Abstract: A method is provided to dynamically manage the configuration of a network device. An application supporting a protocol, network interface or other component of the configuration operates in conjunction with a master agent and subagent to send and receive configuration management information. The application further operates in conjunction with a configuration manager interface and configuration manager to access and update the configuration in accordance with a priority of the application, and without taking the network device out of service.

Abstract: A method and apparatus is provided to restore the configuration of a network device. A configuration manager in a network device saves a version of the configuration of the network device by storing the configuration data in an format that conforms to a standard markup language such as the extended markup language (XML). The format includes a sequence of corresponding tags and values that represent the content of the internal data structures in the memory of the router that comprise the saved version of the configuration. At the time of restoration, an parser is used to parse the values from the tags and the configuration manager restores the contents of the internal data structures in the memory of the router to the parsed values in accordance with the corresponding tags.

Abstract: A method is provided to convert network management protocol request into a markup language representation. In one embodiment, the present invention includes receiving a network management protocol request at a network device, generating a plurality of markup language tags and content embedded in the markup language tags based on the received request, and responding to the request using the plurality of markup language tags and content embedded in the markup language tags using a unified backend interface. In one embodiment, routines used to generate the plurality of markup language tags and content are generated automatically using an instrumentation module.

Abstract: A method and system for a scriptable command line interface is described. A script is written and associated with each command. When an input is received at a command line interface, the input is parsed to identify a command and any associated parameters. The script associated with the command is invoked, and parameters associated with the command are sent to an application to configure the application in accordance with the script. The application is executed and data is generated. The script receives the data from the application and formats the data for output.

Abstract: A method and apparatus is provided to restore the configuration of a network device. A configuration manager in a network device saves a version of the configuration of the network device by storing the configuration data in an format that conforms to a standard markup language such as the extended markup language (XML). The format includes a sequence of corresponding tags and values that represent the content of the internal data structures in the memory of the router that comprise the saved version of the configuration. At the time of restoration, an parser is used to parse the values from the tags and the configuration manager restores the contents of the internal data structures in the memory of the router to the parsed values in accordance with the corresponding tags.