Managing Configuration Files Configuration Guide, Cisco IOS XE Release 3S

Configuration Partitioning

The Configuration Partitioning feature provides modularization ("partitioning") of the running configuration state to provide granular access to the running configuration in Cisco IOS XE software.

This feature is enabled by default in Cisco IOS XE software images that include this feature.

The configuration state of a device is retrieved dynamically whenever a user issues the show running-config command. When the Configuration Partitioning feature is enabled, the system groups the configuration state of the device into parts (called "partitions") so that only the configuration state the user wishes to review is retrieved when generating a displayed list of commands in the running configuration. This feature improves performance for high-end systems with complex configurations because only a part of the running configuration state is processed when generating the running configuration command list, as opposed to the existing method of processing the entire system configuration state.

Default configuration partitions are provided by the introduction of this feature; other Cisco IOS XE software features may define their own command partitions in later releases.

Finding Feature Information

For the latest feature information and caveats, see the release notes for your platform and software release. To find information about the features documented in this module, and to see a list of the releases in which each feature is supported, see the "Feature Information for Configuration Partitioning" section.

Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco IOS XE software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to http://www.cisco.com/go/cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.

Contents

•Information About Configuration Partitioning

•How to Use the Configuration Partitioning Feature

•Configuration Examples for Configuration Partitioning

•Additional References

•Feature Information for Configuration Partitioning

Information About Configuration Partitioning

To use the Configuration Partitioning feature, you should understand the following concepts:

•System Running Configurations

•Retrieving the Running Configuration for Display or Copy Operations

•Benefits of Partitioning the Running Configuration

System Running Configurations

Managing the configuration of any Cisco IOS XE software-based device involves managing the startup configuration (startup-config), which is a file stored in nonvolatile memory, and the running configuration (running-config), which is the set of all configuration options currently in effect on the system. Typically, the startup configuration file is loaded when the system boots, and changes to the system's running configuration, applied using the command-line interface (CLI), are saved by copying the running configuration to a configuration file (either locally or on the network), which can then be used to configure the device at startup, or used to configure other devices.

Retrieving the Running Configuration for Display or Copy Operations

In the Cisco IOS XE software configuration model, the configuration state is maintained in a distributed manner, with each component storing its own configuration state. To retrieve global configuration information, the software must poll every component to collect the distributed information. This configuration state retrieval operation is performed by a process known as nonvolatile generation (NVGEN), and it is invoked by commands such as show running-config, which is used to display the current configuration state, and copy system:running-configuration, which is used to save the running configuration by copying it to a file. When invoked, the NVGEN process queries each system component, each interface instance, and all other configured component objects in a standard sequence. A running configuration file is constructed as NVGEN traverses the system performing these queries, and it is this "virtual file" that is displayed or copied.

Benefits of Partitioning the Running Configuration

The Configuration Partitioning feature is the latest in a series of Configuration Generation Performance Enhancement Features for Cisco IOS XE software. (See the "Related Documents" section for related features.) This feature improves the system's response time by providing a method for querying only the system component you wish to review when issuing the show running-config command.

When the Configuration Partitioning feature is enabled, the system groups the configuration state of the device into parts (called "partitions") for the purpose of generating the virtual running configuration file (the list of configuration commands). A new command, show running-config partition, allows you to display only the part of the running configuration that you want to examine, rather than having to display the entire running configuration at once, or displaying only lines that match a certain string.

The key benefit of this feature is that it increases system performance by allowing the system to run the NVGEN process for only the collection of system components (such as specific interfaces) that you need to display. This is in contrast to other existing extensions to the show running-config command, which only filter the generated list after all system components have been processed.

The selective processing of the system's configuration state for the purpose of generating a partial running configuration is called "configuration partitioning."

More granular access to configuration information offers important performance benefits for high-end routing platforms with very large configuration files, while also enhancing configuration management by allowing advanced configuration features to be implemented at a more granular level. Advanced configuration options include Cisco IOS XE software support for provisioning of customer services, Config Rollback, Config Locking, and configuration access control.

