using tmsh commands in tcl script
Hey all, I am new to the community as well as f5 technologies in general. Ill give a synopsis as to I am looking to accomplish by using a tmsh script. At my company we do site switches where we fail over applications depending on work thats be done at DC or another. And at times we have failover close to 70 applications. My question is if I was going to use for instance the tmsh cmd: modify gtm pool members modify { :https { disabled } } modify gtm pool members modify { :https { enabled } } In a script how would I got about adding it to the script? Also, I created a test.tcl file in my home directory and executed (Active)(tmos) run cli script but couldnt find the file. How would I execute it? ThanksUpgrade Verification - CLI tips and tricks
I mentioned recently in a conversation that I use to use the CLI to generate a snapshot of the bigip run state for pre/post comparison after an upgrade. By accident, I ran across these scripts today so here they are for your enjoyment. They are circa big-ip v12 so update as needed, feel free to post updated versions in the reply and i will tick them as the answer even. Pre-Change (Now supports partitions) # tmsh -c "cd /; show ltm virtual recursive" | awk '/Ltm::Virtual/ { printf $NF } /(Availability|State)/ { printf ":"$NF } /Reason/ { print ":"$NF} ' > bigip-virtual-state.pre # tmsh -c "cd /; show ltm pool recursive" | awk '/Ltm::Pool/ { printf $NF } /(Availability|State)/ { printf ":"$NF } /Reason/ { print ":"$NF} ' > bigip-pool-state.pre Post Change # tmsh -c "cd /; show ltm virtual recursive" | awk '/Ltm::Virtual/ { printf $NF } /(Availability|State)/ { printf ":"$NF } /Reason/ { print ":"$NF} ' > bigip-virtual-state.post # tmsh -c "cd /; show ltm pool recursive" | awk '/Ltm::Pool/ { printf $NF } /(Availability|State)/ { printf ":"$NF } /Reason/ { print ":"$NF} ' > bigip-pool-state.post Comparison # diff bigip-virtual-state.pre bigip-virtual-state.post # diff bigip-pool-state.pre bigip-pool-state.post
string variable
Need to create variable from string with multiple delimiters Example: TXT=my Variable Value, with spaces and other characters, TXT2=More Data for Second variable, TXT3=Additional info, convert to: myVar1 = my Variable Value, with spaces and other characters myVar2 = More Data for Second variable myVar3 = Additional info if I use split with the = and , that works, but I can't use , as a delimiter as some of the strings might have commas, each string will end in a comma, but may have non delimited commas in the string as well. The = sign is always after the string name, and I need to assign the variable based on the string name, but don't want to keep the TXT= as part of the variable. TXT value is either one or two spaces, but for each variable it will always be the same, so myVar1, would always be 3 spaces plus the = as TXT= where myVar2 will always be 4 spaces as TXT1 and the = Would prefer to not use regular expressions, for performance reasons, but may have to if no other solution exists.Removing an irule from a group of Virtual servers in bulk
I have A number of virtual servers with one I rule I need to remove but I need to preserve all the rest of the Irules that they all have except the one. I there a way to script just removing one Irule , the tmsh rule command only allows none or a new set of irules not specifitying removal of one.
