contain data. When you click any element/object name from the catalog, the right pane of the application page shows that command and allows you to make edits.

Understanding some Configuration Editor features

Text at the bottom of the Configuration Editor changes to “Configuration” or “command set” depending on what is currently being edited. Text is also displayed both in the title bar and at the bottom of the screen to indicate that there is changed/unsaved data in a configuration or command set.

The top of the Configuration Editor includes tool bar icons to make your editing tasks easier. Depending on whether a configuration or command set is opened, the title bar at the top of the screen shows the resource name, configuration name, and VTMOS, or it shows the command set name and VTMOS.

The Configuration Editor also shows the exact VTMOS found on the resource, if that information is available, regardless of what was entered when the resource was created.

You can have multiple Configuration Editor/Command Set Editor sessions open at the same time. After opening a command set or configuration, simply click back on the Resource Browser and search for another command set or configuration to open. You can open any combination of command sets and configurations at the same time.

Importing configurations and command sets

You can use the Configuration Editor to import an existing configuration or command set into the configuration or command set currently being edited. This feature is useful if you want to “seed” a configuration with another configuration that is being treated as a template, or default configuration. It can also be helpful before applying a command set to see exactly what the effect of the command set will be on a given configuration by importing the command set into a configuration.

The VT of the configuration or command set being imported must match the VT of the current configuration or command set.

The following table summarizes the result of each of the possible import scenarios.

Importing a ... Into a ... Result

Command set

Command set

The imported command set is appended to the command set being edited. In the case where both command sets contain data for the same node/argument, both will be shown in the combined command set.

Command set

Configuration

The imported command set is applied to the configuration. If any parameterized values are included in the command set, they must also include a default value in order to be imported. This would be the way to apply a default configuration (stored as a command set) to a resource.

Configuration

Configuration

The two configurations are merged together. Any commands present in only one of the configurations are kept. If a command exists in both configurations but with different values, the values of the configuration you are importing are kept.

Configuration

Command set

The configuration information within the command set is entirely replaced with the data from the configuration. There is now no markup (add, modify, or delete symbols) within the command set, so you must provide the mark-up before applying this command set to any configurations.

Note: After opening a configuration, if you make any changes to the configuration, the Import option will be disabled.

Use the following procedure to import a configuration or command set into another command set or configuration.

  1. With a command set or configuration opened in the Configuration Editor, select File > Import.

    The Import dialog box displays. This dialog box shows all configurations and command sets of the same Vendor and Type as the configuration or command set you are currently editing. The configurations and command set are arranged by realm, and different icons distinguish command sets from configurations. If a network resource has multiple configurations, all are displayed.

  2. Highlight the desired command set or configuration and click Import.

    The import occurs, using the rules described in the previous table.

Working with configurations

Use the Configuration Editor to edit configurations. Regardless of the VTMOS of a configuration, the usage of the catalog is the same.

The following list identifies some of the configuration related tasks that you can perform using the Configuration Editor:

  • Adding an element on an unbounded command
  • Viewing specific configuration data
  • Using CLI text boxes for configurations
  • Viewing native commands
  • Calculating native command changes
  • Editing managed resources
  • Managing roll ups

Working with command sets

Use the Configuration Editor to edit command sets. Regardless of the VTMOS of a command set, the usage of the Configuration Editor is the same.

Note: Subsequent topics describe how to navigate the Command Set/Configuration Editor and add mark up tags indicating the desired changes. The supported functionality varies depending on VTMOS, and even within a single VTMOS not all functionality is supported for every element or argument.

Unlike configurations in which you simply make changes to a given command, when working with command sets you must use markup to specify what you want to happen when the command set is applied. If you want to add a command, you must mark it to be added; if you want to delete a command, you must mark it to be deleted. A command set containing data but no markup will have no effect on a network resource when applied.

The following list identifies some of the command set related tasks that you can perform using the Configuration Editor:

  • Marking commands to be added, modified, or deleted
  • Using wild cards
  • Using parameters
  • Applying command sets with parameters
  • Specifying sibling values as dependencies
  • Specifying order on list commands
  • Switching between match and replace values
  • Using CLI text boxes for command sets
  • Managing access control lists