How to Use the Configuration Partitioning Feature

This section contains the following tasks:

•Displaying Configuration Partitions (optional)

•Disabling the Configuration Partitioning Feature (optional)

Displaying Configuration Partitions

The main method of taking advantage of this feature is by using the show running-config partition part command, which is a specialized extension to the show running-config command.

Note The partition part command extension is not available for the more system:running-config command.

Because this feature offers improved performance for existing commands, this feature is enabled by default in Cisco IOS XE software images that support this feature. To quickly determine if this feature is supported and running on your system, issue the show running-config partition ? command in privileged EXEC mode.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. show running-config partition ?

2. show runningconfig partition part

DETAILED STEPS

Step 1 show running-config partition ?

Issuing this command will show you the list of running configuration parts available for display on your system.

If the Configuration Partitioning feature is supported on your system and is enabled, you will see the string "config partition is TRUE" as the first line of help output.

If you receive an error message when entering the command syntax shown here, this feature is not supported on your system. See the command documentation for the show running-config command for existing extensions of that command in other releases that allow you to show only part of the running configuration.

Note The list of available configuration parts may vary by software image and is dependent on what features are currently configured.

Router# show running-config partition ?

access-list       All access-list configurations

  class-map         All class-map configurations

  common            All remaining unregistered configurations

  global-cdp        All global cdp configurations

  interface         Each Interface specific Configurations

  ip-as-path        All IP as-path configurations

  ip-community      All IP community list configurations

  ip-domain-list    All ip domain list configurations

  ip-prefix-list    All ip prefix-list configurations

  ip-static-routes  All IP static configurations

  line              All line mode configurations

  policy-map        All policy-map configurations

  route-map         All route-map configurations

  router            All routing configurations

  snmp              All SNMP configurations

  tacacs            All TACACS configurations

Choose the part of the running configuration you want to display, and use the associated keyword as the part argument in Step 2.

Step 2 show running-config partition part

As an example, to have the system perform the NVGEN process on only the components associated with the access-list parts of the running configuration state, and display only the access-list related configurations, you would enter the show running-config partition access-list command:

Router# show running-config partition access-list

        Building configuration...

Current configuration : 127 bytes

!

Configuration of Partition access-list 

!

!

!

access-list 90 permit 0.0.0.0 1.2.3.5

access-list 100 permit 10 any any

!

end

Note This command also allows you to run the NVGEN process and display the resulting output for specific interfaces. This is a key capability of this feature, as it was designed for systems with numerous active interfaces.

In the following example, the main configuration partition is the interface configuration, and the specific part of the configuration to be generated is the configuration for Fast Ethernet interface 0/0.

Router# show running-config partition interface fastethernet0/0

Building configuration... 

Current configuration : 213 bytes

!

Configuration of Partition interface FastEthernet0/0

!

!

interface FastEthernet0/0

 ip address 10.4.2.39 255.255.255.0

 no ip route-cache cef

 no ip route-cache

 duplex half

 ipv6 enable

 no cdp enable

!

!

end

Disabling the Configuration Partitioning Feature

Because this feature offers improved performance for existing commands, this feature is enabled by default for Cisco IOS XE software images that support this feature. However, you may want to disable this feature if you determine that it is not needed, as this feature does use a small amount of system resources (memory and CPU utilization). To disable configuration partitioning, perform the following task, which assumes you are starting in user EXEC mode.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal

3. no parser config partition

DETAILED STEPS

What to Do Next

To reenable the feature after it has been disabled, use the parser config partition command in global configuration mode.

Note As this feature is enabled by default, only the no form will appear in the running configuration file, or will be written to the startup configuration file when you issue the copy running-config startup-config command.

Configuration Examples for Configuration Partitioning

This section provides examples of displaying configuration partitions with the show running-config partition command:

•Displaying Configuration Partitions: Example

Displaying Configuration Partitions: Example

In this example, the show running-config partition command is used with related commands in a series of steps an administrator might take to check the status of a specific interface and the current configuration of some of the system's other components. Comparable filtered output from the standard show running-config command (for example, show running-config | include access-list) is included for demonstration purposes.

