Nicira NVP/NSX Python API and Infrstructure Automation
About
There are two main uses for this python library:
(1) Manage NVP/NSX Infrastructure
Managing, automating, and orchestrating the setup of NVP/NSX components eleminates repetative CLI commands. Spin up and down environments on the fly, and or manage upgrading new components when you want to upgrade.
The Library allows you to remotely setup Hypervisor Nodes, Gateway Nodes, Service Nodes etc. (Examples Below)
(2) Python bindings to NVP/NSX REST API
Having python bindings was the first motivation. A) because we developed and were familiar with Python B) We have been working with OpenStack and it just made sense.
With the library you can list networking, attach ports, query nodes etc. *(Examples are given in the test/example_api_usage.py)
*Desclaimer, this is not a full-blown, fully featured API binding. There are missing binding for NVP API versions as well as NSX versions. If the API call does not exist, I welcome any patches.
- Note, all api calls have been tested on NVP 3.0-3.2
- Note, only partially tested on NSX 4.1.X
Authors
@Ryan Wallner (Ryan.Wallner@emc.com)
Installation API
apt-get -y update
apt-get -y install gcc g++ python-dev python-pip swig libffi-dev
pip install nvpnsxapi
Installation on Docker
docker run -it ubuntu:12.04 /bin/bash
apt-get -y update
apt-get install -y gcc g++ python-dev python-pip swig libffi-dev
pip install nvpnsxapi
Test to see it installed correctly
$ transportnode
usage: /usr/local/bin/transportnode <create|delete> <transport node>
$ python
Python 2.7.3 (default, Dec 18 2014, 19:10:20)
[GCC 4.6.3] on linux2
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> import api.nvp_api
>>> dir(api.nvp_api)
['ControlServices', 'NVPApi', 'NVPClient', 'NetworkServices', 'Transport', '__builtins__', '__doc__', '__file__', '__name__', '__package__', 'logging']
>>> exit()
Example Usage API
Before you use the API, we need some simple configuration.
/etc/nvp.conf
(edit the fields inside here.)
Default are
[nvp-controller]
user: admin
password: admin
ip: <X.X.X.X>
port: 443
zone: 'MyTransportZone'
config-file: /etc/nvp/configs/nvp-config.json
snapshot-location: /etc/nvp/snapshots
from api.nvp_api import NVPApi
api = NVPApi(debug=True)
transport_zones = api.get_transport_zones()
exists = api.tnode_exists("My-ESX-Node")
print "Transport Zones Are: %s" % transport_zones
print "Doest MyTransportNode exists? %s" % exists
# Check Control Cluster Nodes
print "Control Cluster Nodes"
nodes = api.get_control_cluster()
for node in nodes:
print "\n"
print node['display_name']
for role in node['roles']:
print "%s" % role['role']
print "%s\n" % role['listen_addr']
print "\n"Example Automation
For automation, openvswitch, nvp/nsx packages must be installed on the target node. Automation has been testd ONLY for Hypervisor, Service, and Gateway Nodes.
NSX/NVP packges must be installed on target node, here is an example for a NVP hypervisor
To use this feature you need to update the JSON configuration file that describes your environment.
There is not CLI/Automated Tool to fill this out, use your favorite JSON editor :)
Example Node "Node1"
cp /etc/nvp/configs/nvp-config-example.json /etc/nvp/configs/nvp-config.json
vi /etc/nvp/configs/nvp-config.json
You will the following top level objects
config
transport-zones
nvp
transport-types
transport-nodes
trasnport-ip-prefixes
nat
routers
gateway-services
In update the following objects
(Transport Nodes)
transport-zones":{
"zone":[
{
"type":"<STT/VXLAN>",
"name":"<YourTransportZoneName>"
}
]
(NVP Config)
"nvp":{
"ip":"<CONTROLLER_IP>",
"pass":"<Password>",
"port":<443 | 80>,
"user":"<UserName>"
}
(Add a "Hypervisor Node" description. Replace what is in the < >)
"transport-nodes":{
"node":[
{
"type":"COMPUTE",
"remote": <true | false>,
"management-address":"<X.X.X.X>",
"integration-bridge":"<br-int>",
"data-network-interface":"<eth1 | eth2 ...>",
"connectors":[
{
"ip_address":"<X.X.X.X>",
"type":"<STTConnector?>",
"name":"<TransportZoneConnectorName>"
}
],
"name":"<myServer>"
},
# There are other objects you can change, feel free to, this will
# get what is in the README demo working.
# Initialize OVS on the Hypervisor Node
sudo dpkg --purge openvswitch-pki
sudo dpkg -i openvswitch-datapath-dkms_1.11.0*.deb
sudo dpkg -i openvswitch-common_1.11.0*.deb openvswitch-switch_1.11.0*.deb
sudo dpkg -i nicira-ovs-hypervisor-node_1.11.0*.deb
(If Node1 is remote, it will prompt for Username/Password)
python -m automation.transportnode create <NodeName>
You should then be able to go to NVP/NSX Web GUI and view the new transport node. GUI for NVP 3.2 Tested here can be viewed at https:///accounts/login/
Future (TODO)
As stated earlier, this is not a complete solution, nor should it be used as one. There is no guarantee for the use of this product and should solely be used to help setup and test in a lab environment.
- API Bindings need to be added for missing endpoints
- Tests / Simple Testing Framework that mocks networks needs to be developed
- (Twisted Trial / unittest maybe)
Automated / Packaged build and install needs to be included.- More NSX API Endpoints Support
Contribution
Create a fork of the project into your own reposity. Make all your necessary changes in a seperate branch and create a pull request with a description on what was added or removed and details explaining the changes in lines of code. If approved, project owners will merge it.
Licensing
View LICENSE in src.
Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the “License”); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an “AS IS” BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.
Support
Please file bugs and issues at the Github issues page. The code and documentation are released with no warranties or SLAs and are intended to be supported through a community driven process.
For more general questions, please email Ryan.Wallner@emc.com
Other Information
Please see the below links for more inspiraton
