What is AirRecorder
A Java based tool that will run several common CLI commands for checking controller, AP, and wireless device health. AirRecorder supports ArubaOS, Instant VC (IAP) and MeshOS (MSR). AirRecorder runs on any operating system that supports a Java Platform Standard Edition version 6 or later.
Download
Please download latest release from:
Login to support.arubanetworks.com go to Tools> Airrecorder Folder
At time of writing this is version 1.2.16.
Getting Started
After downloading the distribution ZIP file, unpack it to a directory or folder of choice. On successful unpacking, you should at least find following files:
AirRecorder-1.2.16-release.jar
CHANGES.txt
EULA.txt
HOWTO.txt
LICENSE.txt
README.txt
samples
Please note that "samples" is a folder that contains sample files.
To run the tool, please open a DOS command window or Linux/MacOS terminal and type:
java -jar AirRecorder-1.2.16-release.jar
You should see an output similar to:
AirRecorder (c)2011-2014 Thomas Bastian, Aruba Networks
usage: AirRecorder [options] [<controllerip>]
…
If you don’t see an output similar to above, then most likely you don’t have Java installed. Please download the proper Java for your system from:
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html?ssSourceSiteId=otnjp
First Use
AirRecorder records the output of CLI commands in a file. By default, the list of commands is read from a file named "commands" or "commands.txt". Please go
ahead and create a file named "commands.txt" in the distribution directory. Enter a single line into the file:
0,show ap active
and save the file.
You are now ready to run your first AirRecorder session. In the Windows command (DOS) window or Linux/MacOS Shell terminal window, please type:
java -jar AirRecorder-1.2.16-release.jar <controller>
<controller> is the IP address or hostname of the controller you would like to run the session against.
As the session begins, you will be prompted for the username, password and enable password to be used to login into the controller (if you have
"enable bypass" activated on the controller, just hit RETURN when prompted for enable password).
At the end of the session, a new file should have been created:
air-recorder-<controller>-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS-00.log
Please use your favorite editor to look at the contents recorded (it should contain the output from the command “show ap active”).
Unattended Use
AirRecorder can read the username, password and enable password for login into the controller:
- from the command line: -u <username> -p <password> -e <enable password>
i.e.:
java -jar AirRecorder-1.2.16-release.jar -u admin -p admin -e enable <controller>
- from a file named either "<controller>" or "<controller>.txt" argument provided (i.e. in the above case, a file named: "192.168.0.196" or
"192.168.0.196.txt"). In this case, the file should contain the username, password and enable password each on a separate line in the file. If
"enable bypass" is enabled on the controller, leave the third line blank.
Working With Commands
AirRecorder can read commands from any file. Please use the command line argument:
-c <command file>
to specify an alternate commands file to be used.
The commands file syntax is as follows:
- one command specification per line
- lines starting with # are skipped
- a command specification takes the form: [<trigger>;]<schedule>,<command>
i.e.: 0,show ap active
<trigger> is an optional field and can be omitted. TRIGGERS will be discussed later.
<schedule> is further broken down as:
<interval>[;<execution count>[;<cycle interval>[;<cycle count>]]]
<interval> is the interval in *SECONDS* between consecutive executions. A value of zero will run the command once. Please be cautious when selecting the interval since smaller values may impact controller performance.
<execution count> is the optional number of times the command will be executed. When unspecified the command will repeat for ever. Otherwise the command will be executed the specified amount *PER* cycle. Note that if <cycle interval> is not specified, the command will be executed <execution count> number of times, then never again.
<cycle interval> is the optional interval between the start of repeating cycles. If this is omitted, the command will be executed just <execution count> times.
<cycle count> is the optional number of times to run the cycles.
<command> is the command string that is being sent to the controller. The string is sent as is to the controller with the exception of placeholder and variable processing.
Both interval and cycle interval are expressed in seconds. However, adding the m or h suffix will provide values in minutes and hours respectively.
Examples:
0,show ap active: will run the command "show ap active" once.
1;1,show ap active: will run the command "show ap active" just once, i.e. "one shot"
1m,show ap active: will run the command "show ap active" every minute.
1m;2,show ap active: will run the command "show ap active" twice spaced by one minute.
1m;2;1h,show ap active: will run the command "show ap active" twice spaced by one minute every hour.
1m;2;1h;3,show ap active: will run the command "show ap active" twice spaced by one minute every hour for three times.