Note The part argument can consist of multiple partition name keywords, as in show running-config part router eigrp 1.

Router# show running-config partition ?

access-list All access-list configurations

class-map All class-map configurations

common All remaining unregistered configurations

global-cdp All global cdp configurations

interface Each Interface specific Configurations

ip-as-path All IP as-path configurations

ip-community All IP community list configurations

ip-domain-list All ip domain list configurations

ip-prefix-list All ip prefix-list configurations

ip-static-routes All IP static configurations

line All line mode configurations

policy-map All policy-map configurations

route-map All route-map configurations

router All routing configurations

snmp All SNMP configurations

  tacacs            All TACACS configurations

Router# show running-config partition access-list 

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 87 bytes

!

!

!

!

access-list 90 permit 0.0.0.0 1.2.3.5

access-list 100 permit 10 any any

!

end

Router# show running-config | include access-list 

access-list 90 permit 0.0.0.0 1.2.3.5

access-list 100 permit 10 any any

Router#

Router# show running-config partition class-map 

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 78 bytes

!

!

!

class-map match-all abc

  match any 

class-map match-all xyz

!

!

!

end

Router# show running-config | begin class-map 

class-map match-all abc

  match any 

class-map match-all xyz

!

!

Router# show running-config partition global-cdp 

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 43 bytes

!

!

!

cdp timer 20

cdp holdtime 100

!

end

Router# show running-config | include global-cdp 

cdp timer 20

cdp holdtime 100

Router#

Router# show ip interface brief

Interface                  IP-Address      OK? Method Status                Protocol

FastEthernet0/0            unassigned      YES NVRAM  administratively down down    

FastEthernet2/0                10.4.2.32       YES NVRAM  up                    up      

FastEthernet2/1                unassigned      YES NVRAM  administratively down down    

FastEthernet2/2                unassigned      YES NVRAM  administratively down down    

FastEthernet2/3                unassigned      YES NVRAM  administratively down down    

Serial3/0                  unassigned      YES NVRAM  administratively down down    

Serial3/1                  unassigned      YES NVRAM  administratively down down    

Serial3/2                  unassigned      YES NVRAM  administratively down down    

Serial3/3                  unassigned      YES NVRAM  administratively down down    

Loopback0                  unassigned      YES NVRAM  administratively down down    

Loopback234                unassigned      YES NVRAM  administratively down down    

Router# show running-config partition interface fastethernet0/0

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 98 bytes

!

!

!

interface FastEthernet0/0

 no ip address

 no ip route-cache

 shutdown

 duplex half

!

!

end

Router# show running-config partition interface FastEthernet2/0   

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 122 bytes

!

!

!

interface FastEthernet2/0

 ip address 10.4.2.32 255.255.255.0

 no ip proxy-arp

 no ip route-cache

 duplex half

!

!

end

Router# show running-config partition interface FastEthernet2/1

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 94 bytes

!

!

!

interface FastEthernet2/1

 no ip address

 no ip route-cache

 shutdown

 duplex half

!

!

end

Router# show running-config partition interface FastEthernet2/2 

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 94 bytes

!

!

!

interface FastEthernet2/2

 no ip address

 no ip route-cache

 shutdown

 duplex half

!

!

end

Router# show running-config partition interface FastEthernet2/3

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 94 bytes

!

!

!

interface FastEthernet2/3

 no ip address

 no ip route-cache

 shutdown

 duplex half

!

!

end

Router# show running-config partition interface serial3/0

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 103 bytes

!

!

!

interface Serial3/0

 no ip address

 no ip route-cache

 shutdown

 serial restart-delay 0

!

!

end

Router# show running-config partition interface serial3/1

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 103 bytes

!

!

!

interface Serial3/1

 no ip address

 no ip route-cache

 shutdown

 serial restart-delay 0

!

!

end

Router# show running-config partition interface serial3/2

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 103 bytes

!

!

!

interface Serial3/2

 no ip address

 no ip route-cache

 shutdown

 serial restart-delay 0

!

!

end

Router# show running-config partition interface serial3/3

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 103 bytes

!

