Introduction

pyntc is an open source multi-vendor Python library that establishes a common framework for working with different network APIs & device types (including IOS devices)

It's main purpose is to simplify the execution of common tasks including:

Executing commands
Copying files
Upgrading devices
Rebooting devices
Saving / Backing Up Configs

Supported Platforms

Cisco AireOS - uses netmiko (SSH)
Cisco ASA - uses netmiko (SSH)
Cisco IOS platforms - uses netmiko (SSH)
Cisco NX-OS - uses pynxos (NX-API)
Arista EOS - uses pyeapi (eAPI)
Juniper Junos - uses PyEz (NETCONF)
F5 Networks - uses f5-sdk (ReST)

Installing pyntc

Option 1:

"pip install pyntc" or "pip install pyntc --upgrade"

Option 2:

git clone https://github.com/networktocode/pyntc.git
cd pyntc
pip install poetry
poetry install

Getting Started with pyntc

There are two ways to get started with pyntc.

The first way is to use the ntc_device object. Just pass in all required parameters to the object to initialize your device. Here we are showing the import, but renaming the object to NTC.

>>> from pyntc import ntc_device as NTC
>>>

Like many libraries, we need to pass in the host/IP and credentials. Because this is a multi-vendor/API library, we also use the device_type parameter to identify which device we are building an instance of.

pyntc currently supports four device types:

cisco_aireos_ssh
cisco_asa_ssh
cisco_ios_ssh
cisco_nxos_nxapi
arista_eos_eapi
juniper_junos_netconf
f5_tmos_icontrol

The example below shows how to build a device object when working with a Cisco IOS router.

>>> # CREATE DEVICE OBJECT FOR AN IOS DEVICE
>>>
>>> csr1 = NTC(host='csr1', username='ntc', password='ntc123', device_type='cisco_ios_ssh')
>>>

And here is an object for a Cisco Nexus device:

>>> # CREATE DEVICE OBJECT FOR A NEXUS DEVICE
>>>
>>> nxs1 = NTC(host='nxos-spine1', username='ntc', password='ntc123', device_type='cisco_nxos_nxapi')
>>>

The second way to get started with pyntc is to use the pyntc configuration file. This was modeled after Arista's .eapi.conf file. Our file is called .ntc.conf

This simplifies creating device objects since you no longer need to specify credentials and other device specific parameters when you build the device object. Instead, they are stored in the conf file.

pyntc Configration File

filename: .ntc.conf
Priority of locating the conf file:
- filename param in ntc_device_by_name
- Environment Variable aka PYNTC_CONF
- Home directory .ntc.conf
Specify device_type and a name
host is not required if the name is the device's FQDN
Four supported device types: cisco_nxos_nxapi, cisco_ios_ssh, arista_eos_eapi, and juniper_junos_netconf

Here is an example .ntc.conf file:

[cisco_nxos_nxapi:nxos-spine1]
host: 31.220.64.117
username: ntc
password: ntc123
transport: http

[cisco_ios_ssh:csr1]
host: 176.126.88.94
username: ntc
password: ntc123
port: 22

[juniper_junos_netconf:vmx1]
host: 176.126.88.99
username: ntc
password: ntc123

We can now build device objects just by referencing the name of the device from the conf file.

>>> from pyntc import ntc_device_by_name as NTCNAME
>>>
>>> csr1 = NTCNAME('csr1')
>>>
>>> nxs1 = NTCNAME('nxos-spine1')
>>>
>>> vmx1 = NTCNAME('vmx1')

Once the device object is creating using either ntc_device or ntc_device_by_name, you can start using the built-in device methods in pyntc.

Note: the only method and property not supported on all devices is install_os. It is not supported on Juniper Junos devices.

Gathering Facts

Use facts device property

On a Nexus device:

>>> nxs1 = NTCNAME('nxos-spine1')
>>>
>>> nxs1.facts
{'vendor': 'cisco', 'interfaces': [], u'hostname': 'nxos-spine1', u'os_version': '7.1(0)D1(1) [build 7.2(0)ZD(0.17)]', u'serial_number': 'TM600C2833B', u'model': 'NX-OSv Chassis', 'vlans': ['1']}
>>>
>>> print(json.dumps(nxs1.facts, indent=4))
{
    "vendor": "cisco",
    "interfaces": [],
    "hostname": "nxos-spine1",
    "os_version": "7.1(0)D1(1) [build 7.2(0)ZD(0.17)]",
    "serial_number": "TM600C2833B",
    "model": "NX-OSv Chassis",
    "vlans": [
        "1"
    ]
}

On an IOS device:

