Abstract: Network device configuration information may change over time. Individual configuration versions or groups of related configuration versions (e.g., from different network devices obtained at a common time period) may be used to diagnose, troubleshoot, or coordinate network device configurations within a computer network. Device configuration parameters may affect both logical and physical device characteristics of a network device. Network device configuration versions may be stored locally on a network device (e.g., using a delta versioning method) or may be transmitted to external storage on-demand or periodically to accommodate possible limitations of resources on the network device. Network device configurations may be “pushed” onto devices, for example, from a version control repository. A locally executing version control agent/client may assist a network device to Implement the disclosed versioning control techniques.

Abstract: A support center receives an error message from a remote storage system indicating that an error, such as a kernel panic, has occurred on the remote storage system. The error message is processed to determine the type of error, whether the type of error is known and whether a solution is known for the type of error. If the type of error is unknown, a core file upload request is automatically generated and sent to the remote storage system.

Abstract: A core file that may be generated when a data storage system encounters a problem can be automatically and securely sent to a remote (e.g., offsite) support enterprise. Moreover, given the size of such files and the additional requirements associated with sending such files securely, the transmission of the core file may be monitored such that, if a problem occurs during the transmission, the pieces of the file that have been successfully transmitted are not resent, but merely those pieces that still need to be (successfully) transmitted. In this manner, the time and resources required to securely transmit such large files are more efficiently utilized.