iControl + Python + add_member / remove_member

Question

So I'm trying to get a handle on add and remove _member functions using pycontrol (v2).
I can't seem to get add/remove working correctly. Can someone help me out?
Here's what I attempted to hack from a base script
Base: https://devcentral.f5.com/wiki/iCon...ember.ashx
Code attempted:
import sys
import pycontrol.pycontrol as pc
import time
if len(sys.argv) &lt; 7:
print "Usage %s ip_address username password" % sys.argv[0]
print "Usage %s ip_address username password pool_name member action" % sys.argv[0]
sys.exit(1)
a = sys.argv[1:]
POOL = sys.argv[4]
members = [sys.argv[5]]
action = sys.argv[6]
The constructor is similar to the original pyControl.
Note the change from wsdl_files to wsdls, which makes more sense.
b = pc.BIGIP(
hostname = a[0],
username = a[1],
password = a[2],
fromurl = True,
wsdls = ['LocalLB.PoolMember','LocalLB.Pool'])
--------- helper methods below ----------
def member_factory(b, member):
'''
Produces a Common.IPPortDefinition object per member ip:port combination
object per member ip:port combination. Add these to Common.IPPortDefinitionSequence.
args: a pycontrol LocalLB.PoolMember object and an ip:port
combination that you'd like to add.
'''
ip,port = member.split(':')
pmem = b.LocalLB.PoolMember.typefactory.create('Common.IPPortDefinition')
pmem.address = ip
pmem.port = int(port)
return pmem
def session_state_factory(b, members):
'''
Returns session state objects. Returns a list of session state objects with associated
members.
'''
session_states = []
create a type of: 'LocalLB.PoolMember.MemberSessionState'
Inside of this type, you'll see that it expects a pool member as an
attribute. Let's create that, set our attributes (address, port), and add it to sstate
above.
for x in members:
sstate = b.LocalLB.PoolMember.typefactory.create('LocalLB.PoolMember.MemberSessionState')
sstate.member = member_factory(b,x)
sstate.session_state = 'STATE_DISABLED'
session_states.append(sstate)
return session_states
The session state sequence object. Takes a list of 'member session state'
objects.Wrap the members in a LocalLB.PoolMember.MemberSessionStateSequence
sstate_seq = b.LocalLB.PoolMember.typefactory.create('LocalLB.PoolMember.MemberSessionStateSequence')
'item' is an attribute that maps to a list of 'Common.IPPortDefinition' objects.
sstate_seq.item = session_state_factory(b, members)
def disable_member(b, session_objects):
"""
Disable our members in the of session state
objects.
"""
try:
b.LocalLB.PoolMember.set_session_enabled_state(pool_names =
[POOL], session_states = [sstate_seq])
except Exception, e:
print e
sys.exit(1)
def enable_member(b, session_objects):
"""
Enable our members in the of session state
objects.
"""
Note how easy it is to simply 'toggle' the session state now that
we are dealing with object attributes.
for x in sstate_seq.item:
x.session_state = 'STATE_ENABLED'
try:
b.LocalLB.PoolMember.set_session_enabled_state(pool_names = [POOL],
session_states = [sstate_seq])
except Exception, e:
print e
sys.exit(1)
def add_member(b, members):
"""
"""
print repr(dir(b.LocalLB.Pool))
try:
b.LocalLB.Pool.add_member(pool_names = [POOL],
members = members)
except Exception, e:
print e
sys.exit(1)
def delete_member(b, session_objects):
"""
"""
print repr(dir(b.LocalLB.Pool))
try:
b.LocalLB.Pool.remove_member(pool_names = [POOL],
members = members)
except Exception, e:
print e
sys.exit(1)
if action == 'add':
Add an IP:PORT member to a pool
add_member(b, members)
Confirm pool list
res = b.LocalLB.PoolMember.get_session_enabled_state(pool_names = [POOL])
print "States: %s" % res
sys.exit(0)
elif action == 'delete':
Delete an IP:PORT member of a pool
delete_member(b, members)
Confirm pool list
res = b.LocalLB.PoolMember.get_session_enabled_state(pool_names = [POOL])
print "States: %s" % res
sys.exit(0)
else:
print "State: %s not defined" % action
sys.exit(1)

brian_menges_10 · Answer

The full code (I snipped some stuff out that wasn't directly relevent) runs fine without error, but the pool member list isn't modified. So I must be doing something wrong with the add/remove api calls.

brian_menges_10 · Answer

So now I have pool_objects which I construct using pool_factory... but now i'm getting complaints about suds and a reference to address:
&nbsp;

def pool_factory(b, members):
    '''
    '''

pobj = []
    for x in members:
        ip,port = x.split(':')
        pmem = b.LocalLB.Pool.typefactory.create('Common.IPPortDefinition')
        pmem.address = ip
        pmem.port = int(port)
        pobj.append(pmem)
    return pobj

pool_objects = pool_factory(b,members)

def add_member(b, pool_objects):
    """
    """
    try:
       b.LocalLB.Pool.add_member(pool_names = [POOL],
               members = pool_objects)
    except Exception, e:
        print e
        raise
        sys.exit(1)

elif action == 'add':
     Add an IP:PORT member to a pool
    add_member(b, pool_objects)
     Confirm pool list
    res = b.LocalLB.PoolMember.get_session_enabled_state(pool_names = [POOL])
    print "States: %s" % res
    sys.exit(0)

