Configuration files are ASCII text files that store the command line syntax used to configure the appliance. Each line in the file represents a single configuration command. When you use the browser-based management tool, the system generates multiple commands in the correct order to cause the configuration changes you specify. These commands are then recorded, in the correct sequence, in configuration files on the appliance.
The following is a clip from a configuration file with the missing portion indicated by the ellipsis (...).
set eth1 name=eth1
set eth1 speed=default
set eth1 duplex=default
clear eth1 address
add eth1 address=10.1.1.2,mask=255.255.255.0
set eth0 name=eth0
set eth0 speed=default
set eth0 duplex=default
clear eth0 address
add eth0 address=10.1.1.1,mask=255.255.255.0
set floppy poll=no
set floppy interval=120
set floppy saveonapply=no
. . .
apply
Excelerator employs three configuration files, as explained in the following three sections.
This file contains the appliance configuration as it came from the factory. This is a system file that is never modified.
This file contains the appliance's current configuration settings since the last apply command was issued.
You can view this file in the browser-based management tool if you are interested in seeing all the commands used to create the current appliance configuration. To view the file, click System > click Import/Export > select Current under Configuration Files on Appliance > click Download.
This file is saved by Excelerator whenever a floppy disk is in the appliance's floppy disk drive and automatic polling is enabled.
NOTE: System monitoring of the AUTOLOAD.NAS file is enabled by default with a polling interval of 30 seconds. You can change these settings on the Import/Export tab in the browser-based management tool. See Import/Export Tab.
By default, the AUTOLOAD.NAS file contains the appliance's configuration settings since the last Apply command was issued.
After the system is re-imaged and after the clone image is applied, Excelerator checks the floppy disk for an AUTOLOAD.NAS file. If the file is found, Excelerator immediately applies the commands it contains.
AUTOLOAD.NAS is useful in two situations:
IMPORTANT: Remember that the last command in AUTOLOAD.NAS is always the Apply command, which causes the system to immediately update AUTOLOAD.NAS.
You can prevent automatic updating of AUTOLOAD.NAS by opening the write-protect tab on the floppy disk after the desired AUTOLOAD.NAS file is in place or by setting the file properties of AUTOLOAD.NAS to read-only using a separate workstation.
In addition to using system-level configuration files, Excelerator lets you save the appliance's current configuration to arbitrarily named .NAS files and apply the configuration files you have created back to the system.
The Import feature lets you save backup copies of the appliance configurations you have created, and the Export feature lets you quickly apply any previously backed-up configuration to the appliance.
For more information about importing and exporting configuration files, see Managing Configuration Files, Backing Up the Appliance Configuration, and Import/Export Tab.
Configuration files have an 8.3 DOS-style filename, the last three characters of which must be NAS.
You can save the configuration settings on the appliance or to a floppy disk on the appliance through the browser-based management tool, Telnet, and the command line interface. You can then quickly reconfigure the appliance using the configuration files.
IMPORTANT: We recommend storing copies of your customized configuration files on a floppy disk. This ensures you have the files if the clone image is ever applied or the appliance is ever reimaged.
Backing Up the Appliance Configuration and Creating Appliance Configuration Shortcuts , describe two situations in which having customized configuration files is an advantage.