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FAQ

Frequently asked questions about NetStacks covering general usage, terminal, devices, credentials, templates, stacks, automation, AI, administration, and API topics.

Overview

This FAQ is the master question-and-answer resource for NetStacks. It covers the most commonly asked questions across all feature areas, organized by category. Each answer is self-contained with enough detail to resolve the question, plus cross-links to detailed documentation for deeper exploration.

FAQ Categories

  • General -- Product overview, editions, platform support
  • Terminal -- SSH client features, broadcasting, sessions
  • Devices & Credentials -- Device management, inventory, credential storage
  • Templates & Stacks -- Configuration templating, stack deployments
  • Automation & AI -- NOC agents, AI providers, scheduled tasks
  • Administration -- SSO setup, audit logs, user management
  • API -- Authentication, rate limits, integration

How It Works

This FAQ aggregates the most common questions across all NetStacks features into a single, searchable resource. Questions are sourced from support interactions, community discussions, and common deployment scenarios.

Each answer follows a consistent format: a direct answer to the question, relevant context or caveats, and links to the detailed documentation page for the topic. For questions that involve configuration or commands, inline code examples are included.

Tip

Use your browser's find function (Ctrl+F / Cmd+F) to search this page for specific keywords related to your question.

Getting Help

If you cannot find the answer to your question here, use these resources in order.

  1. Search the Documentation -- Use the search bar at the top of any documentation page. Every feature page has its own Q&A section with additional questions specific to that topic.
  2. Check Troubleshooting Pages -- For error messages and diagnostic steps, see the dedicated troubleshooting pages for Connection Issues, Authentication Problems, and Performance.
  3. Community Forum -- Ask questions and share solutions with other NetStacks users and engineers.
  4. Support -- For licensed users, contact support through the Help menu in the NetStacks application or via the support portal.
Note

When contacting support, include your NetStacks version (Help > About), the operating system, and any relevant error messages or log excerpts.

Code Examples

Quick Reference Commands

Quick Referencebash
# Check NetStacks version
# Help > About in the Terminal application
# Or via API:
curl -s https://controller.example.com/api/v1/system/info | jq .version

# Test Controller connectivity
curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" https://controller.example.com/api/v1/health

# List managed devices via API
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>" \
  https://controller.example.com/api/v1/devices | jq '.[] | .hostname'

Common Configuration Patterns

Template Syntaxtext
# Template variable syntax
# Templates use {{ variable_name }} placeholders
# Example template snippet:
hostname {{ hostname }}
interface {{ interface_name }}
  ip address {{ ip_address }} {{ subnet_mask }}
  no shutdown

# Stack deployment variables are set per-device or shared:
# Per-device: unique values like hostname, IP address
# Shared: common values like NTP server, DNS server

Q&A

General

Q: What is NetStacks?
A: NetStacks is a network engineering platform that combines a modern SSH/Telnet terminal client with a centralized management controller. The Terminal application provides a native desktop experience for connecting to network devices, while the Controller provides centralized device inventory, credential management, configuration templates, automated stack deployments, AI-assisted troubleshooting, and team collaboration features. See Getting Started: Introduction for a full overview.
Q: What is the difference between Professional and Controller editions?
A: NetStacks Professional is the standalone Terminal application for individual network engineers. It includes the full SSH/Telnet terminal, local credential storage, SFTP file transfer, and session management. NetStacks Controller adds the server-side management platform: centralized device inventory, shared credential vaults, configuration templates, stack deployments, automation, AI features, RBAC, audit logging, and API access. The Terminal can operate independently or connect to a Controller for enterprise features.
Q: What operating systems are supported?
A: The NetStacks Terminal application supports Windows (10/11, x64 and ARM64), macOS (12+, Intel and Apple Silicon), and Linux (Ubuntu 20.04+, Debian 11+, Fedora 38+, x64 and ARM64). The Controller server runs on Linux (any distribution with Docker support) or can be deployed via Docker Compose or Kubernetes.
Q: Can I use NetStacks without the Controller?
A: Yes. The Terminal application works fully standalone for personal use. You get SSH/Telnet terminal sessions, local credential storage with encryption, SFTP file transfer, session organization, and all terminal features. The Controller is only required for team features, centralized management, templates, stacks, automation, and AI capabilities.