!

!

interface Serial3/3

 no ip address

 no ip route-cache

 shutdown

 serial restart-delay 0

!

!

end

Router# show running-config partition interface loopback0

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 79 bytes

!

!

!

interface Loopback0

 no ip address

 no ip route-cache

 shutdown

!

!

end

Router# show running-config partition interface loopback1

                                                      ^

% Invalid input detected at '^' marker.

Router# show running-config partition interface loopback234

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 81 bytes

!

!

!

interface Loopback234

 no ip address

 no ip route-cache

 shutdown

!

!

end

Router# configure terminal 

Enter configuration commands, one per line.  End with CNTL/Z.

Router(config)# interface FastEthernet 2/0.1

Router(config-subif)# exit

Router(config)# exit

Router#

00:13:05: %SYS-5-CONFIG_I: Configured from console by console

Router# show running-config partition interface FastEthernet2/0.1

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 58 bytes

!

!

!

interface FastEthernet2/0.1

 no ip route-cache

!

!

end

Router# show run partition ip?

ip-as-path  ip-community  ip-domain-list  ip-static-routes  

Router# show running-config partition ip-as

Router# show running-config partition ip-as-path 

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 125 bytes

!

!

!

ip as-path access-list 2 permit $ABC

ip as-path access-list 2 permit $xyz*

ip as-path access-list 2 permit qwe*

!

end

Router# show running-config partition ip-community 

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 92 bytes

!

!

!

ip community-list standard asd permit

ip community-list expanded qwe deny uio*

!

end

Router# show running-config | include ip community

ip community-list standard asd permit

ip community-list expanded qwe deny uio*

Router#

Router# show running-config partition ip-domain-list 

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 70 bytes

!

ip domain-list iop

ip domain-list tyu

ip domain-list jkl

!

!

!

end

Router# show running-config partition ip-static-routes 

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 98 bytes

!

!

!

ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 FastEthernet2/0

ip route 171.69.1.129 255.255.255.255 10.4.29.1

!

end

Router# show running-config partition line

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 489 bytes

!

!

!

!

line con 0

 exec-timeout 0 0

 transport output lat pad v120 mop telnet rlogin udptn nasi

 stopbits 1

line aux 0

 transport output lat pad v120 mop telnet rlogin udptn nasi

 stopbits 1

line vty 0

 password lab

 login

 transport input lat pad v120 mop telnet rlogin udptn nasi

 transport output lat pad v120 mop telnet rlogin udptn nasi

line vty 1 4

 login

 transport input lat pad v120 mop telnet rlogin udptn nasi

 transport output lat pad v120 mop telnet rlogin udptn nasi

!

end       

Router# show running-config partition policy-map

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 162 bytes

!

!

!

policy-map qwer

 description policy-map qwer.

  class xyz

    shape peak 8000 32 32

policy-map p1

policy-map sdf

  class abc

   set precedence 4

!

!

!

end

Router# show running-config partition route-map

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 65 bytes

!

!

!

route-map iop permit 10

!

route-map rty permit 10

!

!

end

Router# show running-config partition router bgp 1

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 111 bytes

!

!

!

router bgp 1

 no synchronization

 bgp log-neighbor-changes

 distance bgp 2 2 2

 no auto-summary

!

!

end

Router# show running-config partition router egp ?

<0-65535>  Remote autonomous system number

Router# show running-config partition router egp 1

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 46 bytes

!

!

!

router egp 1

 timers egp 20 20

!

!

end

Router# show running-config partition router ?

  bgp       Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)

  egp       Exterior Gateway Protocol (EGP)

  eigrp     Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP)

  isis      ISO IS-IS

  iso-igrp  IGRP for OSI networks

  mobile    Mobile routes

  odr       On Demand stub Routes

  ospf      Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)

  rip       Routing Information Protocol (RIP)

Router# show running-config partition router eigrp ?

<1-65535>  Autonomous system number

Router# show running-config partition router eigrp 1

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 13 bytes

!

!

!

!

end

Router#

Router# show running-config partition router eigrp 2 

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 57 bytes

!

