Service

Service configuration controls global system-level features and operational behaviors that affect the overall functionality and security posture of network devices, including password encryption, timestamp formatting, TCP keepalives, and various system services. It enables administrators to standardize device behaviors across the network infrastructure by controlling features such as automatic password encryption, detailed timestamp formats for logging and debugging, configuration compression, and sequence numbering for ordered command execution. Service configuration is essential for maintaining consistent security policies, operational procedures, and troubleshooting capabilities while ensuring compliance with organizational standards and best practices.

By configuring service parameters, you standardize device functionality, enhance security, and improve troubleshooting across your network infrastructure.

Key Components:

• Password Encryption (password_encryption): Encrypts all plaintext passwords in the configuration.

• Password Recovery (password_recovery): Enables or disables the password recovery mechanism.

• Timestamp Settings (timestamps): Configures detailed timestamp formats for debug and log messages.

• DHCP Service (dhcp): Enables or disables the DHCP service.

• TCP Keepalives (tcp_keepalives_in, tcp_keepalives_out): Enables TCP keepalives for inbound and outbound connections.

• Configuration Compression (compress_config): Compresses the configuration file when saved or transferred.

• Sequence Numbers (sequence_numbers): Adds sequence numbers to syslog messages and debug output.

• Call Home Service (call_home): Enables the Call Home feature for proactive device support.

• Pad (pad): Enables packet assembler/disassembler service.

Key Parameters Briefly Explained:

• password_encryption: Encrypts configuration passwords.
• password_recovery: Enables/disables password recovery.
• timestamps: Detailed timestamp settings for debug/log.
• dhcp: DHCP service enable/disable.
• tcp_keepalives_in, tcp_keepalives_out: TCP keepalive settings.
• compress_config: Configuration compression.
• sequence_numbers: Sequence numbers for output.
• call_home: Enables Call Home.
• pad: Enables PAD service.

You can use these service parameters to control global system behaviors and enhance the operational characteristics of your network device. Customize password security, logging timestamps, and network protocol behaviors to fit your organization’s security policies, troubleshooting needs, and operational standards. Adjusting these parameters lets you tailor the device’s overall functionality and maintain consistency across your infrastructure.

The following configuration describes how to set up various global service parameters on a Cisco IOS-XE device, including password encryption, detailed timestamps, TCP keepalives, configuration compression, and other system-level settings.

service password-encryption
no service password-recovery
service timestamps debug datetime msec localtime show-timezone year
service timestamps log datetime msec localtime show-timezone year
service dhcp
service tcp-keepalives-in
service tcp-keepalives-out
service compress-config
service sequence-numbers
service call-home

The following YAML code defines various global service configurations on an IOS-XE device, including password encryption, password recovery settings, detailed timestamp configurations for debug and log messages, TCP keepalives, configuration compression, sequence numbers, and DHCP service.

iosxe:
  devices:
    - name: Device1
      configuration:
        service:
          pad: true
          password_encryption: true
          password_recovery: false
          timestamps:
            enabled: true
            debug: true
            debug_datetime: true
            debug_datetime_msec: true
            debug_datetime_localtime: true
            debug_datetime_show_timezone: true
            debug_datetime_year: true
            debug_uptime: true
            log: true
            log_datetime: true
            log_datetime_msec: true
            log_datetime_localtime: true
            log_datetime_show_timezone: true
            log_datetime_year: true
            log_uptime: true
          dhcp: true
          tcp_keepalives_in: true
          tcp_keepalives_out: true
          compress_config: true
          sequence_numbers: true
          call_home: true