OS X F5 Access Scripting
Hello All, Is there any way to script the F5 Access client on the Mac? The documentation does not indicate that any scripting language can be used. AppleScript is not an option because all of tcc is now behind SIP, so we'd like to do BASH or Pyton, but Swift/Coca would also be acceptable if that was my only option. I would like to... Install the app via VPP (using my MDM for this) Configure it to launch through a LaunchAgent Create a new configuration Manage (Enable/Open and Disable/Close) a configuration If none of that is possible, does anybody know if the F5 environment can be configured to allow the Mac's built-in VPN (L2TP over IPSec, IKEv2 or Cisco IPSec) clients and what that configuration may look like. If I can be pointed to the right documentation or if anybody has examples, I would greatly appreciate the assist. Thank You, Nick Lucia
To Err is Human
#devops Automating incomplete or ineffective processes will only enable you to make mistakes faster – and more often. Most folks probably remember the play on "to err is human…" proverb when computers first began to take over, well, everything. The saying was only partially tongue-in-cheek, because as we've long since learned the reality is that computers allow us to make mistakes faster and more often and with greater reach. One of the statistics used to justify a devops initiative is the rate at which human error contributes to a variety of operational badness: downtime, performance, and deployment life-cycle time. Human error is a non-trivial cause of downtime and other operational interruptions. A recent Paragon Software survey found that human error was cited as a cause of downtime by 13.2% of respondents. Other surveys have indicated rates much higher. Gartner analysts Ronni J. Colville and George Spafford in "Configuration Management for Virtual and Cloud Infrastructures" predict as much as 80% of outages through 2015 impacting mission-critical services will be caused by "people and process" issues. Regardless of the actual rates at which human error causes downtime or other operational disruptions, reality is that it is a factor. One of the ways in which we hope to remediate the problem is through automation and devops. While certainly an appropriate course of action, adopters need to exercise caution when embarking on such an initiative, lest they codify incomplete or inefficient processes that simply promulgate errors faster and more often. DISCOVER, REMEDIATE, REFINE, DEPLOY Something that all too often seems to be falling by the wayside is the relationship between agile development and agile operations. Agile isn't just about fast(er) development cycles, it's about employing a rapid, iterative process to the development cycle. Similarly, operations must remember that it is unlikely they will "get it right" the first time and, following agile methodology, are not expected to. Process iteration assists in discovering errors, missing steps, and other potential sources of misconfiguration that are ultimately the source of outages or operational disruption. An organization that has experienced outages due to human error are practically assured that they will codify those errors into automation frameworks if they do not take the time to iteratively execute on those processes to find out where errors or missing steps may lie. It is process that drives continuous delivery in development and process that must drive continuous delivery in devops. Process that must be perfected first through practice, through the application of iterative models of development on devops automation and orchestration. What may appear as a tedious repetition is also an opportunity to refine the process. To discover and eliminate inefficiencies that streamline the deployment process and enable faster time to market. Inefficiencies that are generally only discovered when someone takes the time to clearly document all steps in the process – from beginning (build) to end (production). Cross-functional responsibilities are often the source of such inefficiencies, because of the overlap between development, operations, and administration. The outage of Microsoft’s cloud service for some customers in Western Europe on 26 July happened because the company’s engineers had expanded capacity of one compute cluster but forgot to make all the necessary configuration adjustments in the network infrastructure. -- Microsoft: error during capacity expansion led to Azure cloud outage Applying