!

!

router eigrp 2

 variance 10

 auto-summary

!

!

end

Router# show running-config partition router ?

  bgp       Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)

  egp       Exterior Gateway Protocol (EGP)

  eigrp     Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP)

  isis      ISO IS-IS

  iso-igrp  IGRP for OSI networks

  mobile    Mobile routes

  odr       On Demand stub Routes

  ospf      Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)

  rip       Routing Information Protocol (RIP)

Router# show running-config partition router isis ?

  WORD  ISO routing area tag

  |     Output modifiers

  <cr>

Router# show running-config partition router isis qwe

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 86 bytes

!

!

!

router isis qwe

 set-attached-bit route-map qwer

 use external-metrics

!

!

end

Router# show running-config partition router isis ?

  WORD  ISO routing area tag

  |     Output modifiers

  <cr>

Router# show running-config partition router iso

Router# show running-config partition router iso-igrp ?

  WORD  ISO routing area tag

  |     Output modifiers

  <cr>

Router# show running-config partition router iso-igrp 

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 31 bytes

!

!

!

router iso-igrp

!

!

end

Router# show running-config | begin iso

router iso-igrp

!

router isis qwe

 set-attached-bit route-map qwer

 use external-metrics

!

router egp 1

 timers egp 20 20

!

router bgp 1

 no synchronization

 bgp log-neighbor-changes

 distance bgp 2 2 2

 no auto-summary

!

Router# show running-config partition router ?

  bgp       Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)

  egp       Exterior Gateway Protocol (EGP)

  eigrp     Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP)

  isis      ISO IS-IS

  iso-igrp  IGRP for OSI networks

  mobile    Mobile routes

  odr       On Demand stub Routes

  ospf      Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)

  rip       Routing Information Protocol (RIP)

Router# show running-config partition router mobile ?

  |  Output modifiers

  <cr>

Router# show running-config partition router mobile 

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 42 bytes

!

!

!

router mobile

 distance 20

!

!

end

Router# show running-config | include router 

router mobile

router odr

router eigrp 2

router ospf 4

router iso-igrp

router isis qwe

router egp 1

router bgp 1

Router# show running-config partition router ?

  bgp       Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)

  egp       Exterior Gateway Protocol (EGP)

  eigrp     Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP)

  isis      ISO IS-IS

  iso-igrp  IGRP for OSI networks

  mobile    Mobile routes

  odr       On Demand stub Routes

  ospf      Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)

  rip       Routing Information Protocol (RIP)

Router# show running-config partition router ospf ?

  <1-65535>  Process ID

Router# show running-config partition router ospf 4

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 64 bytes

!

!

!

router ospf 4

 log-adjacency-changes

 distance 4

!

!

end

Router# show running-config partition service 

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 190 bytes

!

no service pad

service timestamps debug uptime

service timestamps log uptime

no service password-encryption

service internal

service udp-small-servers

service tcp-small-servers

!

!

!

end

Router# show running-config partition snmp 

Building configuration...

Current configuration : 84 bytes

!

!

!

snmp-server community user101 RW

snmp mib target list qwe host 0.0.0.0

!

end

Additional References

The following sections provide references related to the Configuration Partitioning feature.

Related Documents

Standards

MIBs

RFCs

Technical Assistance

Feature Information for Configuration Partitioning

Table 1 lists the features in this module and provides links to specific configuration information.

Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and software image support. Cisco Feature Navigator enables you to determine which Cisco IOS XE software images support a specific software release, feature set, or platform. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to http://www.cisco.com/go/cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.

Note Table 1 lists only the Cisco IOS XE software release that introduced support for a given feature in a given Cisco IOS XE software release train. Unless noted otherwise, subsequent releases of that Cisco IOS XE software release train also support that feature.

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All other trademarks mentioned in this document or website are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. (0903R)

Any Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and phone numbers used in this document are not intended to be actual addresses and phone numbers. Any examples, command display output, and figures included in the document are shown for illustrative purposes only. Any use of actual IP addresses and phone numbers in illustrative content is unintentional and coincidental.

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