Extract text from Configuration backup files (ATA)
To convert ATA Backups to another format, you need IxChariot or other Backup software.
To convert other file formats to the "Network Configuration Backup" file type, you need software like IxChariot or a similar tool.
The .ATA file extension is primarily used as a configuration backup for Ixia network testing equipment (now part of Keysight Technologies). These files capture a complete snapshot of a device's state, preserving complex network simulation parameters, traffic generation settings, and port configurations. They are intended to be managed exclusively by the IxChariot or IxNetwork software suites.
The core disadvantage of the .ATA format is severe vendor lock-in. It is a proprietary binary archive, which means that if an engineer simply wants to review the network test settings, they are blocked unless they have access to an active, often expensive, software license. Standard operating systems cannot read them, and attempting to open the file directly in a browser or text editor yields unrecognizable gibberish.
To bypass this limitation, the most practical approach is extracting the contents into TXT, XML, or standard ZIP formats. Extracting to text-based formats allows anyone to read the critical simulation parameters on any device, though you will lose the ability to import the modified file back into the hardware directly.
This file format is notoriously difficult to open or convert because it lacks standard archive headers, relying entirely on internal zlib compression streams. Often, only the original Keysight software can properly unpackage and read the data. However, convert.guru can still identify the file format, inspect the binary file, and show text or internal content. If our analysis detects a supported underlying zlib embedded format, viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your ATA file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted DOCX, POW, VMT, RDT, PSI and ATM files.
If you want to convert ATA file to PSI or ATM, you can use IxChariot or similar software from the "Network Device Configuration Backup" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert files to ATA, try IxChariot or another comparable tool in the "Network Device Configuration Backup" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our ATA converter.