# 5 Building a Configuration File

When you run SwitchManager, it first queries the CSP to find out its current state, the number of nodes, and the type of cards in each node. Then, it reads the configuration file and converts each configuration message to the corresponding SwitchKit message. SwitchManager sorts these messages in the order required by the switch and sends them to the switch. SwitchManager does not validate the data provided in the configuration file. If the data is incorrect, the messages will be rejected by the switch with a NACK.

SwitchManager waits to receive an acknowledgment (ACK) for each message before sending the next message. If the ACK is not received in 10 - 15 seconds, it will resend the message. If the resent message is not acknowledged, SwitchManager continues with the next message.

In this section:

Building a Configuration File

API Messages Used for Configuration

Configuration Message Syntax

Negative acknowledgement to a message.
Positive acknowledgment to a message