Terminal

Q: Can I use NetStacks as a standalone SSH client?
A: Yes. NetStacks Professional functions as a full-featured SSH/Telnet terminal client. It supports tabbed sessions, split panes, session recording, customizable themes (10 built-in themes), keyboard shortcuts, SFTP file transfer, and local credential management -- all without requiring a Controller connection. See Terminal: Overview for the complete feature list.
Q: How do I broadcast commands to multiple devices?
A: NetStacks supports two broadcast modes. Live Multi-Send lets you type a command once and have it sent simultaneously to all selected terminal sessions in real-time. Broadcast Command Dialog lets you compose a command, select target sessions, and send it as a batch operation. Both modes are accessible from the terminal toolbar. See Terminal: Broadcast for details.
Q: What keyboard shortcuts are available?
A: NetStacks includes comprehensive keyboard shortcuts for session management, terminal control, and navigation. Key defaults include Ctrl+T (new tab), Ctrl+W (close tab), Ctrl+Shift+V (paste), and Ctrl+Shift+F (find in terminal). All shortcuts are customizable in Settings. See Terminal: Keyboard Shortcuts for the complete list.

Devices & Credentials

Q: How many devices can NetStacks manage?
A: A single Controller instance can manage several thousand devices with appropriate resource allocation. For 500+ devices, review the Performance tuning guide. The practical limit depends on your server hardware, how frequently devices are polled, and the volume of concurrent operations. Most enterprise deployments manage 200-2000 devices per Controller instance.
Q: How are credentials encrypted?
A: Credentials are encrypted using AES-256-GCM before storage. The encryption key is derived from the master key using Argon2 key derivation. In standalone mode, credentials are encrypted and stored locally. With the Controller, credentials are stored server-side in the encrypted vault and are never transmitted to Terminal clients in plaintext. Each user's credentials are isolated by owner_id -- users can only access their own credentials or those explicitly shared via folder access grants. See Credentials: Vault for the full security architecture.
Q: What device types does NetStacks support?
A: NetStacks supports any device accessible via SSH or Telnet. It includes optimized support with device-aware features for Cisco IOS/IOS-XE/NX-OS, Juniper Junos, Arista EOS, Palo Alto PAN-OS, Fortinet FortiOS, and Linux systems. Device-aware features include customized SFTP start paths (e.g., flash:/ for Cisco, /var/ for Juniper), command completion hints, and AI-assisted command parsing. Generic SSH support works for any other device.

Templates & Stacks

Q: What template language does NetStacks use?
A: NetStacks uses a template syntax with {{ variable_name }} placeholders. Variables can have default values, validation rules, and descriptions. Templates support conditionals and loops for complex configurations. Variables can be set per-device (unique values like hostname) or shared across an instance (common values like NTP server). See Templates: Overview for syntax details.
Q: Can I roll back a stack deployment?
A: NetStacks tracks all stack deployment history with full state transitions. While there is no automatic one-click rollback (since network device configurations vary widely), you can view the exact configuration that was pushed in each deployment, compare it against the current device configuration, and re-deploy a previous version of the stack. Each deployment records its status through 7 states: created, queued, running, completed, failed, cancelled, and rolled_back. See Stacks: Instances for deployment management.

