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©2024 F5, Inc. All rights reserved.

In the previous articles in the Getting Started with iControl series, we covered the history of iControl, taxonomy, and introduced the languages most common to our community. In this article, we'll start looking at some code samples. With each task we cover, we'll show an example for a few languages for both the soap and rest interface. The sheer amount of space in this article required to show full samples of each language for both soap and rest would be overwhelming in line, so for the sample code, we have pulled out the appropriate sections of the code for you to study. Understand that based on the libraries used, if at all, some of the work may be abstracted. Full scripts for each language and portal preference are linked at the bottom of this article. If you click each of the iControl REST and iControl SOAP tabs, you'll see a language listing for the sample code provided. Joe Pruitt is the super hero providing everything not python here, so give him a shout out next time you see him in these parts.

Note: This article published by Jason Rahm but co-authored with Joe Pruitt.

With all the disclaimers out of the way, let's get down to business! The first thing you have to do to talk to the BIG-IP is know where to connect. Some prerequisites:

• BIG-IP Hostname
• Username
• Password
• Portal URL\n
  • rest: https://host/mgmt/<tm> (most calls are for /tm, though there are others)
  • soap: https://host/iControl/iControlPortal.cgi
  \n

There are dozens of articles and codeshare samples on DevCentral on creating/modifying objects both in rest and soap, so we're not going to cover all the details ad nauseam here. But we do want to introduce the basic concepts of retrieving, creating, and modifying a couple simple objects in this article. The first one we'll tackle is one of the most important building blocks of the BIG-IP configuration: the pool.

Working with the Pool Object

The pool has many attributes that can be set, but not all are required. In this exercise however, we're going to simply demonstrate the creation of a pool and a pool listing. The pool object can be created via rest with a simple name, and with soap with the name, the lb method, and the members attribute (it can be empty, but the attribute needs to be present.)

• iControl SOAP\n\n
  • Java
  • Perl
  • Powershell
  • Python
  \n
• iControl REST\n
  • Node.js
  • Perl
  • Powershell
  • Python
  \n

\npublic void displayAllPools() throws Exception\n{\nString [] pool_list = m_interfaces.getLocalLBPool().get_list();\nSystem.out.println(\"Pools\\n\");\nSystem.out.println(\"-----------\\n\");\nfor(int i=0; i<pool_list.length; i++)\n{\nSystem.out.println(pool_list[i]);\n}\n}\n\npublic void createPool(String poolname, String partition) throws Exception\n{\nString [] pool_list = new String[] {\"/\" + partition + \"/\" + poolname};\niControl.LocalLBLBMethod [] lb_methods = new iControl.LocalLBLBMethod[] { iControl.LocalLBLBMethod.LB_METHOD_ROUND_ROBIN };\niControl.CommonIPPortDefinition[][] membersAofA = new iControl.CommonIPPortDefinition[1][];\nmembersAofA[0] = new iControl.CommonIPPortDefinition[1];\nmembersAofA[0][0] = new iControl.CommonIPPortDefinition();\nmembersAofA[0][0].setAddress(\"10.10.10.10\");\nmembersAofA[0][0].setPort(80);\n\nm_interfaces.getLocalLBPool().create(\npool_list,\nlb_methods,\nmembersAofA\n);\n\nSystem.out.println(\"Pool \" + poolname + \" created in partition \" + partition);\n}

\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n# getPoolList\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nsub getPoolList()\n{\n$soapResponse = $Pool->get_list();\n&checkResponse($soapResponse);\nmy @pool_list = @{$soapResponse->result};\nprint \"POOL LIST\\n\";\nprint \"---------\\n\";\nforeach $pool (@pool_list) {\nprint \"  ${pool}\\n\";\n}\n}\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n# createPool()\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nsub createPool()\n{\nmy ($partition, $pool) = @_;\n\nprint \"CREATING POOL $pool\\n\";\n\nmy @pool_names = [$pool];\nmy @lb_methods = [\"LB_METHOD_ROUND_ROBIN\"]; \n  $member = \n  {\n    address => \"10.10.10.10\",\n    port => 80\n  };\n  \n  # memberA is the 1st dimension of the array, we need one for each pool\n  push @memberA, $member;\n  # memberAofA is the 2nd dimension. push pool members for each pool here.\n  push @memberAofA, [@memberA];\n\n$soapResponse = $Pool->create(\nSOAP::Data->name( pool_names => [\"/$partition/$pool\"]),\nSOAP::Data->name( lb_methods => [\"LB_METHOD_ROUND_ROBIN\"]),\n    SOAP::Data->name(members => [@memberAofA])\n);\n&checkResponse($soapResponse);\n\nprint \"POOL ${pool} created in partition ${partition}...\\n\";\n}

\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nfunction Get-PoolList()\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\n  $pool_list = $(Get-F5.iControl).LocalLBPool.get_list();\nWrite-Host \"POOL LIST\";\nWrite-Host \"---------\";\n  foreach($pool in $pool_list)\n  {\nWrite-Host \"  $pool\";\n}\n}\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nfunction Create-Pool()\n#\n#  Description:\n#    This function creates a new pool if the given pool name doesn't\n#    already exist.\n#\n#  Parameters:\n#    Name       - The Name of the pool you wish to create.\n#    MemberList - A string list of pool member addresses.\n#    MemberPort - The port the pool members will be configured with.\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\n  param(\n    [string]$Name,\n    [string[]]$MemberList,\n    [int]$MemberPort\n  );\n  \n  $IPPortDefList = New-Object -TypeName iControl.CommonIPPortDefinition[] $MemberList.Length;\n  for($i=0; $i-lt$MemberList.Length; $i++)\n  {\n    $IPPortDefList[$i] = New-Object -TypeName iControl.CommonIPPortDefinition;\n    $IPPortDefList[$i].address = $MemberList[$i];\n    $IPPortDefList[$i].port = $MemberPort;\n  }\n    \n  Write-Host \"Creating Pool $Name\";\n  $(Get-F5.iControl).LocalLBPool.create(\n    (,$Name),\n    (,\"LB_METHOD_ROUND_ROBIN\"),\n    (,$IPPortDefList)\n  );\n  Write-Host \"Pool '$Name' Successfully Created\";\n}

\ndef get_pool_list(bigip):\n    try:\n        poollist = bigip.LocalLB.Pool.get_list()\n        print \"POOL LIST\"\n        print \" ---------\"\n        for pool in poollist:\n            print \"   %s\" % pool\n\n    except Exception, e:\n        print e\n\n\ndef create_pool(bigip, pool):\n    try:\n        bigip.LocalLB.Pool.create_v2([pool], ['LB_METHOD_ROUND_ROBIN'], [[]])\n    except Exception, e:\n        print e

\n//--------------------------------------------------------\nfunction handleVERB(verb, resource, body, callback) {\n//--------------------------------------------------------\ngetAuthToken( function(token) {\nhttpRequest(verb, resource, body, null, null, token, function(json) {\ncallback(json);\n});\n});\n}\n\n//--------------------------------------------------------\nfunction handleGetPoolList(callback) {\n//--------------------------------------------------------\nvar uri = \"/mgmt/tm/ltm/pool\";\nhandleVERB(\"GET\", uri, null, function(json) {\ncallback(json);\n});\n}\n//--------------------------------------------------------\nfunction handleCreatePool(pool, partition, callback) {\n//--------------------------------------------------------\nvar uri = \"/mgmt/tm/ltm/pool\";\nvar body = '{\"name\":\"' + pool + '\", \"partition\":\"' + partition + '\"}';\n\nconsole.log(\"BODY: \" + body);\nhandleVERB(\"POST\", uri, body, function(json) {\ncallback(json);\n});\n}

