Oxidized vs RANCID
Oxidized
github.comRANCID
shrubbery.netSide by side
| Figure | Oxidized | RANCID |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Network Configuration Management Software | 8.0 (#7) | 7.9 (#9) |
| Device support | The project says it supports over 130 operating system types. | The maker lists support for devices including Allied Telesis, Cisco, Juniper, Catalyst, Foundry/Brocade, Redback, ADC, Alteon, and HP Procurve, plus others. |
| License | The repository identifies Oxidized as licensed under Apache License 2.0. | The published license permits redistribution and use in source and binary forms subject to its stated conditions. |
| Purpose | Oxidized is a network device configuration backup tool and a RANCID replacement. | RANCID monitors network-device configurations, records configuration and hardware/software history in a revision control system, and emails detected differences. |
| Support | The project points users to Gitter, GitHub, and the LibreNMS community forum for help and support. | The maker directs users to [email protected] and the rancid-announce and rancid-discuss mailing lists for problems, contributions, and suggestions. |
| Web interface | The RESTful API and web interface are provided by the optional oxidized-web gem, disabled by default and configured on port 8888 by default. | The maker says RANCID has no GUI or web interface for configuration, though separate tools can be used to view diffs and repositories. |
Plans
In their own words
Oxidized
Oxidized is a network device configuration backup tool and a RANCID replacement. It supports more than 130 operating system types, with SSH and Telnet among its documented input methods. Node records can come from CSV, SQLite, MySQL, or HTTP. Backups can be written to files, Git, Git-Crypt, or HTTP; Git records a commit for each configuration change, while Git-Crypt encrypts configuration pushes using git-crypt. Oxidized adjusts its thread count to meet the configured retrieval interval. Its REST API can list nodes, retrieve configurations, show versions and diffs, reload nodes, and move a node to the front of the queue. Syslog examples can prompt a fetch after configuration changes. The web interface and API are supplied by the optional oxidized-web gem, disabled by default and configured for port 8888 by default. A setting can strip sensitive data before storage. Oxidized is free under Apache License 2.0 and is deployed on-premises; documented installation options include Linux distributions, FreeBSD, Docker, and Podman. The project says it has few maintainers and invites more involvement.
RANCID
RANCID is free, open-source software that monitors network-device configurations and keeps their changes in revision control. It logs into devices, runs commands, reformats output to remove changing values that do not represent meaningful configuration differences, emails detected changes, and commits updates to version control. CVS, Subversion, and Git are listed for maintaining history. Login scripts connect through Telnet or SSH, and included looking-glass software provides device access. The maker lists support for equipment including Allied Telesis, Cisco, Juniper, Catalyst, Foundry/Brocade, Redback, ADC, Alteon, and HP Procurve, among others. RANCID is available for Linux, macOS, and self-hosted deployment; version 3.14 is identified as current. It has no GUI or web interface for configuration, although separate tools can show diffs and repositories. Setup guidance generally assumes basic Unix and tool knowledge, and versions 2.3 onward require Expect 5.40 or later.