Chapter 1 Introduction To Design; Configuration Files; Cfg File Format - Cisco 800 Design Manual

Introduction to Design
This chapter describes:
How the CFG and TPL files are used by the end user.
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The basics of customizing the Cisco 800 Fast Step wizard.
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A description of the Cisco 800 Fast Step configuration scenarios.
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The CFG file format and organization.
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The TPL file format.
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Configuration Files

The CFG and TPL files are both referred to as configuration files because they both have the same goal:
configuration of the router. What distinguishes them is how they are developed and how the Setup
application behaves when using one or the other.
Configuration files are ASCII text files that can be edited with a text editor such as Notepad. CFG files
can be developed by a service provider without extensive knowledge of Cisco IOS software. TPL files
are easily developed by a service provider with knowledge of Cisco IOS software.
The CFG files contain flags that form a configuration to be downloaded by Setup. These flags also show
or hide Setup windows and allow testing of the configuration. The advantage of this file type is that a
service provider can decide which Setup windows are displayed for the end user to complete and which
windows are hidden. For example, if you want to limit the end user to Dynamic Host Configuration
Protocol (DHCP), you can hide the window that asks the end users if they want to use DHCP, and you
can set the DHCP parameters through the CFG file.
The TPL file uses command-line statements to build a router configuration. One advantage of this file
type is that you can include end-user prompts for values; however, you cannot control the windows or
test the connections. When the end user loads a template file, Setup displays prompts in a spreadsheet
format for any parameters needed to complete the router configuration. The advantage of this file type
is that you can use any Cisco IOS software command statement acceptable to the router.

CFG File Format

The format of the CFG files is similar to a Microsoft Windows INI file. The CFG file is divided into
sections, delineated by titles in square brackets, for example [SkippedDialog]. When a CFG file is
loaded into Setup, it reads not only the parameters, but the window control instructions, displaying the
selected windows to the end user.
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Cisco 800 Fast Step Software Design Guide
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