runtime gives

No handlers could be found for logger "suds.client"
Server raised fault: 'Could not find element by name: address'
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "modify_member.py", line 235, in 
    add_member(b, pool_objects)
  File "modify_member.py", line 185, in add_member
    members = [pool_objects])
  File "/usr/lib/pymodules/python2.6/suds/client.py", line 539, in __call__
    return client.invoke(args, kwargs)
  File "/usr/lib/pymodules/python2.6/suds/client.py", line 598, in invoke
    result = self.send(msg)
  File "/usr/lib/pymodules/python2.6/suds/client.py", line 633, in send
    result = self.failed(binding, e)
  File "/usr/lib/pymodules/python2.6/suds/client.py", line 684, in failed
    r, p = binding.get_fault(reply)
  File "/usr/lib/pymodules/python2.6/suds/bindings/binding.py", line 238, in get_fault
    raise WebFault(p, faultroot)
suds.WebFault: Server raised fault: 'Could not find element by name: address'
 
&nbsp;

mhite_60883 · Answer

So now I have pool_objects which I construct using pool_factory... but now i'm getting complaints about suds and a reference to address:
&nbsp;

def pool_factory(b, members):
    '''
    '''

pobj = []
    for x in members:
        ip,port = x.split(':')
        pmem = b.LocalLB.Pool.typefactory.create('Common.IPPortDefinition')
        pmem.address = ip
        pmem.port = int(port)
        pobj.append(pmem)
    return pobj

pool_objects = pool_factory(b,members)

def add_member(b, pool_objects):
    """
    """
    try:
       b.LocalLB.Pool.add_member(pool_names = [POOL],
               members = pool_objects)
    except Exception, e:
        print e
        raise
        sys.exit(1)

elif action == 'add':
     Add an IP:PORT member to a pool
    add_member(b, pool_objects)
     Confirm pool list
    res = b.LocalLB.PoolMember.get_session_enabled_state(pool_names = [POOL])
    print "States: %s" % res
    sys.exit(0)

runtime gives

No handlers could be found for logger "suds.client"
Server raised fault: 'Could not find element by name: address'
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "modify_member.py", line 235, in 
    add_member(b, pool_objects)
  File "modify_member.py", line 185, in add_member
    members = [pool_objects])
  File "/usr/lib/pymodules/python2.6/suds/client.py", line 539, in __call__
    return client.invoke(args, kwargs)
  File "/usr/lib/pymodules/python2.6/suds/client.py", line 598, in invoke
    result = self.send(msg)
  File "/usr/lib/pymodules/python2.6/suds/client.py", line 633, in send
    result = self.failed(binding, e)
  File "/usr/lib/pymodules/python2.6/suds/client.py", line 684, in failed
    r, p = binding.get_fault(reply)
  File "/usr/lib/pymodules/python2.6/suds/bindings/binding.py", line 238, in get_fault
    raise WebFault(p, faultroot)
suds.WebFault: Server raised fault: 'Could not find element by name: address'
 
&nbsp;
- Global variables, evil.
- remove_member is deprecated, use remove_member_v2 for V11 F5
- You pass global members into session_objects function parameter to delete_member... then you don't reference it. Why?
- You pass global 'members' to "remove_member" API call. It's the wrong type -- you are supposed to pass a sequence of IPPortDefinition.
I have a complete solution I've written for my current employer. Would love it if I could just post it but I don't have that freedom at this point. That being said, something like this works:
&nbsp;

def f5_build_address_port_seq(b, addressport):
    addressportseq = b.LocalLB.Pool.typefactory.create('Common.AddressPortSequence')
    addressportseq.item = addressport
    return addressportseq

def f5_build_address_port(b, address, port):
    addressport = b.LocalLB.Pool.typefactory.create('Common.AddressPort')
    addressport.address = address
    addressport.port = port
    return addressport

def f5_remove_pool_member_v11(b, poolname, address, port):
    addressport = f5_build_address_port(b, address, port)
    addressportseq = f5_build_address_port_seq(b, addressport)
    b.LocalLB.Pool.remove_member_v2(pool_names=[poolname], members=[addressportseq])

&nbsp;
Then you just run:
f5_remove_pool_member_v11(b, poolname, address, port)
As an aside, if I were doing this from scratch, I'd be using bigsuds and not pycontrol.

brian_menges_10 · Answer

If I didn't mention it before, I'm extremely new to python, however I'm also building off existing (albeit bad) code. My comfort level with this language isn't that high at this point.&nbsp;
Good notes on v11, but we're still working with v10 so the old deprecated api tree applies with add_member and remove_member; not sure if the v2 segments are compatible with v9 and v10 BigIPs.&nbsp;
I'll review what you've posted and see where I can go from there. Thanks.&nbsp;

mhite_60883 · Answer

The parameter changes are minor. v11 uses addressport sequence, whereas pre-v11 uses ipportdefinition sequence.

Forum Discussion

iControl + Python + add_member / remove_member

6 Replies

F5 Academy at AppWorld 2026

Introducing the F5 AI Assistant for BIG-IP

Recent Discussions

How can I get started with iCall

Connection Rest f5

Kubernetes cert-manager + LetsEncrypt + F5

The GSLB pool is providing an incorrect IP to end users

Unable to ping from some self ip on Velos

Related Content

iControl REST Authentication Token Management

Microsoft Powershell with iControl

List of F5 iControl REST API Endpoints

iControl REST 101: What is iControl REST?

iControl REST Cookbook - Virtual Server (ltm virtual)

ABOUT DEVCENTRAL

RESOURCES

SUPPORT

PARTNERS