Using Configuration Groups - Juniper NETWORK AND SECURITY MANAGER 2010.3 - ADMINISTRATION GUIDE REV1 Administration Manual

Using Configuration Groups

Copyright © 2010, Juniper Networks, Inc.
Configuration groups are a Junos concept that you can use in NSM to help speed
configuration of Junos devices.
In Junos, configuration groups allow you to create a group containing Junos device
configuration statements and to direct the inheritance of that group's statements in the
rest of the configuration. The same group can be applied to different sections of the
configuration, and different sections of one group's configuration statements can be
inherited in different places in the configuration.
In NSM, you can create configuration groups in the UI. The configuration data you provide
in the UI becomes configuration statements when you push the configuration to the
Junos device,
Configuration groups allow you to create smaller, more logically constructed configuration
files, making it easier to configure and maintain the Junos device configuration. For
example, you can group configuration information that is repeated in many places in the
configuration, such as when configuring interfaces, and thereby limit updates to just the
group.
You can also use wildcards in a configuration group to allow configuration data to be
inherited by any object that matches a wildcard expression.
The configuration group mechanism is separate from the grouping mechanisms used
elsewhere in the Junos configuration, such as Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) groups.
Configuration groups provide a generic mechanism that can be used throughout the
configuration.
Configuration groups use true inheritance, which involves a dynamic, ongoing relationship
between the source of the configuration data and the target of that data. That is, a live
relationship exists between the configuration group and the device object. Any change
in the configuration group immediately takes effect in the device object.
Data values changed in the configuration group are automatically inherited by the target.
The target need not contain the inherited information, although the inherited values can
be overridden in the target without affecting the source from which they were inherited.
NSM enables you to create, edit, and view configuration group definitions. Specifically,
NSM supports the following operations related to configuration groups:
Create, edit, and view configuration group definitions.
Display the effective value of applying the configuration group.
Identify the origin of values derived from configuration groups; that is, identify which
configuration group a value came from.
Support the specification of configuration groups in templates. See "Using Configuration
Groups with Templates" on page 228 for details.
Chapter 5: Configuring Devices
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