Cisco AutoConfig program Question

nel

OK, i have a few questions. i have a project for my networking course which they have gave us a programming assignment to do..go figure :S. Anyway, i have no programming knowledge whatsoever so im coming to abit of a stumbling point. Ive been assigned the task to create a solution where a user inputs values to create a config for a cisco switch which is then output as a text file.

So i was thinking maybe creating a GUI front end in visual studio with all the different fields required for creating the config - IP address/mask, username & passwords etc etc, you get the idea. Im not sure if im along the write lines here due to my lack of knowledge but would it be plausible to think you could do the following:

1. have a generic template config for the switch where a copy is made for the new config
2. enter the required data into the fields of the GUI front end
3. Hit a button to save and create the new config which can then be copied onto the switch.

So assuming i create the GUI in visual studio, what would the best (or more like the easiest) language to use to inject the values entered in the field and output into a text file? i imagine this would be pretty easy for someone with programming knowledge but im stumped with my lack of! The gui should be straight forward to create from what ive seen iin VS but its the code behind it which stumps me.

I thought the above would be the better option or would it be easier just entering the data into an excel file and creating the config from there. The whole purpose of this project is to create a easy to use generator - so no using professional tools from kiwi etc.

Thanks guys

tiersten

Considering you don't have any programming experience and learning an entire language just for 1 assignment which I assume will be due in reasonably soon will have a steep learning curve, I'd say go the Excel route.

The scripting language in Excel will be powerful enough to do what you want and doing the GUI will be significantly easier than starting from scratch. You can either create a form with the various controls needed or you can just get the user to type in the relevant details into cells in the spreadsheet. The script you write would then calculate anything necessary and then insert it all into the template.

If you really do want to use a compiled language then I'd say go for Visual BASIC or Visual C#. A lot of the low level details have already been handled for you unlike C++.

Of course, learning to program is always handy so investigating this further yourself after the assignment has been handed in won't be a waste of time.