\n#---------------------------------------------------\nsub getPoolList() {\n#---------------------------------------------------\n$resp_json = &handleGET(\"/mgmt/tm/ltm/pool\");\n$resp = decode_json($resp_json);\n@items = @{$resp->{\"items\"}};\n\nprint \"POOL NAMES\\n\";\nprint \"----------\\n\";\nforeach $item (@items) {\n$fullPath = $item->{\"fullPath\"};\nprint \"  $fullPath\\n\";\nprint Dumper($item);\n}\n}\n#---------------------------------------------------\nsub handleGET() {\n#---------------------------------------------------\nmy ($resource) = @_;\n\n$url = &buildURL($resource);\n\n$resp = &getHttpRequest($url);\n\nreturn $resp;\n}\n#---------------------------------------------------\nsub createPool() {\n#---------------------------------------------------\nmy ($pool, $partition) = @_;\n\nmy $poolObj;\n$poolObj->{\"name\"} = $pool;\n$poolObj->{\"partition\"} = $partition;\n\nmy $json = encode_json($poolObj);\n\nprint \"JSON: $json\\n\";\nexit();\n\n$resp = &handlePOST(\"/mgmt/tm/ltm/pool\", $json);\n\nprint Dumper($resp);\n}\n#---------------------------------------------------\nsub handlePOST() {\n#---------------------------------------------------\nmy ($resource, $body) = @_;\n\nif ( $body eq \"\" ) { &usage(); }\n\n$url = &buildURL($resource);\n\n$resp = &postHttpRequest($url, $body);\n\nreturn $resp;\n}

\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nfunction Get-PoolList()\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\n$uri = \"/mgmt/tm/ltm/pool\";\n$link = \"https://$Bigip$uri\";\n$headers = @{};\n$headers.Add(\"ServerHost\", $Bigip);\n\n$secpasswd = ConvertTo-SecureString $Pass -AsPlainText -Force\n$mycreds = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential ($User, $secpasswd)\n\n$obj = Invoke-RestMethod -Method GET -Headers $headers -Uri $link -Credential $mycreds\n$items = $obj.items;\nWrite-Host \"POOL NAMES\";\nWrite-Host \"----------\";\nfor($i=0; $i -lt $items.length; $i++) {\n$name = $items[$i].fullPath;\nWrite-Host \"  $name\";\n}\n}\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nfunction Create-Pool()\n#\n#  Description:\n#    This function creates a new pool if the given pool name doesn't\n#    already exist.\n#\n#  Parameters:\n#    Name       - The Name of the pool you wish to create.\n#    Partition  - The name of the partition to place the pool in.\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\n  param(\n    [string]$Name,\n[string]$Partition\n  );\n\n$uri = \"/mgmt/tm/ltm/pool\";\n$link = \"https://$Bigip$uri\";\n$headers = @{};\n$headers.Add(\"ServerHost\", $Bigip);\n$headers.Add(\"Content-Type\", \"application/json\");\n$obj = @{\nname=$Name\npartition=$Partition\n};\n$body = $obj | ConvertTo-Json\n\n$secpasswd = ConvertTo-SecureString $Pass -AsPlainText -Force\n$mycreds = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential ($User, $secpasswd)\n\n$obj = Invoke-RestMethod -Method POST -Uri $link -Headers $headers -Credential $mycreds -Body $body;\n\nWrite-Host \"Pool ${Name} created in partition ${Partition}\"\n}

\ndef get_pool_list(bigip, url):\n    try:\n        pools = bigip.get(\"%s/ltm/pool\" % url).json()\n        print \"POOL LIST\"\n        print \" ---------\"\n        for pool in pools['items']:\n            print \"   /%s/%s\" % (pool['partition'], pool['name'])\n    except Exception, e:\n        print e\n\n\ndef create_pool(bigip, url, pool, part=None):\n    try:\n        payload = {}\n        payload['name'] = pool\n        if part is not None:\n            payload['partition'] = part\n\n        pool_config = bigip.post(\"%s/ltm/pool\" % url, json.dumps(payload)).json()\n        print pool_config\n    except Exception, e:\n        print e

Working with the Data-Group Object

Data-groups are interesting objects with which to work, primarily because you can have internal data-groups, which are wholly contained within bigip.conf, and external data-groups, which has it's definition in bigip.conf but the records are kept in an external file. Also interesting is that this particular object has different attributes via soap than it does in rest. In soap, all the records can be individually managed, so you can add, find, and delete on a record by record basis. Not so with rest. In rest we have the concepts of collections and a subcollections. A collection is like a list of pools. A sub-collection would be the members of a pool. Ideally, a data-group itself would be part of a collection, and it's records would be a subcollection, but that is not the case today. This has major implications if you want to update a data-group. Say you have a data-group with 10,000 records. You want add a record, so you issue an HTTP PUT method with your payload of one record. Instead of the desired outcome of a modified data-group with 10,001 records, you now have a much smaller data-group of exactly one record. Not good! So make sure if you are using the rest interface with data-groups, you store all the existing records, make all your adds/changes/deletes, then PUT the entire record collection. But where the soap interface has the upper hand with being able to update individual records, rest punches back with the ability to list out all data-group at once, whereas with soap, you have to query each type of data-group among string, integer, and address. So there are some pros and cons to both approaches to weigh as you dig in.

• iControl SOAP\n\n
  • Java
  • Perl
  • Powershell
  • Python
  \n
• iControl REST\n
  • Node.js
  • Perl
  • Powershell
  • Python
  \n

\npublic void createDataGroup(String datagroup) throws Exception\n{\n// Create String Class\niControl.LocalLBClassStringClass [] StringClassA = new iControl.LocalLBClassStringClass[1];\nStringClassA[0] = new iControl.LocalLBClassStringClass();\nStringClassA[0].setName(datagroup);\nStringClassA[0].setMembers(new String [] { \"a\", \"b\", \"c\" });\n\nm_interfaces.getLocalLBClass().create_string_class(StringClassA);\n\n// Set Values\nString [][] valuesAofA = new String[1][];\nvaluesAofA[0] = new String[] { \"data 1\", \"data 2\", \"data 3\" };\n\nm_interfaces.getLocalLBClass().set_string_class_member_data_value(\nStringClassA,\nvaluesAofA\n);\n\ngetDataGroup(datagroup);\n}\npublic void removeFromDataGroup(String datagroup) throws Exception\n{\nString [] names = new String[] {\"c\"};\n\niControl.LocalLBClassStringClass [] StringClassA = new iControl.LocalLBClassStringClass[1];\nStringClassA[0] = new iControl.LocalLBClassStringClass();\nStringClassA[0].setName(datagroup);\nStringClassA[0].setMembers(new String [] { \"c\" });\n\nm_interfaces.getLocalLBClass().delete_string_class_member(StringClassA);\n\ngetDataGroup(datagroup);\n}\n\n//--------------------------------------------------------------------------\n//\n//--------------------------------------------------------------------------\npublic void addToDataGroup(String datagroup) throws Exception\n{\n// Create String Class\niControl.LocalLBClassStringClass [] StringClassA = new iControl.LocalLBClassStringClass[1];\nStringClassA[0] = new iControl.LocalLBClassStringClass();\nStringClassA[0].setName(datagroup);\nStringClassA[0].setMembers(new String [] { \"d\", \"e\" });\n\nm_interfaces.getLocalLBClass().add_string_class_member(StringClassA);\n\n// Set Values\nString [][] valuesAofA = new String[1][];\nvaluesAofA[0] = new String[] { \"data 4\", \"data 5\" };\n\nm_interfaces.getLocalLBClass().set_string_class_member_data_value(\nStringClassA,\nvaluesAofA\n);\n\ngetDataGroup(datagroup);\n}

