How hard would this be to program for a n00b?

[tongue_of_colicab]

Hi,

At work we have a bunch of remote routers that need to be updated from time to time. Right now I'm forced to do this manually and the whole process is really tedious and time consuming.

Instead I want to write a small piece of software that I can email to the remote user and just have them run it each time something needs to be updated.

The problem is... I don't know how to program well, nothing beyond some basic batch stuff anyway.

I already know I can solve my problem using batch, the problem is it's not very pretty and unless I start using .exe converters not very secure either.

So, long story short, how long would it take to program something like the below in Visual Basic (only thing I ever used to program something, like 10 years ago) for somebody with no skills or feeling for coding?

- Connect to the router over ssh
- Send a command over ssh, display the output in the VB app.
- Get a file list from a ftp server, show it in a dropdown box (this would be the router config files).
- Once the user makes a selection, use the selection as a variable in the command send over ssh to have the router download a config file over ftp.

 

[orangpelupa]

Glad my router support auto update.

Btw I think what you need also can be done using nsis installer. Put your ssh script into it and just tell nsis to execute it.

Dunno nsis encrypt their data or not thought...

You also can put the command script on a Web server. Make it saved in a pas worded zip or some thing.

So the client will be able to keep using your old installer to keep updating stuff. Because you keep updating the script on your server.

Sorry if this doesn't make any sense.

 

[tongue_of_colicab]

It doesn't make much sense to me. At the most basic level all the app has to do is set up a ssh connection with the router and send one command. That's it. In batch this is easy, you can just use putty or plink to send the command but all passwords will be stored in a text file which is a no-no.

I looked up some vb tutorials and looked into the ssh.net library but all that stuff is impossible to use unless you know how to program. Their examples don't even include basic connection examples, just a billion lines of code, "see, this stuff is easy!".

 

[orangpelupa]

thats what NSIS can do.
you simply embed the batch script in it. it will run it. But it will have a menu like proper installer.

thats basically what i have done with SUWI installer for redownloading P.T. on PS4. I tell NSIS to pull batch script off my web server and then run it.

so for your case, you may also need to include putty into NSIS so the batch script can be ran.