Network Automation (NA) detects and records device configuration changes. When a device configuration change occurs, NA downloads the configuration into its centralized repository. NA supports multiple real-time change detection and alerting systems that enable you to immediately identify what changes were made and by whom.

For devices that support user attribution via Syslog, such as Cisco IOS devices, NA extracts the username and associates it with a configuration change. If NA cannot associate the username with an NA user, a new user account is created with a randomly generated password. By default, NA appends the term “_auto” to the new user to distinguish it as auto-generated. This enables NA to report ownership for all changes, including ones made by unregistered users. NA uses several methods, including AAA accounting logs, Syslog messages, and Proxy logs to discover the author of a given configuration change.

Access Control Lists (ACLs) are part of the configuration on many devices. They filter network traffic by controlling whether forwarded packets are accepted or blocked at the router's interfaces.

In general, the definition of an ACL is a collection of configuration statements. These statements define addresses, protocols, and patterns to accept or deny. ACLs can be used to restrict the contents of routing updates and to provide network security.

NA retrieves configuration information from devices and extracts the ACL statements and applications from the configuration. NA then stores the ACLs independent of the configuration.

A.View device configuration changes

The Configuration Changes page enables you to view configurations that have changed. Devices that appear in red text failed a recent task. Inactive devices are indicated with an icon next to the IP address.

With configuration changes shown in different colors, you can easily scan two configurations and quickly identify the areas that have changed. Without NA to automatically identify a misconfigured device, you must manually connect to the device, call up the configuration, and identify if there is anything anomalous about it.

To view a complete list of all recent configuration changes, on the menu bar under Devices, click Configuration Changes. The Configuration Changes page opens. You can click a device to view specific device configuration information.

To view configuration changes for a specific device:

1. On the menu bar under Device, click Inventory. A list of all currently managed devices opens.
2. Click the device for which you want to view configuration changes. The Device Details page for that device opens.
3. From the View drop-down menu, click Configuration Changes. The Device Configurations page opens.

B.Edit device configuration data

You can add or edit configuration comments by clicking the Edit Inline Configuration Comments option from the Edit menu.

C.About watch groups

A watch group is a device group of devices that are of particular interest to an NA user. The watch group is associated with a Watch Devices event rule that defines when NA should send an email notification to the NA user identified in the watch group name.

D.Compare device configurations

The Compare Device Configuration page displays two configurations for the same device side-by-side. Additions, deletions, and changes are highlighted in two columns with line numbers on the left. Each configuration is identified by its unique IP address and the date/time on which the configuration snapshot was taken.

To compare two configurations from different devices:

1. On the menu bar under Devices, click Configuration Changes. The Configuration Changes page opens.
2. Using the left-side check boxes, click any two devices.
3. On the Actions drop-down menu, click Compare. The Compare Device Configurations page opens.

E.Deploy device configurations

There are two ways to deploy a configuration:

• To the running configuration — When deployed, the configuration file remains in use until the device is rebooted. Rebooting the device might cause the startup configuration to overwrite the running configuration.
• To the startup configuration — When deployed, the device is rebooted and the new configuration becomes both the running and startup configuration.

For more details : https://docs.microfocus.com/doc/Network_Automation/2022.05/ManageDeviceConfigurations#About_watch_groups