\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nsub createDataGroup()\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\nmy ($datagroup) = @_;\n\n  my @names = (\"a\", \"b\", \"c\");\n\n  my $StringClass =\n  {\n    name => $datagroup,\n    members => [@names]\n  };\n\n# Create Data group with names\n$soapResponse = $Class->create_string_class(\nSOAP::Data->name(classes => [$StringClass])\n);\n&checkResponse($soapResponse);\n\n# Set values\n  # Build Values 2-D Array for values parameter\n  my @valuesA = (\"data 1\", \"data 2\", \"data 3\");\n  my @valuesAofA;\n  push @valuesAofA, [@valuesA];\n  $soapResponse = $Class->set_string_class_member_data_value\n  (\n    SOAP::Data->name(class_members => [$StringClass]),\n    SOAP::Data->name(values => [@valuesAofA])\n  );\n  &checkResponse($soapResponse);\n\n&getDataGroup($datagroup);\n}\n\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nsub removeFromDataGroup()\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\nmy ($datagroup) = @_;\n\n  my @names = (\"c\");\n\n  my $StringClass =\n  {\n    name => $datagroup,\n    members => [@names]\n  };\n\n# Create Data group with names\n$soapResponse = $Class->delete_string_class_member(\nSOAP::Data->name(class_members => [$StringClass])\n);\n&checkResponse($soapResponse);\n\n&getDataGroup($datagroup);\n}\n\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nsub addToDataGroup()\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\nmy ($datagroup) = @_;\n\n  my @names = (\"d\", \"e\");\n\n  my $StringClass =\n  {\n    name => $datagroup,\n    members => [@names]\n  };\n\n# Create Data group with names\n$soapResponse = $Class->add_string_class_member(\nSOAP::Data->name(class_members => [$StringClass])\n);\n&checkResponse($soapResponse);\n\n# Set values\n  # Build Values 2-D Array for values parameter\n  my @valuesA = (\"data 4\", \"data 5\");\n  my @valuesAofA;\n  push @valuesAofA, [@valuesA];\n  $soapResponse = $Class->set_string_class_member_data_value\n  (\n    SOAP::Data->name(class_members => [$StringClass]),\n    SOAP::Data->name(values => [@valuesAofA])\n  );\n  &checkResponse($soapResponse);\n\n&getDataGroup($datagroup);\n}

\n#-------------------------------------------------------------------------\nfunction Create-DataGroup()\n#-------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\nparam(\n[string]$Name\n);\n\n$StringClassA = New-Object -TypeName iControl.LocalLBClassStringClass[] 1;\n$StringClassA[0] = New-Object -TypeName iControl.LocalLBClassStringClass;\n$StringClassA[0].name = $Name;\n$StringClassA[0].members = (\"a\", \"b\", \"c\");\n\n$(Get-F5.iControl).LocalLBClass.create_string_class(\n$StringClassA\n);\n\n$DataValueA = (\"data 1\", \"data 2\", \"data 3\");\n$DataValuesAofA = \n$(Get-F5.iControl).LocalLBClass.set_string_class_member_data_value(\n$StringClassA,\n(, $DataValueA)\n)\n\nGet-DataGroup -Name $Name;\n}\n\n#-------------------------------------------------------------------------\nfunction RemoveFrom-DataGroup()\n#-------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\nparam(\n[string]$Name\n);\n\n$StringClassA = New-Object -TypeName iControl.LocalLBClassStringClass[] 1;\n$StringClassA[0] = New-Object -TypeName iControl.LocalLBClassStringClass;\n$StringClassA[0].name = $Name;\n$StringClassA[0].members = (\"c\");\n\n$(Get-F5.iControl).LocalLBClass.delete_string_class_member(\n$StringClassA\n);\n\nGet-DataGroup -Name $Name;\n}\n\n#-------------------------------------------------------------------------\nfunction AddTo-DataGroup()\n#-------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\nparam(\n[string]$Name\n);\n\n$StringClassA = New-Object -TypeName iControl.LocalLBClassStringClass[] 1;\n$StringClassA[0] = New-Object -TypeName iControl.LocalLBClassStringClass;\n$StringClassA[0].name = $Name;\n$StringClassA[0].members = (\"d\", \"e\");\n\n$(Get-F5.iControl).LocalLBClass.add_string_class_member(\n$StringClassA\n);\n\n$DataValueA = (\"data 4\", \"data 5\");\n$DataValuesAofA = \n$(Get-F5.iControl).LocalLBClass.set_string_class_member_data_value(\n$StringClassA,\n(, $DataValueA)\n)\n\nGet-DataGroup -Name $Name;\n}

\ndef get_dg_list(bigip):\n    try:\n        dg_str_list = bigip.LocalLB.Class.get_string_class_list()\n        dg_str_names = bigip.LocalLB.Class.get_string_class(dg_str_list)\n\n\n        for dg in dg_str_names:\n            print dg\n            print '   Data Group: %s' % dg['name']\n            for x in dg['members']:\n                print '       %s' % x\n\n    except Exception, e:\n        print e\n\n\ndef extend_dg(bigip, dgname, keys, values):\n    try:\n        bigip.LocalLB.Class.add_string_class_member([{'name': dgname, 'members': keys}])\n        bigip.LocalLB.Class.set_string_class_member_data_value([{'name': dgname, 'members': keys}], [[values]])\n    except Exception, e:\n        print e\n\n\ndef contract_dg(bigip, dgname, keys):\n    try:\n        bigip.LocalLB.Class.delete_string_class_member([{'name': dgname, 'members': keys}])\n    except Exception, e:\n        print e\n\n\ndef create_dg(bigip, dgname, keys, values):\n    try:\n        bigip.LocalLB.Class.create_string_class([{'name': dgname, 'members': keys}])\n        bigip.LocalLB.Class.set_string_class_member_data_value([{'name': dgname, 'members': keys}], [[values]])\n    except Exception, e:\n        print e

\n//--------------------------------------------------------\nfunction createDataGroup(datagroup) {\n//--------------------------------------------------------\n\ndatagroup = datagroup.replace(/\\//g, \"~\");\nvar uri = \"/mgmt/tm/ltm/data-group/internal\";\n\nvar dgObj = {};\ndgObj.name = datagroup;\ndgObj.type = \"string\";\ndgObj.records = [\n{name: \"a\", data: \"data 1\"},\n{name: \"b\", data: \"data 2\"},\n{name: \"c\", data: \"data 3\"},\n];\n\nvar body = JSON.stringify(dgObj);\n\nhandleVERB(\"POST\", uri, body, function(json) {\nconsole.log(json);\n});\n}\n\n//--------------------------------------------------------\nfunction removeFromDataGroup(datagroup) {\n//--------------------------------------------------------\ndg_uri = datagroup.replace(/\\//g, \"~\");\nvar uri = \"/mgmt/tm/ltm/data-group/internal/\" + dg_uri;\n\nvar dgObj = {};\ndgObj.name = datagroup;\ndgObj.records = [\n{name: \"a\", data: \"data 1\"},\n{name: \"b\", data: \"data 2\"}\n];\n\nvar body = JSON.stringify(dgObj);\n\nhandleVERB(\"PATCH\", uri, body, function(json) {\nconsole.log(json);\n});\n}\n\n//--------------------------------------------------------\nfunction addToDataGroup(datagroup) {\n//--------------------------------------------------------\ndg_uri = datagroup.replace(/\\//g, \"~\");\nvar uri = \"/mgmt/tm/ltm/data-group/internal/\" + dg_uri;\n\nvar dgObj = {};\ndgObj.name = datagroup;\ndgObj.records = [\n{name: \"a\", data: \"data 1\"},\n{name: \"b\", data: \"data 2\"},\n{name: \"d\", data: \"data 4\"},\n{name: \"e\", data: \"data 5\"}\n];\n\nvar body = JSON.stringify(dgObj);\n\nhandleVERB(\"PATCH\", uri, body, function(json) {\nconsole.log(json);\n});\n}