>>> csr1 = NTCNAME('csr1')
>>>
>>> print(json.dumps(csr1.facts, indent=4))
{
    "uptime": 87060,
    "vendor": "cisco",
    "uptime_string": "01:00:11:00",
    "interfaces": [
        "GigabitEthernet1",
        "GigabitEthernet2",
        "GigabitEthernet3",
        "GigabitEthernet4",
        "Loopback100"
    ],
    "hostname": "csr1",
    "ios": {
        "config_register": "0x2102"
    },
    "fqdn": "N/A",
    "os_version": "15.5(1)S1",
    "serial_number": "",
    "model": "CSR1000V",
    "vlans": []
}

Sending Show Commands

show method
Note: API enabled devices return JSON by default

>>> nxs1.show('show hostname')
{'hostname': 'nxos-spine1'}
>>>

Use raw_text=True to get unstructured data from the device

>>> nxs1.show('show hostname', raw_text=True)
'nxos-spine1 \n'
>>>

Sending Multiple Commands

show_list method

>>> cmds = ['show hostname', 'show run int Eth2/1']

>>> data = nxs1.show_list(cmds, raw_text=True)

>>> for d in data:
...   print(d)
...
nxos-spine1

!Command: show running-config interface Ethernet2/1
!Time: Wed Jan  6 18:10:01 2016
version 7.1(0)D1(1)
interface Ethernet2/1
  switchport
  no shutdown

Config Commands

Use config and config_list

>>> csr1.config('hostname testname')
>>>

>>> csr1.config_list(['interface Gi3', 'shutdown'])
>>>

Viewing Running/Startup Configs

Use running_config and start_up device properties
- Only showing partial config (manually shortened for this slide)

>>> run = csr1.running_config
>>>
>>> print(run)
Building configuration...

Current configuration : 2062 bytes
!
! Last configuration change at 18:26:59 UTC Wed Jan 6 2016 by ntc
!
version 15.5
service timestamps debug datetime msec

lldp run
cdp run
!
ip scp server enable
!
interface GigabitEthernet1
 ip address 10.0.0.50 255.255.255.0
 cdp enable

Copying files

file_copy method

>>> devices = [csr1, nxs1]
>>>
>>> for device in devices:
...   device.file_copy('newconfig.cfg')
...
>>>

Save Configs

save method

copy run start for Cisco/Arista and commit for Juniper

>>> csr1.save()
True

You can also do the equivalent of copy running-config <filename> by specifying a filename:

>>> csr1.save('mynewconfig.cfg')
True

Backup Configs

Backup current running configuration and store it locally

>>> csr1.backup_running_config('csr1.cfg')
>>>

Reboot

Reboot target device

Parameters:

timer=0 by default
confirm=False by default

>>> csr1.reboot(confirm=True)
>>>

Installing Operating Systems

>>> device.install_os('nxos.7.0.3.I2.1.bin')
>>>

Full workflow example:

>>> device.file_copy('nxos.7.0.3.I2.1.bin')
>>> device.install_os('nxos.7.0.3.I2.1.bin')
>>> device.save()
>>> device.reboot()          # IF NEEDED, NXOS automatically reboots
>>>

Cisco IOS Install Mode Option

New in 0.15 there is support for Install Mode upgrades. To execute this there is an option (defaults to False) to run install mode. file_copy must be executed before install_os

device.install_os('cat9k_iosxe.16.12.04.SPA.bin', install_mode=True)

Workflow Example

>>> device.file_copy('cat9k_iosxe.16.12.04.SPA.bin')
>>> device.install_os('ncat9k_iosxe.16.12.04.SPA.bin', install_mode=True)  # Reboots device

Contributing

This section describes how to install pyntc for development, how to run tests, and make sure you are a good contributor.

Branches

main - Reserved for released code
develop - Work in progress on the main roadmap
<feature> - Individual feature branches, should be PR'd to develop.

Installing dependencies for local development

This repository uses poetry for dependency management.

For best results, you should use virtualenv and virtualenvwrapper, which can both be installed to your system packages using pip install virtualenv virtualenvwrapper.

You'll also need Python 3.6+ as your interpreter. See the virtualenv documentation on choosing the correct Python interpretery binary if your system provides multiple versions.

Follow these steps to set up your local development environment:

# Make a new virtualenv named "pyntc" and activate it
$ mkvirtualenv pyntc
# Double check your version
$ python --version
Python 3.7.7
# Install poetry
$ pip install poetry
# Install project dependencies as well as development dependencies
$ poetry install

In addition to poetry, you may want to install tox which is a test environment controller and runner.

# Make sure you're in the "pyntc" virtualenv, skip this step if you already are
$ workon pyntc
# Install tox
$ pip install tox

Running tests locally

The easiest way to run tests locally is to directly invoke the unittest module directly.

Test modules are located in ./test/unit/ and fixtures in ./test/fixtures/.

# Run all tests locally
$ python -m unittest discover ./test/unit

It's also possible to run local tests using tox if you have it installed. This will create separate virtualenvs for each Python version in the tox.ini configuration, and download all dependencies separately.

# Run all tests against multiple Python versions
$ tox

techytushar/pyntc