Automation & AI

Q: What AI providers does NetStacks support?
A: NetStacks supports OpenAI (GPT-4, GPT-4o), Anthropic (Claude), Google (Gemini), and Ollama for local/self-hosted AI models. AI features include terminal output analysis, Quick Prompts for contextual assistance, Quick Actions for automated API operations, and NOC agents for autonomous network monitoring. API keys are configured per-provider in admin settings. See AI: Providers for setup instructions.
Q: How do NOC agents work?
A: NOC (Network Operations Center) agents are AI-powered autonomous monitors that continuously observe network conditions and take actions based on configured policies. They can detect anomalies, correlate events across devices, and execute predefined remediation playbooks. NOC agents use the configured AI provider for analysis and decision-making, with all actions logged in the audit trail. See AI: NOC Agents for configuration details.
Q: Does AI have access to my credentials or passwords?
A: No. Credentials are never sent to AI providers. Terminal output sent for AI analysis is scrubbed of sensitive data patterns (passwords, keys, tokens) before transmission. AI features operate on sanitized command output and device metadata only. When using Ollama for self-hosted AI, all processing stays on your infrastructure.

Administration

Q: How do I set up SSO?
A: NetStacks supports SSO via OIDC (OpenID Connect) and LDAP/Active Directory. For OIDC: configure the provider's Client ID, Client Secret, and Discovery URL in Admin > Authentication. Set the Redirect URI in your OIDC provider to match the NetStacks callback URL. For LDAP: configure the server address, Bind DN, User Search Base, and User Filter. Both methods can be used alongside local authentication. See Admin: Authentication for step-by-step setup.
Q: Where are audit logs stored?
A: Audit logs are stored in the Controller's PostgreSQL database. Every significant action is logged: user logins, device connections, credential access, configuration changes, stack deployments, and API requests. Logs include the user, timestamp, action, target resource, and result. Audit logs can be searched and exported from Admin > Audit Logs. For compliance, configure log retention policies to manage storage. See Admin: Audit Logs.
Q: How does role-based access control work?
A: NetStacks uses RBAC with 20 granular permission keys across 4 built-in roles: Admin (all permissions), Manager (user and device management), Operator (device access and operations), and Viewer (read-only access). Custom roles can be created by selecting specific permission keys. Permissions control access to devices, credentials, templates, stacks, AI features, and administrative functions. See Admin: RBAC for the complete permission matrix.

API

Q: How do I authenticate to the API?
A: The NetStacks API uses JWT Bearer token authentication. Obtain a token by sending a POST request to /api/v1/auth/login with your username and password. Include the returned token in the Authorization: Bearer <token> header of all subsequent requests. Tokens expire after the configured lifetime and can be refreshed using the refresh token endpoint. See API: Authentication for complete examples.
Q: What are the API rate limits?
A: The default API rate limits are configured per-user and can be adjusted by administrators. Rate limits apply to prevent abuse and ensure fair resource sharing in multi-user environments. When a rate limit is exceeded, the API returns a 429 Too Many Requests response with a Retry-After header indicating when you can retry. See API: Endpoints for specific rate limit values per endpoint category.
Q: Can I integrate NetStacks with other tools?
A: Yes. NetStacks provides a comprehensive REST API covering all Controller functionality, plus MCP (Model Context Protocol) support for AI tool integration. Common integrations include CI/CD pipelines (trigger stack deployments), monitoring systems (device status webhooks), ITSM platforms (incident-triggered automation), and custom scripts using the API. The MCP interface supports stdio, SSE, and HTTP transports for AI agent integration. See AI: MCP and API: Endpoints.

Troubleshooting

Still Need Help?

If your question is not answered here, these dedicated troubleshooting pages provide in-depth diagnostic guides with error message lookup tables:

  • Connection Issues -- SSH/Telnet connection failures, timeouts, key exchange errors, and firewall problems
  • Authentication Problems -- LDAP, OIDC, JWT, SSH key, and credential vault authentication failures
  • Performance -- Slow dashboards, database optimization, resource monitoring, and scaling guidance
Tip

Each feature documentation page also has its own Q&A section with topic-specific questions. Navigate to the relevant feature page for additional answers beyond what this FAQ covers.

Reporting Issues

When reporting an issue, include the following information for faster resolution:

  • NetStacks version (Help > About)
  • Operating system and version
  • The exact error message or unexpected behavior
  • Steps to reproduce the issue
  • Relevant log excerpts (sanitize any credentials or sensitive data)