How to Install Oxidized on Windows 11

Oxidized is a network device configuration backup tool that fetches configurations from routers, switches, and firewalls and then saves them in a Git repository. It is available on GitHub and can be installed on different operating systems including Windows 11. In this tutorial, you will learn how to install Oxidized on Windows 11.

Prerequisites

Before starting the installation process, you need to have the following:

• A computer running Windows 11 with administrative rights
• Git Bash
• Ruby 2.6 or later

Installation Process

Here are the steps to install Oxidized on Windows 11:

1. Install Git Bash: If you don't have Git Bash installed, go to the Git website and download the installation file.
2. Install Ruby: Download and install Ruby 2.6 or later. You can download Ruby from the official Ruby website.
3. Open Git Bash: Click the Start menu and search for "Git Bash". Select Git Bash from the search results to open the command line tool.
4. Install Oxidized: In the Git Bash command line, run the following command:

gem install oxidized

This installs the latest version of Oxidized on your Windows 11 computer.

5. Configure Oxidized: Next, you need to configure Oxidized to fetch and store device configurations. Oxidized uses a YAML configuration file for setting up the system. To create the file, run the following command:

oxidized --example > ~/.config/oxidized/config

This command creates a sample configuration file in the Oxidized directory.

6. Open the configuration file: Use your preferred text editor (e.g. Notepad or VS Code) to open the Oxidized configuration file, which should be located at ~/.config/oxidized/config.

7. Edit the configuration file: Change the following parameters in the configuration file to match your network setup:

interval: 3600
log: ~/.config/oxidized/logs/oxidized.log
use_syslog: false

input:
  default: ssh
  ssh:
    secure: false
    host: 192.168.1.1
    port: 22
    username: oxidized
    password: password

output:
  default: git
  git:
    user: John Doe
    email: john.doe@example.com
    repo: "~/oxidized_repo"
    branch: master
    source:
      include:
        - git/
    remote:
      name: origin
      url: https://github.com/user/repo

source:
  default: csv
  csv:
    file: ~/.config/oxidized/router.db

You need to replace the IP address, username, and password under the ssh input section. You should also replace the Git repository information under the output section to point to your Git repository.

8. Test your configuration: Save the edited configuration file and exit the text editor. Run the following command to test your configuration:

oxidized --dry-run

This command tests your configuration file and verifies that it is working as expected.

9. Run Oxidized: If the configuration test was successful, run Oxidized by entering the following command:

oxidized

This command starts Oxidized and fetches device configurations as specified in the configuration file.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed and configured Oxidized on Windows 11.

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