RANCID Consulting

Expert Implementation & Support for RANCID Network Configuration Management

Professional RANCID services with deep proficiency in deployment, customization, device extensions, and integration — for tracking changes across Cisco, Juniper, Arista, HP, Fortinet, and many other network devices.

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Our RANCID Consulting Services

Zwiegnet provides comprehensive RANCID consulting for organizations needing reliable, automated network device configuration backups, change detection, and version history. RANCID (Really Awesome New Cisco confIg Differ) remains a lightweight, battle-tested open-source tool for maintaining configs under version control (CVS, Subversion, or Git), emailing diffs of changes, and supporting a wide array of vendors and device types.

Whether deploying fresh, extending support for new hardware, integrating with monitoring/alerting, or troubleshooting legacy setups, we deliver tailored, production-ready solutions.

Our RANCID services include:

RANCID Implementation & Setup – Full installation on Linux (AlmaLinux, Rocky, Ubuntu, etc.), configuration of groups, router.db, .cloginrc for SSH/Telnet, cron jobs, and version control backend (Git recommended for modern use).
Device Type Customization & Extensions – Adding support for new vendors/models (custom *rancid and *login scripts), handling quirks in output filtering, password masking, and command sets for Arista, Palo Alto, Fortinet, MikroTik, modern Cisco/Juniper, etc.
High Availability & Scaling – Multi-group setups, parallel collection, central repo with GitLab/Gitea mirroring, and failover strategies for large networks.
Web Interfaces & Visualization – Integration with cvsweb, viewvc, or modern Git-based viewers; custom diff highlighting, search, and access controls.
Change Notification & Alerting – Custom email digests, integration with PagerDuty, Slack, or monitoring tools (Prometheus, Nagios/Zabbix) for change events.
Security & Hardening – Secure credential handling (no plaintext in configs), SSH key auth, restricted access to repos, logging/auditing of collections.
Integration – With Ansible/Automation for config pushes, NetBox/IPAM, syslog, SNMP monitoring, or ticketing systems for change correlation.
Migration & Modernization – Upgrading legacy RANCID (e.g., from CVS to Git), migrating from/to alternatives (Oxidized, rConfig, Batfish), or hybrid setups.
Performance Tuning & Troubleshooting – Optimizing collection times, handling large inventories, debugging login failures, expect script hangs, or diff noise reduction.
Backup & Disaster Recovery – Reliable repo backups, tested restore procedures, and offsite mirroring for config history.

From small ISP edge routers to large enterprise campus/core networks, we bring proven experience with RANCID's flexibility and focus on open-source network operations.

Located between Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin since 2009 — direct access to seasoned network automation engineers and RANCID specialists.

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