Retrieving a Configuration for Use in Nipper Studio

Aran Jarvis, Support Technician at Titania

About the Author

Aran has a key role within both the support and testing teams at Titania ensuring
that users of the software receive the best products and services possible.
Throughout his career Aran has always had a passion for cyber security and since
joining Titania his interest and knowledge of the industry has continued to grow.

When retrieving a configuration from a network device it is always advisable to use the securest method possible. Often the securest method will be to use a console port but not all devices will have a console port or it may not be possible to access it. Connecting to this port helps to cut down the possibility of a third party intercepting the information being sent from the network device. When you are not able to physically connect to the device there are
several other possibilities for retrieving the configuration. These will all depend on how the device has been set up, its capabilities and what access you have.

Retrieving a configuration from a network device’s CLI (command line interface) is very similar across the majority of network devices. Devices can typically be assessed using SSH or Telnet. On Windows the PuTTy client supports both methods. SSH v2 is the suggested protocol to use as it will encrypt the data. Telnet is not an advisable form of connecting as it has no encryption and all information is sent in clear text, this includes the username and password used to log into the network device. Once you have initiated contact with the network device you will then need to log in with an account that has raised privileges, this is usually the admin account or super-user account. Once logged in you may need to elevate your privileges further with a command such as ‘enable’, note this may also require a password. The next step will be to have the device print the configuration to the screen. A command such as ‘show config’ or ‘show running config’ will be used. This can be different depending on the Operating System that is running on the network device that you are retrieving the configuration from. Once the configuration has been printed to the screen, you will need to copy and paste it into a .txt file, it will then be ready to be processed by Nipper Studio.

Example: How to retrieve the configuration from a Cisco ASA network device.

Below are step by step instructions for retrieving the configuration from a Cisco ASA network device using a terminal emulator over SSH v2.

1. Enter the necessary information into PuTTy or program of your choosing (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. Enter the necessary information into PuTTy

2. Enter the username of either the system administrator or super-user and then the associated password when prompted (see Figure 2).

Figure 2. Enter the username and the associated password

3. Next enter the command ‘enable’ and the password when prompted (see Figure 3).

Figure 3. Enter the command ‘enable’ and the password

4. Enter the command ‘show config’ and the configuration will be printed to the terminal (see Figure 4).

Figure 4. Enter the command ‘show config’

5. Once the full configuration has been printed to the screen, copy and paste it into a .txt file ready for Nipper Studio to process (see Figures 5, 6).

Figure 5. Printed configuration

Figure 6. Copy and paste the full configuration into a .txt file

Remote Configuration Retrieval

As well as the extensive configuration retrieval instructions integrated into the Nipper Studio software, Nipper Studio also has the functionality to retrieve configurations from selected devices using either HTTP, HTTPS, Telnet or SSH. Note, not all protocols are supported on all devices.

Below are step by step instructions for retrieving the configuration via SSH v2 from one of our test Cisco ASA devices.

1. Launch Nipper Studio and click New Report (see Figure 7).

Figure 7. Launch Nipper Studio and click New Report

2. Click Add Network (see Figure 8).

Figure 8. Click Add Network

3. Select the type of device that you will be connecting to from the Device Type drop down menu (see Figure 9).

Figure 9. Select the type of device

4. Enter the device’s IP address, then the username and password used to log into the device. Select the protocol to use, the port number will be changed to the default for the protocol. You may need to change this depending on how the device is set up. Now enter the Privilege/Enable password (see Figure 10).

Figure 10. Enter the device’s IP address, username and password

5. Once Nipper Studio has retrieved the configuration from your device, carry on creating

your report as if you had manually retrieved your configuration (see Figure 11).

Figure 11. Retrived configuration

There is extensive advice within Nipper Studio that can assist you with retrieving configurations from a number of devices.