an agile methodology to the process of defining and refining devops processes around continuous delivery automation enables discovery of the errors and missing steps and duplicated tasks that bog down or disrupt the entire chain of deployment tasks. We all know that automation is a boon for operations, particularly in organizations employing virtualization and cloud computing to enable elasticity and improved provisioning. But what we need to remember is that if that automation simply encodes poor processes or errors, then automation just enables to make mistakes a whole lot faster. Take care to pay attention to process and to test early, test often. How to Prevent Cascading Error From Causing Outage Storm In Your Cloud Environment? DOWNTIME, OUTAGES AND FAILURES - UNDERSTANDING THEIR TRUE COSTS Devops Proverb: Process Practice Makes Perfect 1024 Words: The Devops Butterfly Effect Devops is a Verb BMC DevOps Leadership SeriesThe Double Whammy of Scripting
Many of you are very familiar with iRules, our Tool Command Language (Tcl) based scripter. It’s a powerful application delivery tool to have a programmable proxy that allows you to manipulate – in real time - any network traffic passing through the BIG-IP. Many BIG-IP fans have used it to address their specific needs and some iRules have even been productized as features. For example, the cool ASM Data Mask feature that blocks sensitive info like SSN or credit card numbers from leaking out was once an iRule. Aw, our baby made it to the BIGs. And by now you may have heard the trumpets about iRules LX, available in our most recent BIG-IP v12.1 release. So I was wondering if you were wondering what’s the difference between iRules and iRules LX? Why would you use one or the other? iRules is based on Tcl and is an extremely stable and well-documented solution. We introduced it in BIG-IP v9.0 and we continue ongoing feature development for it. iRules Language eXtensions (where the LX comes from) is the next-generation of network programmability based on JavaScript. IRules LX is not intended to replace or antiquate Tcl, but provide additional functionality in certain situations. Say you are writing a rule in Tcl that looks for some piece of data. When you find that data, you then need to make a database call to verify the parameters. That could get messy with many lines of code. You may even say to yourself, ‘Geeze, this would be a whole lot easier if I had a parser…wouldn’t that be nice.’ This is where IRules LX can be handy. Toss it over to a Node.js extension and let it do the work. With the proper node package manger (npm), of which there are some 280,000 (and counting), iRules LX will process and send back to Tcl so you can go on your merry way. Essentially, that last 10% is 90% of the work so why not have a proper engine run it. iRules LX is a simple way to solve tough challenges…another tool to use when you need it. Granted, it is not necessarily a hammer but that particular hex tool for precise jobs. It also bridges into the new world of programming. Tcl is still very relevant yet Node.js a popular, cutting edge language that the development community has eaten up. It offers more flexibility when you need it and a new tool in your arsenal of application delivery solutions. You should also check out Eric Flores' Getting Started with iRules LX series which covers some concepts, use cases, configurations and workflows. ps Related: Introducing iRules LX Getting Started with iRules LX June is Programmability Month!BigIP UCS Backup script; looking for some guidance on design
Greetings, I've began to work on a bash script, intended to be ran locally on each F5 appliance via a cron task. The criteria for this script has been, Saves the UCS /w encryption using {Hostname}-YYYY-MM-DD.ucs naming format. Uploads the generated UCS file to a SFTP server SFTP native commands are a MUST, SCP will not work due to it's reliance on command shell/login. Rollover after X # of saved files in order to prevent storage exhaustion on the target SFTP Server I strongly doubt any form of deduplication will work with a encrypted UCS Sends an email notification if the backup failed I've so far written a script that addresses the first 3 criteria and have been waiting for those to go through their paces in testing before adding in notification logic. The commands and logic being used have gotten more complex, the further I've gotten into the script's development. This has lead to some concerns about whether this is the