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Bash Script – Pcapsipdump Spool Directory File Rotation – OR – Rotate Directories Based on YYYYMMDD Format

In the config file for the pcapsipdump program, there is a retention option where you are supposed to be able to enter the number of days to keep the directories in your spool folder and it should auto purge out the old directories/files, however, this option either doesn’t appear to be implemented yet or doesn’t work if you run the app as a different user (could be a permissions issue maybe?).

Anyhow, this script is my solution to the problem. It could also very easily be modified and used where someone needs to search and delete directories that are based on YYYYMMDD format with the ability to whitelist or ignore certain directories, hence the alternate title. Yet another alternate title could even be “Bash Script Functions – Convert YYYYMMDD to Unix Time and Vice Versa” but obviously the script would need modified a little because it has been tailored to fit my needs.

When run as a cron job, the script will grab both the spool directory and the retention period from the pcapsipdump config file and will purge out any old folders based on YYYYMMDD format so they aren’t eating up all your valuable disk space.

I also added a couple of noteworthy user-configurable options. The first being a directory whitelist feature (IGNORE_DIRS array), this option can be used in situations where there are directories that you don’t want purged or would like to keep the data indefinitely and that can also be used in conjunction with the PURGE_ALL feature to delete out any subdirectories that aren’t specifically listed in the whitelist if you are a clean freak.

Download it now – pcaprotate.sh

#!/bin/bash
#
# pcapsipdump file rotation
# By Nathan Thomas
# 12/05/2014
#

### VARS ###
# Location of the pcapsipdump config file
CONF_FILE='/etc/default/pcapsipdump';

# Keep the spool folder clean - Delete all folders (except those in the ignored directories array)
# yes - Keep the spool folder free from any directories not in the ignore list
# no - Don't worry about any other random folders in the spool directory
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Mikrotik Scripting – Array Push Function

Since the scripting language at the moment on Router OS version 6.13 is lacking in the array editing department, here is a simple array push function I created.

# Usage: [$arrayPush <$array name> <value> <key position to place value (0-n or -1)>]
# Input an array name, value, and the key position to push the value to. To push value to the end of the array, enter -1.
# If array doesn't already exist, you must declare the variable and set it to "" before calling the function.
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Mikrotik Scripting – Function to Split an IP Address into an Array

If you are unfamiliar with Mikrotik networking equipment, do yourself a favor and check them out at mikrotik.com or routerboard.com. Mikrotik uses Router OS, a Linux based operating system. In my eyes, they are every bit as comparable to Cisco at a fraction of the price with an impressive and robust GUI. I’ve been using them in production environments for six years with outstanding results. What other networking equipment has it’s own scripting language? None that I know of. The CCR series of routers with up to 36 processor cores are unparalleled in performance and flexibility.
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