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RAJA_VELLINGIRI's avatar
RAJA_VELLINGIRI
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Aug 06, 2015

iControl API automation- REST / Python BigSuds /Java lib - which one is best

I am using F5 LTM 11.4.1 version, i am receiving many time request to change iRules under different partition -multiple times. Instead of using GUI. I thought of develop automation APP. But i need a confirmation - which one is the best solution to approach iControl - Either - REST interface or Python Lib - BigSuds or Java/

 

Can you just mention proper document link for each.

 

application delivery
BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)
design
devops
iControl
iControlREST
iRules
security

4 Replies

  • RAJA_VELLINGIRI's avatar
    RAJA_VELLINGIRI
    Icon for Nimbostratus rankNimbostratus
    Aug 07, 2015

    Thanks for the reply.Yes you are right , I mean web interface as GUI. I am not looking for any WEB interface or Editor Gui. Instead i want to develop my own tool or app to talk to iCreate LTM 11.4.1 version. For example i just go through the PDF iCreate REST interface API to do some operation. Same way i have figured out F5 providing three option API level for iCreate and iRule create/modification as per my understanding - 1. REST 2. Python Lib BigSUDS 3. Java lib. But i want it to know which one is suitable and best solution for LTM 11.4.1 in future scope. Because i have a plan to automate and customize with my own format - all my day to day manual operation using web interface or iRule editor.

     

  • Joe_Pruitt's avatar
    Joe_Pruitt
    Aug 10, 2015

    Hi Raja, It's hard to answer a "which is best" question as it really depends on your environment and expertise. We currently have 2 iControl interfaces: SOAP and REST.

     

    For our SOAP interface, we have Java, .Net, PowerShell, and Python libraries to help with development but we also provide the raw WSDL files which allow you to integrate with your tool of choice (as long as it supports RPC-Encoding). Our SOAP interface is well defined and structured and really built to look like a functional API with methods to create/delete/modify/etc.

     

    For our REST interface, we currently don't have client libraries and it's up to you to build the HTTP client and to manipulate the request and response JSON content for the operation in question. The REST interface is currently limited to what you can do with tmsh while the SOAP library has additional functions to manage system level components (snmp, services, etc).

     

    Either choice will work for your needs, you will just need to determine which fits into your development processes and skill sets.

     

    -Joe