best approach given the nature of the F5 BigIP systems being a vendor appliance and worry that there's a large possibility commands may stop working correctly after a major x. version update, requiring an overhaul of a fairly complex script. I'm almost wondering if setting up an AWX/Tower host in our environment and then using the f5networks Ansible Module for the majority of the heavy lifting followed by some basic logic for file rotation, would be a better long term approach. Ansible would also be a bit more flexible in that I wouldn't have to hardcore values that diverge between individual hosts into the script itself. It's however not clear if the F5networks ansible module supports SFTP as I only see SCP referenced. https://my.f5.com/manage/s/article/K35454259 Advice and insight is much appreciated! #!/bin/bash # F5 backup script based on https://my.f5.com/manage/s/article/K000138297 # User-configurable Variables UCS_DIR="/var/ucs" REMOTE_USER="svc_f5backup" REMOTE_HOST="myhost.contoso.local" REMOTE_DIR="/data/f5/dev" SSH_KEY="/shared/scripts/f5-backup/mykeys/f5user" ENCRYPTION_PASSPHRASE='' # Blank out the value to not encrypt the UCS backup. LOG_FILE="/var/log/backupscript.log" MAX_FILES=45 # Maximum number of backup files to keep # Dynamic Variables (do not edit) HOSTNAME=$(/bin/hostname) DATE=$(date +%Y-%m-%d) UCS_FILE="${UCS_DIR}/${HOSTNAME}-${DATE}.ucs" # Start logging echo "$(date +'%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S') - Starting backup script." >> ${LOG_FILE} # Save the UCS backup file if [ -n "${ENCRYPTION_PASSPHRASE}" ]; then echo "Running the UCS save operation (encrypted)." >> ${LOG_FILE} tmsh save /sys ucs ${UCS_FILE} passphrase "${ENCRYPTION_PASSPHRASE}" >> ${LOG_FILE} 2>&1 else echo "Running the UCS save operation (not encrypted)." >> ${LOG_FILE} tmsh save /sys ucs ${UCS_FILE} >> ${LOG_FILE} 2>&1 fi # Create a temporary batch file for SFTP commands BATCH_FILE=$(mktemp) echo "cd ${REMOTE_DIR}" > $BATCH_FILE echo "put ${UCS_FILE}" >> $BATCH_FILE echo "bye" >> $BATCH_FILE # Log that the transfer is starting echo "Starting SFTP transfer." >> ${LOG_FILE} # Execute SFTP command and capture the output transfer_command_output=$(sftp -b "$BATCH_FILE" -i "${SSH_KEY}" -oBatchMode=no "${REMOTE_USER}@${REMOTE_HOST}" 2>&1) transfer_status=$? # Extract the "Transferred:" line transfer_summary=$(echo "$transfer_command_output" | grep "^Transferred: sent") if [ $transfer_status -eq 0 ]; then if [ -n "$transfer_summary" ]; then echo "UCS file copied to the SFTP server successfully (remote:${REMOTE_HOST}:${REMOTE_DIR}/${UCS_FILE}). $transfer_summary" >> ${LOG_FILE} else echo "UCS file copied to the SFTP server successfully (remote:${REMOTE_HOST}:${REMOTE_DIR}/${UCS_FILE}). Please check the log for details." >> ${LOG_FILE} fi else echo "$transfer_command_output" >> ${LOG_FILE} echo "UCS SFTP copy operation failed. Please read the log for details." >> ${LOG_FILE} rm -f $BATCH_FILE exit 1 fi # Clean up the temporary batch file rm -f $BATCH_FILE # Rollover backup files if the number exceeds MAX_FILES echo "Checking and maintaining the maximum number of backup files." >> ${LOG_FILE} # Create a list of files to delete sftp -i "${SSH_KEY}" -oBatchMode=no "${REMOTE_USER}@${REMOTE_HOST}" <<EOF > file_list.txt cd ${REMOTE_DIR} ls -1 ${HOSTNAME}-*.ucs bye EOF # Filter out unwanted lines and sort the files alphanumerically grep -v 'sftp>' file_list.txt | grep -v '^cd ' | sort > filtered_file_list.txt # Determine files to delete files_to_delete=$(head -n -${MAX_FILES} filtered_file_list.txt) if [ -n "$files_to_delete" ]; then # Create a temporary batch file for SFTP cleanup commands CLEANUP_BATCH_FILE=$(mktemp) echo "cd ${REMOTE_DIR}" > $CLEANUP_BATCH_FILE for file in $files_to_delete; do echo "Deleting $file" >> ${LOG_FILE} echo "rm $file" >> $CLEANUP_BATCH_FILE done echo "bye" >> $CLEANUP_BATCH_FILE # Execute SFTP cleanup command and log the output cleanup_command_output=$(sftp -b "$CLEANUP_BATCH_FILE" -i "${SSH_KEY}" -oBatchMode=no "${REMOTE_USER}@${REMOTE_HOST}" 2>&1) echo "$cleanup_command_output" >> ${LOG_FILE} # Clean up the temporary batch file rm -f $CLEANUP_BATCH_FILE else echo "No files to delete. Total files within limit." >> ${LOG_FILE} fi # Clean up the file lists rm -f file_list.txt filtered_file_list.txt # Delete the local copy of the UCS archive tmsh delete /sys ucs ${UCS_FILE} >> ${LOG_FILE} 2>&1 echo "$(date +'%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S') - Backup script completed." >> ${LOG_FILE}
