Translating configuration files among network devices

• US 20030135508A1
• Filed: 11/15/2002
• Published: 07/17/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Extreme Networks, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Enterasys Networks Incorporated (Extreme Networks, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lee, Vivian, Lau, Gabriel, Sultanizadeh, Behrouz, Kanellakis, Kelly, Chorafakis, Dominic
• Granted Patent: US 7,401,086 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/51 Source to source

Abstract

A system and method to facilitate the translation of Command Line Interface (CLI) configuration scripts associated with a device into the corresponding equivalent CLI configuration scripts of another device. The system includes a translator and one or more data dictionaries. The translator includes a user interface module, a translator logic module to enable the translation, and a current data dictionary module for retaining a selected data dictionary. Each of the data dictionaries includes common syntax generated for a variety of CLI script types. A particular data dictionary is referenced based upon initial input from a network administrator. The translator then generates the automated translation of corresponding scripts from those scripts associated with an original device into a device having differing script requirements.

Claims

1. A configuration file translation system for translating at least one source configuration script for a source device to at least one destination configuration script for a destination device, said system comprising:

at least one data dictionary comprising a plurality of dictionary entries, each of said dictionary entries comprising at least one source command and at least one destination command corresponding to each said source command; and

a translator for reading source commands in said source configuration script, finding corresponding destination commands in said data dictionary, and translating said source commands in said source configuration script to said corresponding destination commands to create said destination configuration script.

2. The configuration file translation system of claim 1 wherein said source command includes at least one source command keyword and at least one parameter, and wherein said destination command corresponding to said source command includes at least one destination command keyword and said at least one parameter.

3. The configuration file translation system of claim 1 wherein at least one of said dictionary entries includes a plurality of destination commands corresponding to one source command, wherein said destination commands are arranged in a destination command block in said at least one of said dictionary entries.

4. The configuration file translation system of claim 3 wherein said destination command block includes block delimiters.

5. The configuration file translation system of claim 1 wherein said translator comprises:

a user interface module for prompting a user for input during a translation process and for displaying information to said user during said translation process;

a current data dictionary module for creating an internal representation of information in a current data dictionary selected from said at least one dictionary based on a source device and a destination device; and

a translator logic module for processing a source configuration script corresponding to said source device and for accessing said internal representation of said current data dictionary to produce a corresponding destination configuration script for said destination device.

6. The configuration file translation system of claim 5 wherein said current data dictionary module comprise command classes for representing elements of commands in said current data dictionary and in said source configuration script being translated.

7. The configuration file translation system of claim 5 wherein said current data dictionary module comprises a dictionary entry class for representing commands in said current data dictionary, and a source command class for representing a source command in said configuration script being translated.

8. The configuration file translation system of claim 1 wherein said source configuration script and said destination configuration script are command line interface (CLI) scripts.

9. A configuration file translation system comprising:

means for representing source commands and corresponding destination commands; and

means for translating a source configuration script to a destination configuration script based on said source commands and said corresponding destination commands.

10. A method for translating at least one source configuration script for a source device to at least one destination configuration script for a destination device, said method comprising:

providing a user interface for prompting a user for input and for displaying information to said user;

selecting a data dictionary based on said source device and said destination device, said data dictionary describing source commands for said source device and corresponding destination commands for said destination device;

creating a data dictionary internal representation of said data dictionary selected;

processing a source configuration script including source commands for said source device;

accessing said data dictionary internal representation for destination commands corresponding to said source commands in said source configuration script; and

generating a destination configuration script including said destination commands corresponding to said source commands in said source configuration script.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein creating said data dictionary internal representation comprises reading said data dictionary and creating objects containing said source commands, objects containing said destination commands, and objects containing elements of said source commands and said destination commands in said data dictionary.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein processing said source configuration script comprises reading said source commands in said source configuration script and creating objects containing said source commands in said source configuration script.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein accessing said data dictionary internal representation comprises searching for said objects containing said source commands in said data dictionary internal representation that match said objects containing said source commands in said source configuration script.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein said destination script is generated using said destination commands in said data dictionary internal representation associated with said source commands in said data dictionary internal representation matching said source commands in said source configuration script.

15. The method of claim 13 further comprising prompting a user for a manual translation when no matching commands are found.

16. The method of claim 13 further comprising inserting a comment into said destination configuration script when no match commands are found.

17. The method of claim 13 further comprising prompting a user to select one of a plurality of matching commands.

18. A configuration file translator comprising:

a user interface module for prompting a user for input during a translation process and for displaying information to said user during said translation process;

a current data dictionary module for creating an internal representation of information in a current data dictionary selected by said user based on a source device and a destination device; and

a translator logic module for processing a source configuration script corresponding to said source device and for accessing said current data dictionary to produce a corresponding destination configuration script for said destination device.

19. The configuration file translator of claim 18 wherein said current data dictionary module comprise command classes for representing elements of commands in said current data dictionary and said source configuration script.

20. The configuration file translator of claim 18 wherein said current data dictionary module comprises a dictionary entry class for representing commands in said current data dictionary and a source command class for representing a source command in said configuration script being translate.

21. The configuration file translator of claim 20 wherein said current data dictionary module comprises a dictionary entry container class for representing all of said commands in a dictionary entry.

22. The configuration file translator of claim 21 wherein said current data dictionary module comprises a dictionary class for representing all of said dictionary entries in a dictionary.

23. A configuration file translator comprising:

means for interfacing with a user to prompt said user for input during a translation process and for displaying information to said user during said translation process;

means for internally representing data from a current data dictionary selected by said user based on a source device and a destination device; and

means for translating a source configuration script into a destination configuration script based upon said data from said current data dictionary.

24. A method of creating a configuration file translation data dictionary for a source device and destination device, said method comprising:

identifying source commands used to configure said source device;

identifying corresponding destination commands used to configure said destination device; and

creating data dictionary entries including a text description of each of said source commands and said corresponding destination commands wherein said data dictionary entries follow predefined syntax rules.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein each of said source commands includes at least one source command keyword and at least one parameter, and wherein each of said destination commands corresponding to one of said source commands includes at least one destination command keyword and said at least one parameter.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein at least one of said dictionary entries includes a plurality of destination commands corresponding to one source command, wherein said destination commands are arranged in a destination command block in said at least one of said dictionary entries.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein said destination command block includes block delimiters.

28. A data structure for providing an internal representation of a data dictionary used in translating configuration files, said data structure comprising:

dictionary entry objects containing source commands and destination commands in a data dictionary;

source command objects containing source commands in a source configuration script;

destination command objects including pointers to said dictionary entry objects containing said destination commands, wherein each of said destination command objects corresponds to a dictionary entry object containing a source command;

dictionary entry container objects containing said dictionary entry objects containing said source commands and corresponding said destination command objects; and

a dictionary object containing a sorted list of dictionary entry container objects.