Importing Address Group via CSV makes existing address objects ghost objects with weird string names

[Gammelgaard]

So I have a project. Basically I imported a Check Point config, edited it, then merged with our Panorama config.

In the Panorama config I am preparing template and device group for the new config, and I merged the edited Check Point config into those. After that I cleaned for duplicates and so on. The end configuration of the new device group and template (the Check Point config) is now using objects from its own device group, a parent device group and the shared context/device group.

Now when I export to Panorama, using the API function in Expedition, I am overwriting the parent and shared objects with the objects I have in my Expedition project - which is less than what we have in Panorama, due to me cleaning and removing unused objects for my config. (I also cleaned all config in other device groups and templates)

That's why I want to now import the missing objects from Panorama. So I export the address objects to csv, edit it a little and import to Expedition, into the parent device group. Merged/removed duplicates. All is fine.

Then I import one address group with a single member using csv, into the parent device group. And that address group is fine and pointing at the address object that was already in the config. (Imported with csv before).

But that last import of a single address group makes all the address objects in my new device group (Check Point config) change to ghost objects with weird string names, that look like UUIDs. If I transform one of them from ip address to object and try to edit it afterwards, I am told I cannot change Panorama objects.

I cannot find a way to get rid of those extra objects. The "real" ones are still there, but no longer referenced by the address groups, instead referencing the ghosts.

All the objects that are copied into a ghost object are objects only existing within the new device group, so are the address groups that references them.

Can someone help me please? 🙂

[lychiang]

@Gammelgaard you can right click on the object you want to replace and select "search and replace", then you can replace that address object with the real object in the address group. 

[Gammelgaard]

@lychiang Thanks for the suggestion - I should have mentioned that I have 2900+ Ghost objects, and that would be many clicks to search and replace. My procedure is:

Click the 2900+ ghost objects number on Dashboard (search filter automatically populated with Ghosts under Address)

Right click the top one and choose search and replace - I am taken to the Tools pane and directly to the search and replace tool.

All my Ghost objects are called xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx. I have more than 5500 "real" objects to choose from, and I have no great way to know which one to replace with xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx.

I really do no see this as viable option in my situation.