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rConfig V7 Overview

Introduction

rConfig v7 is a complete rewrite of the previous version, with an updated UI, and a new API, and amazing new features such as API backup, Bring your own Code, and multiple integrations with other tools. rConfig v7 is begining the shift from a Network Configuration Management tool to a Network Automation tool. We have a lot of work to do to get there, but we are well on our way. We have a lot of great features in the pipeline, and we are excited to share them with you.

Software Architecture

rConfig v7 is built on top of the now world-class, highly secure and expertly managed open source Laravel PHP framework. This architecture decision brings about a number of key benefits;

  1. Robust, standardized and intuitive software architecture
  2. Quality controlled and tested code
  3. API Driven architecture
  4. Highly Secure Authentication and Authorization Systems
  5. Speed - using redis caching and queuing mechanisms

This architecture will allow for greater scale and speed in new feature development. And we have implemented roadmap transparency and voting capability for professional subscribers at the rconfig.com portal to help us drive and delivery those new features and capabilities.

rConfig V6 Core

We released rConfig V6 Core in April 2023. It has replaced rConfig v3, which is now fully deprecated. rConfig v6 Core is a free, open source, community edition of rConfig v6. It is a fully functional version of rConfig v6, with all the core features of rConfig V7 Professional, but with some limitations. Check out our features list https://www.rconfig.com/features to learn more. Click on the Github icon at the top of the page to go to the rConfig v7 Core repository.

As of the release of rCOnfig V7 Pro and MSP, rConfig v6 Core will continue to be developed and maintained. We will continue to add new features and capabilities to rConfig v6 Core, and we will continue to support it. We will also continue to support the rConfig v6 Core community via the github issues tracker.

rConfig V7 Professional

rConfig is over 14 years young! In that time, it has been deployed 10s of thousands of times with over 35M network devices under management. Our customers have let us know that a professional level product with a professional level of support and updates was required. We have delivered it.

Pricing Information See the rConfig.com home page for pricing information.

New User Experience

We are very proud of the new rConfig User Experience for V7. It has two great main features.

  1. It is based on the Redhat Patternfly UI framework. A professional, enterprise styled UI that is intuitive, and fast.
  2. It is built on the reactive VueJS framework and is a Single Page Application. This means it is blazing fast and works off a scalable & extensible API layer.
Example Dashboard Screenshot

New Features

Lets get into some of the great new features developed for rConfig v7. Details of each are provided throughout the docs. Please refer to our features page for a full list of features and capabilities.

rConfig V7 Professional Features See the rConfig.com home page for a full list of features and capabilities.

Great NCM Features

rConfig v7 has all the great NCM features you have come to expect from rConfig. We have added a few new features, and we have improved a few existing features. We have also added a few new features that are not NCM features, but are still great features.

Bring your own Code

rConfig v7 allows you to bring your own code to rConfig. You can write your own code in any language, and execute it from within rConfig. You can use this to automate any task you like. You can use it to automate network tasks, or you can use it to automate any other task you like. You can use it to automate tasks on your network devices, or you can use it to automate tasks on your servers, or you can use it to automate tasks on your desktop. The possibilities are endless.

API Backup

rConfig v7 has a new API backup feature. The use cases for this feature are endless, from taking snapshots of your network devices API endpoints to taking API snapshots of your cloud, SD-WAN or other API services. You can use this feature to backup any API endpoint you like. Then once that API endpoint is backed up, you can use rConfig essential NCM features to compare the API endpoint to the backup, and report on any changes. Even better, you can use rConfigs compliance features to ensure that the API endpoint is always in compliance with the backup.

Change management

rConfig v7 has a new change management feature. This feature allows you to view all changes for a given command over time. Any changes to any configs will have a new version number, and you will be able to view previous changes to previous versions. You will also be notified of any changes to any configs via email. We will introduce a new feature in the future that will allow you to approve or reject changes to configs, as well as an advanced feature that will allow you view changes across multiple devices over time, in a single report.

Integrations

rConfig is moving towards an integration ecosystem. We have a number of integrations planned for the future, and we have a number of integrations already in place. First we already have SSO sign on with Microsoft Azure AD, and more will come as required by customers. Next, we have just setup a new integration with the popular open source network monitoring tool Zabbix. This integration allows you to sync Zabbix hosts to rConfig so that you NEM, Zabbix, is you SSOT for network device management. We will be adding more integrations in the future (PRTG, Nagios, Observium), and we will be adding an integration marketplace to the rConfig portal so that you can easily find and install integrations.

RBAC

rConfig v7 has a new Role Based Access Control system. This system allows you to create roles, and assign users to those roles. You can then assign permissions to those roles. This allows you to create a granular permission system for your users across the various rCOnfig features and DB objects. As of V7.0.0 you can assign roles to snippets to protect the editing and executing of snippets. In the future we will be adding more granular permissions to the RBAC system, including RBA for viewing devices.

Snippets

You can now parameterize your snippets. This allows you to create snippets that can be used across multiple devices. You can also assign roles to snippets to protect the editing and execution of snippets. You can also assign snippets to devices, and you can assign snippets to device groups.

There are dozens more features and capabilities in rConfig v7. View the changelog on the rConfig portal to see all the new features and capabilities. https://www.rconfig.com/changelog

Read on to learn more on how to get the most from rConfig v7 🦊