Verifying consistency among device configurations based on comparing configuration files

Abstract

A scalable comparison structure and methodology is provided that is suitable for comparing the configuration of devices in an efficient manner. In the configuration files, section delimiters are defined to identify the sections of the files within which the select data content is located, and differences in the sections are identified based on the select data content within the section. Thereafter, comparisons and reports are based on these unique content sections. Groups of devices are optionally defined, and different sets of select data content can be compared based on these groups. The result of the comparison may be presented in multiple hierarchical forms, including an identification of which configuration files are different from each other, and an identification of the differences among the unique content in these configuration files.

1 . A method for comparing a plurality of files, comprising:
 identifying a section of each file of the plurality of files based on one or more section selection identifiers,   defining a set of unique content sections based on content of the sections of the plurality of files, and   providing a display of information based on the set of unique content sections.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein identifying the section of each file includes defining parameters that identify a start and end of one or more elements of the section in each file. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein defining the set of unique content sections includes:
 comparing the content of the section of each file with each unique content section of the set of unique content sections, and   if the content of the section does not correspond to any of the current set of unique content sections, adding the section to the set of unique content sections.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein comparing the content of the sections of each file with each unique content section is performed without regard to an order of the content. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of files include files that identify configurations of devices of a network. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the plurality of files correspond to a defined group of devices. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the display of information is based on a count of the files that include sections corresponding to at least one of the set of unique content sections. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the display of information is based on a count of unique content sections in the set of unique content sections. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the display of information includes an identification of the files that include sections corresponding to at least one of the set of unique content sections.