\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nsub createDataGroup()\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\nmy ($datagroup) = @_;\n\n  my @names = (\"a\", \"b\", \"c\");\n\n  my $StringClass =\n  {\n    name => $datagroup,\n    members => [@names]\n  };\n\n# Create Data group with names\n$soapResponse = $Class->create_string_class(\nSOAP::Data->name(classes => [$StringClass])\n);\n&checkResponse($soapResponse);\n\n# Set values\n  # Build Values 2-D Array for values parameter\n  my @valuesA = (\"data 1\", \"data 2\", \"data 3\");\n  my @valuesAofA;\n  push @valuesAofA, [@valuesA];\n  $soapResponse = $Class->set_string_class_member_data_value\n  (\n    SOAP::Data->name(class_members => [$StringClass]),\n    SOAP::Data->name(values => [@valuesAofA])\n  );\n  &checkResponse($soapResponse);\n\n&getDataGroup($datagroup);\n}\n\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nsub removeFromDataGroup()\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\nmy ($datagroup) = @_;\n\n  my @names = (\"c\");\n\n  my $StringClass =\n  {\n    name => $datagroup,\n    members => [@names]\n  };\n\n# Create Data group with names\n$soapResponse = $Class->delete_string_class_member(\nSOAP::Data->name(class_members => [$StringClass])\n);\n&checkResponse($soapResponse);\n\n&getDataGroup($datagroup);\n}\n\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nsub addToDataGroup()\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\nmy ($datagroup) = @_;\n\n  my @names = (\"d\", \"e\");\n\n  my $StringClass =\n  {\n    name => $datagroup,\n    members => [@names]\n  };\n\n# Create Data group with names\n$soapResponse = $Class->add_string_class_member(\nSOAP::Data->name(class_members => [$StringClass])\n);\n&checkResponse($soapResponse);\n\n# Set values\n  # Build Values 2-D Array for values parameter\n  my @valuesA = (\"data 4\", \"data 5\");\n  my @valuesAofA;\n  push @valuesAofA, [@valuesA];\n  $soapResponse = $Class->set_string_class_member_data_value\n  (\n    SOAP::Data->name(class_members => [$StringClass]),\n    SOAP::Data->name(values => [@valuesAofA])\n  );\n  &checkResponse($soapResponse);\n\n&getDataGroup($datagroup);\n}

\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nfunction Create-DataGroup()\n#\n#  Description:\n#    This function creates a new internal data group\n#\n#  Parameters:\n#    Name       - The Name of the data group\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\n  param(\n    [string]$Name\n  );\n\n$uri = \"/mgmt/tm/ltm/data-group/internal\";\n$link = \"https://$Bigip$uri\";\n$headers = @{};\n$headers.Add(\"ServerHost\", $Bigip);\n$headers.Add(\"Content-Type\", \"application/json\");\n$obj = @{\nname=$Name\ntype=\"string\"\nrecords= (\n@{ name=\"a\"\ndata=\"data 1\"\n},\n@{ name=\"b\"\ndata=\"data 2\"\n},\n@{ name=\"c\"\ndata=\"data 3\"\n}\n)\n};\n$body = $obj | ConvertTo-Json\n\n$secpasswd = ConvertTo-SecureString $Pass -AsPlainText -Force\n$mycreds = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential ($User, $secpasswd)\n\n$obj = Invoke-RestMethod -Method POST -Uri $link -Headers $headers -Credential $mycreds -Body $body;\n\nWrite-Host \"Pool ${Name} created in partition ${Partition}\"\n}\n\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nfunction RemoveFrom-DataGroup()\n#\n#  Description:\n#    This function removes an entry from a data group\n#\n#  Parameters:\n#    Name       - The Name of the data group\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\n  param(\n    [string]$Name\n  );\n\n$uri = \"/mgmt/tm/ltm/data-group/internal/${Name}\";\n$link = \"https://$Bigip$uri\";\n$headers = @{};\n$headers.Add(\"ServerHost\", $Bigip);\n$headers.Add(\"Content-Type\", \"application/json\");\n$obj = @{\nname=$Name\nrecords= (\n@{ name=\"a\"\ndata=\"data 1\"\n},\n@{ name=\"b\"\ndata=\"data 2\"\n}\n)\n};\n$body = $obj | ConvertTo-Json\n\n$secpasswd = ConvertTo-SecureString $Pass -AsPlainText -Force\n$mycreds = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential ($User, $secpasswd)\n\n$obj = Invoke-RestMethod -Method PATCH -Uri $link -Headers $headers -Credential $mycreds -Body $body;\n\n$obj | Format-List\n}\n\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nfunction AddTo-DataGroup()\n#\n#  Description:\n#    This function adds records to an existing data group\n#\n#  Parameters:\n#    Name       - The Name of the data group\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\n  param(\n    [string]$Name\n  );\n\n$uri = \"/mgmt/tm/ltm/data-group/internal/${Name}\";\n$link = \"https://$Bigip$uri\";\n$headers = @{};\n$headers.Add(\"ServerHost\", $Bigip);\n$headers.Add(\"Content-Type\", \"application/json\");\n$obj = @{\nname=$Name\nrecords= (\n@{ name=\"a\"\ndata=\"data 1\"\n},\n@{ name=\"b\"\ndata=\"data 2\"\n},\n@{ name=\"d\"\ndata=\"data 4\"\n},\n@{ name=\"e\"\ndata=\"data 5\"\n}\n)\n};\n$body = $obj | ConvertTo-Json\n\n$secpasswd = ConvertTo-SecureString $Pass -AsPlainText -Force\n$mycreds = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential ($User, $secpasswd)\n\n$obj = Invoke-RestMethod -Method PATCH -Uri $link -Headers $headers -Credential $mycreds -Body $body;\n\n$obj | Format-List\n}

\ndef get_dg_list(rq, url):\n    try:\n        dg_list = rq.get('%s/ltm/data-group/internal' % url).json()\n        for dg in dg_list['items']:\n            print dg\n            print '   Data Group: %s' % dg['name']\n            print '   --------------'\n            if 'records' in dg:\n                for record in dg['records']:\n                    if 'data' in record:\n                        print '      %s: %s' % (record['name'], record['data'])\n                    else:\n                        print '      %s' % record['name']\n\n    except Exception, e:\n        print e\n\n\ndef extend_dg(rq, url, dgname, additional_records):\n    dg = rq.get('%s/ltm/data-group/internal/%s' % (url, dgname)).json()\n\n    current_records = dg['records']\n    new_records = []\n    for record in current_records:\n        if 'data' in record:\n            nr = [{'name': record['name'], 'data': record['data']}]\n        else:\n            nr = [{'name': record['name']}]\n        new_records.extend(nr)\n    for record in additional_records:\n        if 'data' in record:\n            nr = [{'name': record['name'], 'data': record['data']}]\n        else:\n            nr = [{'name': record['name']}]\n        new_records.extend(nr)\n\n    payload = {}\n    payload['records'] = new_records\n    rq.put('%s/ltm/data-group/internal/%s' % (url, dgname), json.dumps(payload))\n\n\ndef contract_dg(rq, url, dgname, removal_records):\n    dg = rq.get('%s/ltm/data-group/internal/%s' % (url, dgname)).json()\n    current_records = dg['records']\n\n    new_records = []\n    for record in removal_records:\n        if 'data' in record:\n            nr = [{'name': record['name'], 'data': record['data']}]\n        else:\n            nr = [{'name': record['name']}]\n        new_records.extend(nr)\n\n    new_records = [x for x in current_records if x not in new_records]\n\n    payload = {}\n    payload['records'] = new_records\n    rq.put('%s/ltm/data-group/internal/%s' % (url, dgname), json.dumps(payload))\n\n\ndef create_dg(rq, url, dgname, records):\n    new_records = []\n    for record in records:\n        if 'data' in record:\n            nr = [{'name': record['name'], 'data': record['data']}]\n        else:\n            nr = [{'name': record['name']}]\n        new_records.extend(nr)\n\n    payload = {}\n    payload['type'] = 'string'\n    payload['name'] = dgname\n    payload['records'] = new_records\n    try:\n        rq.post('%s/ltm/data-group/internal' % url, json.dumps(payload))\n    except Exception, e:\n        print e

Resources

All the scripts for this article are available in the codeshare under \"Getting Started with iControl Code Samples.\"

In the previous articles in the Getting Started with iControl series, we covered the history of iControl, taxonomy, and introduced the languages most common to our community. In this article, we'll start looking at some code samples. With each task we cover, we'll show an example for a few languages for both the soap and rest interface. The sheer amount of space in this article required to show full samples of each language for both soap and rest would be overwhelming in line, so for the sample code, we have pulled out the appropriate sections of the code for you to study. Understand that based on the libraries used, if at all, some of the work may be abstracted. Full scripts for each language and portal preference are linked at the bottom of this article. If you click each of the iControl REST and iControl SOAP tabs, you'll see a language listing for the sample code provided. Joe Pruitt is the super hero providing everything not python here, so give him a shout out next time you see him in these parts.

