Import

Introduction

The import utility allows you to load program data into the server. Objects such as rules, addresses and statistics can be loaded from file to allow data restore functionality, or import of data from another server that is running the product.

Usage

To import program data you must first connect to the server via the manager application. Once connection, click the File menu then select the Import option:

User Interface

The import utility loads program data from a group of XML files that have previously been exported. It can also load files that have been saved by the server in the program folder.

To perform an import, first locate the folder that the data resides in by clicking the Browse button. If a valid set of files are detected the Object Types section will be enabled for each of the types found in the specified folder.

The Import Behaviour section allows you to choose the type of import you wish to perform. There are four options available:

• Remove all existing objects - All objects are removed from the server before performing the import. Select this option if you wish to load a new dataset without keeping any of the existing objects such as rules and addresses. This option will only remove the data types that are selected in the Object Types section.
• Replace duplicate objects - The import is started with all existing objects left intact. If any imported objects share the same ID as existing ones, the existing object is overwritten with the one from file.
• Ignore duplicate objects - If any imported objects share the same ID as existing ones, the existing object is left intact and the imported object is ignored.
• Add duplicate objects - This method keeps all existing objects and also imports all objects. If there is a clash where an existing and imported object share the same ID then the imported object is given a new ID. The existing object is left intact.

The Object Types section allows you to import specific sets of data. Some object types may be disabled meaning their corresponding file could not be found in the specified folder.

Importing From Other Servers

When importing files from other servers it may be necessary for the program to translate network adapter IDs. That is because network adapters are specific to each computer including the number of network adapters, their orientation and their role within the network.

Each rule is associated with a network adapter and stores the ID of the adapter in the rule storage file. The ID is an integer value that is used to represent the adapter internally within the product. When a ruleset is imported from a foreign computer, the ID values will often be different than the IDs assigned to the local network adapters.

If a network adapter ID is found during the import that does not correspond to an adapter on the local machine, a window will appear asking which adapter the ID should be translated to.

After the completion of an import from a foreign machine, rules should be checked to ensure they are using the desired network adapter.