NetConnect

NetConnect also allows users to run Perl based scripts on a single device or devices in parallel to automate tasks.

NetConnect is written in Perl and is self contained within a single Perl script. Although it was originally designed around Cisco routers and switches it can be extended to work with any CLI based device by specifying custom prompts that different devices use.

It works well with Cisco routers and switches as the concepts around 'enable' mode and the correspond syntax of the prompt are contained within the source.

To start using NetConnect we need to place your encoded login credentials within your own configuration file (in your home directory) and then NetConnect will use them when connecting to devices.

Devices can be stored within your configuration file so you are able to connect to devices using a portion of their name (using regular expressions) as opposed to having to remember IP addresses or full DNS names.

I would recommend you have a read of the User Guide as it explains how to use NetConnect to it's full potential, but for those of us who would like to start using it out of the box the following information should assist.

NetConnect is written in Perl and all of the Perl modules it uses should be part of the standard Perl distribution with the exception of Expect.pm. Expect.pm is a Perl implementation of the Expect library which allows scripts to interact with the shell to automate tasks.

Once you have installed the Expect module from your nearest CPAN mirror we need to start by creating a configuration file within your home directory. This file needs to be named 'netc.conf' within the root of your home directory (check the user guide for changing it's location and name) and it must have UNIX permissions of 600.

What is new in this release:

• The majority of the code has been rewritten and a simpler configuration file format introduced.