Note: This article published by Jason Rahm but co-authored with Joe Pruitt.

With all the disclaimers out of the way, let's get down to business! The first thing you have to do to talk to the BIG-IP is know where to connect. Some prerequisites:

• BIG-IP Hostname
• Username
• Password
• Portal URL\n
  • rest: https://host/mgmt/<tm> (most calls are for /tm, though there are others)
  • soap: https://host/iControl/iControlPortal.cgi
  \n

There are dozens of articles and codeshare samples on DevCentral on creating/modifying objects both in rest and soap, so we're not going to cover all the details ad nauseam here. But we do want to introduce the basic concepts of retrieving, creating, and modifying a couple simple objects in this article. The first one we'll tackle is one of the most important building blocks of the BIG-IP configuration: the pool.

Working with the Pool Object

The pool has many attributes that can be set, but not all are required. In this exercise however, we're going to simply demonstrate the creation of a pool and a pool listing. The pool object can be created via rest with a simple name, and with soap with the name, the lb method, and the members attribute (it can be empty, but the attribute needs to be present.)

• iControl SOAP\n\n
  • Java
  • Perl
  • Powershell
  • Python
  \n
• iControl REST\n
  • Node.js
  • Perl
  • Powershell
  • Python
  \n

\npublic void displayAllPools() throws Exception\n{\nString [] pool_list = m_interfaces.getLocalLBPool().get_list();\nSystem.out.println(\"Pools\\n\");\nSystem.out.println(\"-----------\\n\");\nfor(int i=0; i<pool_list.length; i++)\n{\nSystem.out.println(pool_list[i]);\n}\n}\n\npublic void createPool(String poolname, String partition) throws Exception\n{\nString [] pool_list = new String[] {\"/\" + partition + \"/\" + poolname};\niControl.LocalLBLBMethod [] lb_methods = new iControl.LocalLBLBMethod[] { iControl.LocalLBLBMethod.LB_METHOD_ROUND_ROBIN };\niControl.CommonIPPortDefinition[][] membersAofA = new iControl.CommonIPPortDefinition[1][];\nmembersAofA[0] = new iControl.CommonIPPortDefinition[1];\nmembersAofA[0][0] = new iControl.CommonIPPortDefinition();\nmembersAofA[0][0].setAddress(\"10.10.10.10\");\nmembersAofA[0][0].setPort(80);\n\nm_interfaces.getLocalLBPool().create(\npool_list,\nlb_methods,\nmembersAofA\n);\n\nSystem.out.println(\"Pool \" + poolname + \" created in partition \" + partition);\n}

\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n# getPoolList\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nsub getPoolList()\n{\n$soapResponse = $Pool->get_list();\n&checkResponse($soapResponse);\nmy @pool_list = @{$soapResponse->result};\nprint \"POOL LIST\\n\";\nprint \"---------\\n\";\nforeach $pool (@pool_list) {\nprint \"  ${pool}\\n\";\n}\n}\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n# createPool()\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nsub createPool()\n{\nmy ($partition, $pool) = @_;\n\nprint \"CREATING POOL $pool\\n\";\n\nmy @pool_names = [$pool];\nmy @lb_methods = [\"LB_METHOD_ROUND_ROBIN\"]; \n  $member = \n  {\n    address => \"10.10.10.10\",\n    port => 80\n  };\n  \n  # memberA is the 1st dimension of the array, we need one for each pool\n  push @memberA, $member;\n  # memberAofA is the 2nd dimension. push pool members for each pool here.\n  push @memberAofA, [@memberA];\n\n$soapResponse = $Pool->create(\nSOAP::Data->name( pool_names => [\"/$partition/$pool\"]),\nSOAP::Data->name( lb_methods => [\"LB_METHOD_ROUND_ROBIN\"]),\n    SOAP::Data->name(members => [@memberAofA])\n);\n&checkResponse($soapResponse);\n\nprint \"POOL ${pool} created in partition ${partition}...\\n\";\n}

\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nfunction Get-PoolList()\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\n  $pool_list = $(Get-F5.iControl).LocalLBPool.get_list();\nWrite-Host \"POOL LIST\";\nWrite-Host \"---------\";\n  foreach($pool in $pool_list)\n  {\nWrite-Host \"  $pool\";\n}\n}\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nfunction Create-Pool()\n#\n#  Description:\n#    This function creates a new pool if the given pool name doesn't\n#    already exist.\n#\n#  Parameters:\n#    Name       - The Name of the pool you wish to create.\n#    MemberList - A string list of pool member addresses.\n#    MemberPort - The port the pool members will be configured with.\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\n  param(\n    [string]$Name,\n    [string[]]$MemberList,\n    [int]$MemberPort\n  );\n  \n  $IPPortDefList = New-Object -TypeName iControl.CommonIPPortDefinition[] $MemberList.Length;\n  for($i=0; $i-lt$MemberList.Length; $i++)\n  {\n    $IPPortDefList[$i] = New-Object -TypeName iControl.CommonIPPortDefinition;\n    $IPPortDefList[$i].address = $MemberList[$i];\n    $IPPortDefList[$i].port = $MemberPort;\n  }\n    \n  Write-Host \"Creating Pool $Name\";\n  $(Get-F5.iControl).LocalLBPool.create(\n    (,$Name),\n    (,\"LB_METHOD_ROUND_ROBIN\"),\n    (,$IPPortDefList)\n  );\n  Write-Host \"Pool '$Name' Successfully Created\";\n}

\ndef get_pool_list(bigip):\n    try:\n        poollist = bigip.LocalLB.Pool.get_list()\n        print \"POOL LIST\"\n        print \" ---------\"\n        for pool in poollist:\n            print \"   %s\" % pool\n\n    except Exception, e:\n        print e\n\n\ndef create_pool(bigip, pool):\n    try:\n        bigip.LocalLB.Pool.create_v2([pool], ['LB_METHOD_ROUND_ROBIN'], [[]])\n    except Exception, e:\n        print e

\n//--------------------------------------------------------\nfunction handleVERB(verb, resource, body, callback) {\n//--------------------------------------------------------\ngetAuthToken( function(token) {\nhttpRequest(verb, resource, body, null, null, token, function(json) {\ncallback(json);\n});\n});\n}\n\n//--------------------------------------------------------\nfunction handleGetPoolList(callback) {\n//--------------------------------------------------------\nvar uri = \"/mgmt/tm/ltm/pool\";\nhandleVERB(\"GET\", uri, null, function(json) {\ncallback(json);\n});\n}\n//--------------------------------------------------------\nfunction handleCreatePool(pool, partition, callback) {\n//--------------------------------------------------------\nvar uri = \"/mgmt/tm/ltm/pool\";\nvar body = '{\"name\":\"' + pool + '\", \"partition\":\"' + partition + '\"}';\n\nconsole.log(\"BODY: \" + body);\nhandleVERB(\"POST\", uri, body, function(json) {\ncallback(json);\n});\n}

