Import files, port maps and DHCP leases

Each import provides the records or map information listed below.

Documents and tables

Imported documents and spreadsheets become records you can search and cite. You can preview the impact of an import and undo it.

Supported formats: CSV, TSV, XLSX, PDF, DOCX, Markdown, TXT, LOG and images.

1. Open Brain.
2. Select Import data.
3. Choose the files.
4. Review the import plan and the impact preview.
5. Start the import.

The records appear in search. Answers can cite these records. If an import stops, you can resume it. You can also undo an import.

Port map (CSV)

A port-map CSV records which person, VLAN or room each switch port serves. Devexana records each port-map import in the audit log.

The required columns are switch_host, interface and person. The optional columns are email, department, vlan, description, room_or_jack and mac.

switch_host,interface,person,vlan,room_or_jack,mac
sw-library-2f,1/12,A. Rivera,120,LIB-2F-214,00:11:22:33:44:55

The example row uses fictional values. Devexana fills the downloadable template with data it already has.

1. Open the switch faceplate for a switch.
2. Select Download template (.csv).
3. Fill in one row for each port.
4. Drop the CSV file on the import area.
5. Read the dry-run result. It shows what the import will change.
6. Confirm the import.

The faceplate shows your labels on each port, marked "from the port map".

DHCP leases

DHCP lease files from ISC, Kea or Windows DHCP link addresses, MAC addresses and host names. Supported formats are ISC dhcpd.leases, Kea CSV and Windows DHCP CSV. There is no upload screen for the lease file.

The DHCP lease source reads the local file on a schedule. It has no separate read functions to approve.

1. Ask your installer or administrator to place the lease file on the appliance.
2. Open the Connectors screen.
3. Select Add connector.
4. Choose DHCP leases (read-only inventory).
5. In Lease file path, type the path of the file on the appliance.
6. In Approve reads, select Finish (keep all reads off).

At Level 1, the DHCP lease source enables firewall log processing. See Start with logs only.

Site file

The site file lists your buildings and closets, with an image or a schematic of the site. Devexana draws the campus map from it. Your installer places the site file on the appliance. You can then edit buildings, floors and closets in Networking › Devices › Campus. Devexana records each save in the audit log.

Devexana does not draw the campus on its own. It uses the places that your team declares. Network views: campus map and switch faceplate describes the campus map.

What imports do not do

Backup archive in object storage (off by default)

The backup-archive source reads nightly switch backup files from an S3-compatible bucket with a read-only key. The backup-archive source provides switch configurations and tables as structured data without device credentials. It is off by default, and an administrator turns it on.