Network device and method for tracing device configurations

A configuration receiving device, comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory coupled to the processor and having processor-executable instructions stored thereon, which upon execution of the processor, facilitate the configuration sending device to:
• receive, from a configuration sending device, a device configuration, a unique identifier (ID) associated with the device configuration, and a configurator ID identifying the configuration sending device;
• generate configuration metadata of the device configuration;
• and
• store the configuration metadata in combination with the unique ID and the configurator ID.

A method comprising:

• generating, by a configuration sending device, a device configuration based on configuration data;
• generating, by the configuration sending device, a configuration metadata of the configuration data;
• generating, by the configuration sending device, a unique identifier (ID) associated with the configuration metadata;
• storing, by the configuration sending device, the configuration metadata in combination with the unique ID;
• and
• sending, by the configuration sending device, the device configuration, the unique ID, and a configurator ID identifying the configuration sending device to a configuration receiving device.

A method comprising:

• receiving, by a configuration receiving device from a configuration sending device, a device configuration, a unique identifier, ID, associated with the device configuration, and a configurator ID identifying the configuration sending device;
• generating, by the configuration receiving device, a configuration metadata of the device configuration;
• and
• storing, by the configuration receiving device, the configuration metadata in combination with the unique ID and the configurator ID.