\n#---------------------------------------------------\nsub getPoolList() {\n#---------------------------------------------------\n$resp_json = &handleGET(\"/mgmt/tm/ltm/pool\");\n$resp = decode_json($resp_json);\n@items = @{$resp->{\"items\"}};\n\nprint \"POOL NAMES\\n\";\nprint \"----------\\n\";\nforeach $item (@items) {\n$fullPath = $item->{\"fullPath\"};\nprint \"  $fullPath\\n\";\nprint Dumper($item);\n}\n}\n#---------------------------------------------------\nsub handleGET() {\n#---------------------------------------------------\nmy ($resource) = @_;\n\n$url = &buildURL($resource);\n\n$resp = &getHttpRequest($url);\n\nreturn $resp;\n}\n#---------------------------------------------------\nsub createPool() {\n#---------------------------------------------------\nmy ($pool, $partition) = @_;\n\nmy $poolObj;\n$poolObj->{\"name\"} = $pool;\n$poolObj->{\"partition\"} = $partition;\n\nmy $json = encode_json($poolObj);\n\nprint \"JSON: $json\\n\";\nexit();\n\n$resp = &handlePOST(\"/mgmt/tm/ltm/pool\", $json);\n\nprint Dumper($resp);\n}\n#---------------------------------------------------\nsub handlePOST() {\n#---------------------------------------------------\nmy ($resource, $body) = @_;\n\nif ( $body eq \"\" ) { &usage(); }\n\n$url = &buildURL($resource);\n\n$resp = &postHttpRequest($url, $body);\n\nreturn $resp;\n}

\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nfunction Get-PoolList()\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\n$uri = \"/mgmt/tm/ltm/pool\";\n$link = \"https://$Bigip$uri\";\n$headers = @{};\n$headers.Add(\"ServerHost\", $Bigip);\n\n$secpasswd = ConvertTo-SecureString $Pass -AsPlainText -Force\n$mycreds = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential ($User, $secpasswd)\n\n$obj = Invoke-RestMethod -Method GET -Headers $headers -Uri $link -Credential $mycreds\n$items = $obj.items;\nWrite-Host \"POOL NAMES\";\nWrite-Host \"----------\";\nfor($i=0; $i -lt $items.length; $i++) {\n$name = $items[$i].fullPath;\nWrite-Host \"  $name\";\n}\n}\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nfunction Create-Pool()\n#\n#  Description:\n#    This function creates a new pool if the given pool name doesn't\n#    already exist.\n#\n#  Parameters:\n#    Name       - The Name of the pool you wish to create.\n#    Partition  - The name of the partition to place the pool in.\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\n  param(\n    [string]$Name,\n[string]$Partition\n  );\n\n$uri = \"/mgmt/tm/ltm/pool\";\n$link = \"https://$Bigip$uri\";\n$headers = @{};\n$headers.Add(\"ServerHost\", $Bigip);\n$headers.Add(\"Content-Type\", \"application/json\");\n$obj = @{\nname=$Name\npartition=$Partition\n};\n$body = $obj | ConvertTo-Json\n\n$secpasswd = ConvertTo-SecureString $Pass -AsPlainText -Force\n$mycreds = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential ($User, $secpasswd)\n\n$obj = Invoke-RestMethod -Method POST -Uri $link -Headers $headers -Credential $mycreds -Body $body;\n\nWrite-Host \"Pool ${Name} created in partition ${Partition}\"\n}

\ndef get_pool_list(bigip, url):\n    try:\n        pools = bigip.get(\"%s/ltm/pool\" % url).json()\n        print \"POOL LIST\"\n        print \" ---------\"\n        for pool in pools['items']:\n            print \"   /%s/%s\" % (pool['partition'], pool['name'])\n    except Exception, e:\n        print e\n\n\ndef create_pool(bigip, url, pool, part=None):\n    try:\n        payload = {}\n        payload['name'] = pool\n        if part is not None:\n            payload['partition'] = part\n\n        pool_config = bigip.post(\"%s/ltm/pool\" % url, json.dumps(payload)).json()\n        print pool_config\n    except Exception, e:\n        print e

Working with the Data-Group Object

Data-groups are interesting objects with which to work, primarily because you can have internal data-groups, which are wholly contained within bigip.conf, and external data-groups, which has it's definition in bigip.conf but the records are kept in an external file. Also interesting is that this particular object has different attributes via soap than it does in rest. In soap, all the records can be individually managed, so you can add, find, and delete on a record by record basis. Not so with rest. In rest we have the concepts of collections and a subcollections. A collection is like a list of pools. A sub-collection would be the members of a pool. Ideally, a data-group itself would be part of a collection, and it's records would be a subcollection, but that is not the case today. This has major implications if you want to update a data-group. Say you have a data-group with 10,000 records. You want add a record, so you issue an HTTP PUT method with your payload of one record. Instead of the desired outcome of a modified data-group with 10,001 records, you now have a much smaller data-group of exactly one record. Not good! So make sure if you are using the rest interface with data-groups, you store all the existing records, make all your adds/changes/deletes, then PUT the entire record collection. But where the soap interface has the upper hand with being able to update individual records, rest punches back with the ability to list out all data-group at once, whereas with soap, you have to query each type of data-group among string, integer, and address. So there are some pros and cons to both approaches to weigh as you dig in.

• iControl SOAP\n\n
  • Java
  • Perl
  • Powershell
  • Python
  \n
• iControl REST\n
  • Node.js
  • Perl
  • Powershell
  • Python
  \n

\npublic void createDataGroup(String datagroup) throws Exception\n{\n// Create String Class\niControl.LocalLBClassStringClass [] StringClassA = new iControl.LocalLBClassStringClass[1];\nStringClassA[0] = new iControl.LocalLBClassStringClass();\nStringClassA[0].setName(datagroup);\nStringClassA[0].setMembers(new String [] { \"a\", \"b\", \"c\" });\n\nm_interfaces.getLocalLBClass().create_string_class(StringClassA);\n\n// Set Values\nString [][] valuesAofA = new String[1][];\nvaluesAofA[0] = new String[] { \"data 1\", \"data 2\", \"data 3\" };\n\nm_interfaces.getLocalLBClass().set_string_class_member_data_value(\nStringClassA,\nvaluesAofA\n);\n\ngetDataGroup(datagroup);\n}\npublic void removeFromDataGroup(String datagroup) throws Exception\n{\nString [] names = new String[] {\"c\"};\n\niControl.LocalLBClassStringClass [] StringClassA = new iControl.LocalLBClassStringClass[1];\nStringClassA[0] = new iControl.LocalLBClassStringClass();\nStringClassA[0].setName(datagroup);\nStringClassA[0].setMembers(new String [] { \"c\" });\n\nm_interfaces.getLocalLBClass().delete_string_class_member(StringClassA);\n\ngetDataGroup(datagroup);\n}\n\n//--------------------------------------------------------------------------\n//\n//--------------------------------------------------------------------------\npublic void addToDataGroup(String datagroup) throws Exception\n{\n// Create String Class\niControl.LocalLBClassStringClass [] StringClassA = new iControl.LocalLBClassStringClass[1];\nStringClassA[0] = new iControl.LocalLBClassStringClass();\nStringClassA[0].setName(datagroup);\nStringClassA[0].setMembers(new String [] { \"d\", \"e\" });\n\nm_interfaces.getLocalLBClass().add_string_class_member(StringClassA);\n\n// Set Values\nString [][] valuesAofA = new String[1][];\nvaluesAofA[0] = new String[] { \"data 4\", \"data 5\" };\n\nm_interfaces.getLocalLBClass().set_string_class_member_data_value(\nStringClassA,\nvaluesAofA\n);\n\ngetDataGroup(datagroup);\n}

