bulk edit data-group (bigip.conf )

There is no need to do this. There are two data-group sources: internal (meaning, part of the config) and external (meaning loaded from a separate file when the config is reloaded). They are equivalent in performance; they differ only in how they are loaded (well, and the differ in layout, as well). This article explains how to create and modify an external data-group:

 

• v11: iRules Data Group Updates

"Why can't I edit the bigip.conf in vi, save changes in vi, save sys config, then load sys config? When I try that in my test environment the system reloads but my vi changes don't take effect. Thank you for helping me figure this out."

the changes you made are to the config file not running memory, you would need to do a load sys config after the edits to load the changes into running config. You can do it this way but there is more risk. I would prefer merging changes..

As long as your file contains the full context of the object you want to merge with the correct syntax as would be shown with the command below then the system will know where to merge it in, you should be ok to do a merge verify, then a merge (without verify), then a save sys config.

(tmos) list ltm data-group xxxx

Why can you not move it to an external data group? They are functionally the same and the load is atomic.

In any case, if you simply want to add and delete records, you can do it in a regular

tmsh

command, as in

tmsh modify ltm data-group internal my-dg records \
   add { record4 { data def } record5 { data ghi } record6 { data mno } } \
   records delete { record1 record2 record3 }

If you want to replace the entire data group all at once, you can use a

load...merge

:

cat > /var/tmp/new-dg-def.txt << EOF
ltm data-group internal my-dg {
    records {
        record1 {
            data def
        }
        record2 {
            data ghi
        }
        record3 {
            data there
        }
    }
    type string
}
EOF

tmsh load sys config /var/tmp/new-dg-def.txt merge

The last command is the important part. The rest is just to demonstrate what the file contents must be. It is !!! IMPERATIVE !!! that you include the

merge

keyword. If you forget, you will potentially blow away your entire config.

This

load

will validate the syntax before attempting to add, so if there is an error in the source file, it won't replace the data-group.

Why can you not move it to an external data group? They are functionally the same and the load is atomic.

In any case, if you simply want to add and delete records, you can do it in a regular

tmsh

command, as in

tmsh modify ltm data-group internal my-dg records \
   add { record4 { data def } record5 { data ghi } record6 { data mno } } \
   records delete { record1 record2 record3 }

If you want to replace the entire data group all at once, you can use a

load...merge

:

cat > /var/tmp/new-dg-def.txt << EOF
ltm data-group internal my-dg {
    records {
        record1 {
            data def
        }
        record2 {
            data ghi
        }
        record3 {
            data there
        }
    }
    type string
}
EOF

tmsh load sys config /var/tmp/new-dg-def.txt merge

The last command is the important part. The rest is just to demonstrate what the file contents must be. It is !!! IMPERATIVE !!! that you include the

merge

keyword. If you forget, you will potentially blow away your entire config.

This

load

will validate the syntax before attempting to add, so if there is an error in the source file, it won't replace the data-group.

My apologies, it's actually:

tmsh load sys config file /var/tmp/new-dg-def.txt merge

Note that this will not work on 10.x.

My apologies, it's actually:

tmsh load sys config file /var/tmp/new-dg-def.txt merge

Note that this will not work on 10.x.