First cut of a RANCID module for APC network management cards

[Terry Kennedy]

  I've developed a RANCID module that talks to current-generation APC network
management cards (those with software image names that start with apc_hw02*,
such as the AP7900 and the AP9617/8/8 cards). This will let you track config-
uration and software version changes on various APC devices, such as UPSs,
power strips, and environmental monitors. It will probably work with other
APC devices that use the same firmware family.

  It honors the usual settings for suppression of passwords and community
strings.

  I have tested it on all of the above devices at the latest firmware levels,
but would like to give the module additional exposure before suggesting it
for inclusion as part of the next RANCID release.

  As far as I know, this is the first RANCID module that uses FTP to commun-
icate with the managed device, so there may be issues with responses from
FTP clients other than the one I tested with (FreeBSD 5.x).  

  A compressed tarball of the code can be downloaded from:
http://www.tmk.com/transient/rancid-apc.tar.gz

  I would be interested in any reports (of success or problems) with the code.
Depending on the amount of general interest in this module, those reports can
be sent to either the mailing list or to me directly.

        Terry Kennedy             http://www.tmk.com
        terry at tmk.com             New York, NY USA