\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nsub createDataGroup()\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\nmy ($datagroup) = @_;\n\n  my @names = (\"a\", \"b\", \"c\");\n\n  my $StringClass =\n  {\n    name => $datagroup,\n    members => [@names]\n  };\n\n# Create Data group with names\n$soapResponse = $Class->create_string_class(\nSOAP::Data->name(classes => [$StringClass])\n);\n&checkResponse($soapResponse);\n\n# Set values\n  # Build Values 2-D Array for values parameter\n  my @valuesA = (\"data 1\", \"data 2\", \"data 3\");\n  my @valuesAofA;\n  push @valuesAofA, [@valuesA];\n  $soapResponse = $Class->set_string_class_member_data_value\n  (\n    SOAP::Data->name(class_members => [$StringClass]),\n    SOAP::Data->name(values => [@valuesAofA])\n  );\n  &checkResponse($soapResponse);\n\n&getDataGroup($datagroup);\n}\n\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nsub removeFromDataGroup()\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\nmy ($datagroup) = @_;\n\n  my @names = (\"c\");\n\n  my $StringClass =\n  {\n    name => $datagroup,\n    members => [@names]\n  };\n\n# Create Data group with names\n$soapResponse = $Class->delete_string_class_member(\nSOAP::Data->name(class_members => [$StringClass])\n);\n&checkResponse($soapResponse);\n\n&getDataGroup($datagroup);\n}\n\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nsub addToDataGroup()\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\nmy ($datagroup) = @_;\n\n  my @names = (\"d\", \"e\");\n\n  my $StringClass =\n  {\n    name => $datagroup,\n    members => [@names]\n  };\n\n# Create Data group with names\n$soapResponse = $Class->add_string_class_member(\nSOAP::Data->name(class_members => [$StringClass])\n);\n&checkResponse($soapResponse);\n\n# Set values\n  # Build Values 2-D Array for values parameter\n  my @valuesA = (\"data 4\", \"data 5\");\n  my @valuesAofA;\n  push @valuesAofA, [@valuesA];\n  $soapResponse = $Class->set_string_class_member_data_value\n  (\n    SOAP::Data->name(class_members => [$StringClass]),\n    SOAP::Data->name(values => [@valuesAofA])\n  );\n  &checkResponse($soapResponse);\n\n&getDataGroup($datagroup);\n}

\n#-------------------------------------------------------------------------\nfunction Create-DataGroup()\n#-------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\nparam(\n[string]$Name\n);\n\n$StringClassA = New-Object -TypeName iControl.LocalLBClassStringClass[] 1;\n$StringClassA[0] = New-Object -TypeName iControl.LocalLBClassStringClass;\n$StringClassA[0].name = $Name;\n$StringClassA[0].members = (\"a\", \"b\", \"c\");\n\n$(Get-F5.iControl).LocalLBClass.create_string_class(\n$StringClassA\n);\n\n$DataValueA = (\"data 1\", \"data 2\", \"data 3\");\n$DataValuesAofA = \n$(Get-F5.iControl).LocalLBClass.set_string_class_member_data_value(\n$StringClassA,\n(, $DataValueA)\n)\n\nGet-DataGroup -Name $Name;\n}\n\n#-------------------------------------------------------------------------\nfunction RemoveFrom-DataGroup()\n#-------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\nparam(\n[string]$Name\n);\n\n$StringClassA = New-Object -TypeName iControl.LocalLBClassStringClass[] 1;\n$StringClassA[0] = New-Object -TypeName iControl.LocalLBClassStringClass;\n$StringClassA[0].name = $Name;\n$StringClassA[0].members = (\"c\");\n\n$(Get-F5.iControl).LocalLBClass.delete_string_class_member(\n$StringClassA\n);\n\nGet-DataGroup -Name $Name;\n}\n\n#-------------------------------------------------------------------------\nfunction AddTo-DataGroup()\n#-------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\nparam(\n[string]$Name\n);\n\n$StringClassA = New-Object -TypeName iControl.LocalLBClassStringClass[] 1;\n$StringClassA[0] = New-Object -TypeName iControl.LocalLBClassStringClass;\n$StringClassA[0].name = $Name;\n$StringClassA[0].members = (\"d\", \"e\");\n\n$(Get-F5.iControl).LocalLBClass.add_string_class_member(\n$StringClassA\n);\n\n$DataValueA = (\"data 4\", \"data 5\");\n$DataValuesAofA = \n$(Get-F5.iControl).LocalLBClass.set_string_class_member_data_value(\n$StringClassA,\n(, $DataValueA)\n)\n\nGet-DataGroup -Name $Name;\n}

\ndef get_dg_list(bigip):\n    try:\n        dg_str_list = bigip.LocalLB.Class.get_string_class_list()\n        dg_str_names = bigip.LocalLB.Class.get_string_class(dg_str_list)\n\n\n        for dg in dg_str_names:\n            print dg\n            print '   Data Group: %s' % dg['name']\n            for x in dg['members']:\n                print '       %s' % x\n\n    except Exception, e:\n        print e\n\n\ndef extend_dg(bigip, dgname, keys, values):\n    try:\n        bigip.LocalLB.Class.add_string_class_member([{'name': dgname, 'members': keys}])\n        bigip.LocalLB.Class.set_string_class_member_data_value([{'name': dgname, 'members': keys}], [[values]])\n    except Exception, e:\n        print e\n\n\ndef contract_dg(bigip, dgname, keys):\n    try:\n        bigip.LocalLB.Class.delete_string_class_member([{'name': dgname, 'members': keys}])\n    except Exception, e:\n        print e\n\n\ndef create_dg(bigip, dgname, keys, values):\n    try:\n        bigip.LocalLB.Class.create_string_class([{'name': dgname, 'members': keys}])\n        bigip.LocalLB.Class.set_string_class_member_data_value([{'name': dgname, 'members': keys}], [[values]])\n    except Exception, e:\n        print e

\n//--------------------------------------------------------\nfunction createDataGroup(datagroup) {\n//--------------------------------------------------------\n\ndatagroup = datagroup.replace(/\\//g, \"~\");\nvar uri = \"/mgmt/tm/ltm/data-group/internal\";\n\nvar dgObj = {};\ndgObj.name = datagroup;\ndgObj.type = \"string\";\ndgObj.records = [\n{name: \"a\", data: \"data 1\"},\n{name: \"b\", data: \"data 2\"},\n{name: \"c\", data: \"data 3\"},\n];\n\nvar body = JSON.stringify(dgObj);\n\nhandleVERB(\"POST\", uri, body, function(json) {\nconsole.log(json);\n});\n}\n\n//--------------------------------------------------------\nfunction removeFromDataGroup(datagroup) {\n//--------------------------------------------------------\ndg_uri = datagroup.replace(/\\//g, \"~\");\nvar uri = \"/mgmt/tm/ltm/data-group/internal/\" + dg_uri;\n\nvar dgObj = {};\ndgObj.name = datagroup;\ndgObj.records = [\n{name: \"a\", data: \"data 1\"},\n{name: \"b\", data: \"data 2\"}\n];\n\nvar body = JSON.stringify(dgObj);\n\nhandleVERB(\"PATCH\", uri, body, function(json) {\nconsole.log(json);\n});\n}\n\n//--------------------------------------------------------\nfunction addToDataGroup(datagroup) {\n//--------------------------------------------------------\ndg_uri = datagroup.replace(/\\//g, \"~\");\nvar uri = \"/mgmt/tm/ltm/data-group/internal/\" + dg_uri;\n\nvar dgObj = {};\ndgObj.name = datagroup;\ndgObj.records = [\n{name: \"a\", data: \"data 1\"},\n{name: \"b\", data: \"data 2\"},\n{name: \"d\", data: \"data 4\"},\n{name: \"e\", data: \"data 5\"}\n];\n\nvar body = JSON.stringify(dgObj);\n\nhandleVERB(\"PATCH\", uri, body, function(json) {\nconsole.log(json);\n});\n}

