CatTools is capable of performing many useful “activities”. For example, to backup your devices, simply create an “activity” using the “Device.Backup.Running Config” template. Then, link all of the devices that you want to backup to this activity. Finally, schedule the activity or select "Run Now" to complete the process.
Below you’ll find a list of the activities available in CatTools, grouped by type.
Sending Commands to Devices
With CatTools activities, you can quickly send CLI commands to your devices or use a template to update devices.
- Device.CLI.Send commands - Send commands directly to your device in normal or privileged mode
- Device.CLI.Modify config - Send commands whilst in config mode and have your changes saved to the startup config
- Device.Update.Banner - Change, set, or remove a banner
- Device.Update.Password - Set the passwords for your device
Backing Up Devices
As part of the backup process, CatTools obtains a copy of the running config from your device and then compares this file to the previous config to generate a report that details the differences between the two files.
- Device.Backup.Running Config
Testing Connectivity
To quickly and easily establish the availability of network devices, CatTools includes the following activities:
- Device.ConnectivityTest.Ping - Ping each device and return the round trip statistics
- Device.ConnectivityTest.Login - Connect to and log into each device, confirming its availability
- Device.InterDevice.Ping - Ping a series of addresses from each device
TFTP
CatTools contains an internal TFTP server that can be used to receive files sent from your devices. If you wish to return those files, simply use the built-in activity:
- Device.TFTP.Upload Config - Upload text config files to the specified device
Reporting
The following reports can be generated by CatTools and emailed to you:
- Report.ARP table - Build a report of ARP table entries and track changes
- Report.CDP Neighbors table – Generate a report of all networked devices that can be seen by the specified device using the CDP neighbor command
- Report.Compare.Running Startup - Compare the running config of your device to its startup config and report the differences
- Report.Compare Two files - Compare two files and see the differences – ideal for comparing the config of your device to a template
- Report.Error info table - Track interface stats and errors on CatOS, CatIOS, Cisco® routers, and PIX firewall devices
- Report.MAC address table - Build a list of all MAC addresses on the network
- Report.Port info table - Build a list of all ports available on the device along with status
- Report.SNMP System summary – Generate a summary report of data available from any device that supports standard system SNMP
- Report.Version table - Build a report of device serial numbers, hardware, and software versions
- Report.X-Ref.Port-MAC-ARP - Build a cross reference of the port, MAC, and ARP reports
Database Maintenance
Included for maximum flexibility, the database activities allow you to update the device database at any time. For example, if you change the password on your TACACS server, you can update all of your devices in CatTools with one simple job!
- DB.UpdateDevice.Password field - Update any of the password fields
- DB.UpdateDevice.Text field - Update any of the plain text fields
* Please note: not all activities are supported on all devices.