\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nsub createDataGroup()\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\nmy ($datagroup) = @_;\n\n  my @names = (\"a\", \"b\", \"c\");\n\n  my $StringClass =\n  {\n    name => $datagroup,\n    members => [@names]\n  };\n\n# Create Data group with names\n$soapResponse = $Class->create_string_class(\nSOAP::Data->name(classes => [$StringClass])\n);\n&checkResponse($soapResponse);\n\n# Set values\n  # Build Values 2-D Array for values parameter\n  my @valuesA = (\"data 1\", \"data 2\", \"data 3\");\n  my @valuesAofA;\n  push @valuesAofA, [@valuesA];\n  $soapResponse = $Class->set_string_class_member_data_value\n  (\n    SOAP::Data->name(class_members => [$StringClass]),\n    SOAP::Data->name(values => [@valuesAofA])\n  );\n  &checkResponse($soapResponse);\n\n&getDataGroup($datagroup);\n}\n\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nsub removeFromDataGroup()\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\nmy ($datagroup) = @_;\n\n  my @names = (\"c\");\n\n  my $StringClass =\n  {\n    name => $datagroup,\n    members => [@names]\n  };\n\n# Create Data group with names\n$soapResponse = $Class->delete_string_class_member(\nSOAP::Data->name(class_members => [$StringClass])\n);\n&checkResponse($soapResponse);\n\n&getDataGroup($datagroup);\n}\n\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nsub addToDataGroup()\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\nmy ($datagroup) = @_;\n\n  my @names = (\"d\", \"e\");\n\n  my $StringClass =\n  {\n    name => $datagroup,\n    members => [@names]\n  };\n\n# Create Data group with names\n$soapResponse = $Class->add_string_class_member(\nSOAP::Data->name(class_members => [$StringClass])\n);\n&checkResponse($soapResponse);\n\n# Set values\n  # Build Values 2-D Array for values parameter\n  my @valuesA = (\"data 4\", \"data 5\");\n  my @valuesAofA;\n  push @valuesAofA, [@valuesA];\n  $soapResponse = $Class->set_string_class_member_data_value\n  (\n    SOAP::Data->name(class_members => [$StringClass]),\n    SOAP::Data->name(values => [@valuesAofA])\n  );\n  &checkResponse($soapResponse);\n\n&getDataGroup($datagroup);\n}

\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nfunction Create-DataGroup()\n#\n#  Description:\n#    This function creates a new internal data group\n#\n#  Parameters:\n#    Name       - The Name of the data group\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\n  param(\n    [string]$Name\n  );\n\n$uri = \"/mgmt/tm/ltm/data-group/internal\";\n$link = \"https://$Bigip$uri\";\n$headers = @{};\n$headers.Add(\"ServerHost\", $Bigip);\n$headers.Add(\"Content-Type\", \"application/json\");\n$obj = @{\nname=$Name\ntype=\"string\"\nrecords= (\n@{ name=\"a\"\ndata=\"data 1\"\n},\n@{ name=\"b\"\ndata=\"data 2\"\n},\n@{ name=\"c\"\ndata=\"data 3\"\n}\n)\n};\n$body = $obj | ConvertTo-Json\n\n$secpasswd = ConvertTo-SecureString $Pass -AsPlainText -Force\n$mycreds = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential ($User, $secpasswd)\n\n$obj = Invoke-RestMethod -Method POST -Uri $link -Headers $headers -Credential $mycreds -Body $body;\n\nWrite-Host \"Pool ${Name} created in partition ${Partition}\"\n}\n\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nfunction RemoveFrom-DataGroup()\n#\n#  Description:\n#    This function removes an entry from a data group\n#\n#  Parameters:\n#    Name       - The Name of the data group\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\n  param(\n    [string]$Name\n  );\n\n$uri = \"/mgmt/tm/ltm/data-group/internal/${Name}\";\n$link = \"https://$Bigip$uri\";\n$headers = @{};\n$headers.Add(\"ServerHost\", $Bigip);\n$headers.Add(\"Content-Type\", \"application/json\");\n$obj = @{\nname=$Name\nrecords= (\n@{ name=\"a\"\ndata=\"data 1\"\n},\n@{ name=\"b\"\ndata=\"data 2\"\n}\n)\n};\n$body = $obj | ConvertTo-Json\n\n$secpasswd = ConvertTo-SecureString $Pass -AsPlainText -Force\n$mycreds = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential ($User, $secpasswd)\n\n$obj = Invoke-RestMethod -Method PATCH -Uri $link -Headers $headers -Credential $mycreds -Body $body;\n\n$obj | Format-List\n}\n\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\nfunction AddTo-DataGroup()\n#\n#  Description:\n#    This function adds records to an existing data group\n#\n#  Parameters:\n#    Name       - The Name of the data group\n#----------------------------------------------------------------------------\n{\n  param(\n    [string]$Name\n  );\n\n$uri = \"/mgmt/tm/ltm/data-group/internal/${Name}\";\n$link = \"https://$Bigip$uri\";\n$headers = @{};\n$headers.Add(\"ServerHost\", $Bigip);\n$headers.Add(\"Content-Type\", \"application/json\");\n$obj = @{\nname=$Name\nrecords= (\n@{ name=\"a\"\ndata=\"data 1\"\n},\n@{ name=\"b\"\ndata=\"data 2\"\n},\n@{ name=\"d\"\ndata=\"data 4\"\n},\n@{ name=\"e\"\ndata=\"data 5\"\n}\n)\n};\n$body = $obj | ConvertTo-Json\n\n$secpasswd = ConvertTo-SecureString $Pass -AsPlainText -Force\n$mycreds = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential ($User, $secpasswd)\n\n$obj = Invoke-RestMethod -Method PATCH -Uri $link -Headers $headers -Credential $mycreds -Body $body;\n\n$obj | Format-List\n}

\ndef get_dg_list(rq, url):\n    try:\n        dg_list = rq.get('%s/ltm/data-group/internal' % url).json()\n        for dg in dg_list['items']:\n            print dg\n            print '   Data Group: %s' % dg['name']\n            print '   --------------'\n            if 'records' in dg:\n                for record in dg['records']:\n                    if 'data' in record:\n                        print '      %s: %s' % (record['name'], record['data'])\n                    else:\n                        print '      %s' % record['name']\n\n    except Exception, e:\n        print e\n\n\ndef extend_dg(rq, url, dgname, additional_records):\n    dg = rq.get('%s/ltm/data-group/internal/%s' % (url, dgname)).json()\n\n    current_records = dg['records']\n    new_records = []\n    for record in current_records:\n        if 'data' in record:\n            nr = [{'name': record['name'], 'data': record['data']}]\n        else:\n            nr = [{'name': record['name']}]\n        new_records.extend(nr)\n    for record in additional_records:\n        if 'data' in record:\n            nr = [{'name': record['name'], 'data': record['data']}]\n        else:\n            nr = [{'name': record['name']}]\n        new_records.extend(nr)\n\n    payload = {}\n    payload['records'] = new_records\n    rq.put('%s/ltm/data-group/internal/%s' % (url, dgname), json.dumps(payload))\n\n\ndef contract_dg(rq, url, dgname, removal_records):\n    dg = rq.get('%s/ltm/data-group/internal/%s' % (url, dgname)).json()\n    current_records = dg['records']\n\n    new_records = []\n    for record in removal_records:\n        if 'data' in record:\n            nr = [{'name': record['name'], 'data': record['data']}]\n        else:\n            nr = [{'name': record['name']}]\n        new_records.extend(nr)\n\n    new_records = [x for x in current_records if x not in new_records]\n\n    payload = {}\n    payload['records'] = new_records\n    rq.put('%s/ltm/data-group/internal/%s' % (url, dgname), json.dumps(payload))\n\n\ndef create_dg(rq, url, dgname, records):\n    new_records = []\n    for record in records:\n        if 'data' in record:\n            nr = [{'name': record['name'], 'data': record['data']}]\n        else:\n            nr = [{'name': record['name']}]\n        new_records.extend(nr)\n\n    payload = {}\n    payload['type'] = 'string'\n    payload['name'] = dgname\n    payload['records'] = new_records\n    try:\n        rq.post('%s/ltm/data-group/internal' % url, json.dumps(payload))\n    except Exception, e:\n        print e

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