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CMLNetKit is an application for automatic pre-configuration of nodes in Cisco Modeling Labs 2.x
This version has been tested with Python 3.10 and CML2.5.
In the Cisco VIRL, the most valuable feature is AutoNetKit. It creates the initial configuration of simulated devices, including the interface IP address, the loopback interfaces addressing, routing protocols, and many more. This feature pretty much does not exist in Cisco Modeling Labs 2.0 (aka. Cisco VIRL2), requiring a manual configuration of every IP address of every interface in the lab topology. The CMLNetKit brings some of the AutoNetKit features back to CML2.0
You need to run the CMLNetKit before starting the lab. CMLNetKit won't amend running lab nodes configurations.
CMLNetKit does not modify the provided source lab topology; instead, it creates a new lab using the same lab title.
The dedicated management interfaces are not present on all node types. In this application, the management interfaces are statically defined as per the below table. If you request CMLNetKit to assign IP addresses to the management interfaces, it will treat the following interfaces as management. It would be best to connect these interfaces to a dedicated out-of-band network via External Connector node.
| Node type | Management interface |
|---|---|
| iosv | GigabitEthernet0/0 |
| csr1000v | GigabitEthernet1 |
| iosxrv | MgmtEth0/0/CPU0/0 |
| iosxrv9000 | MgmtEth0/RP0/CPU0/0 |
| nxosv | mgmt0 |
| nxosv9000 | mgmt0 |
| iosvl2 | GigabitEthernet0/0 |
| asav | Management0/0 |
Before you start, you need to add nodes to the topology and connect them. Then generate the initial configuration of your lab nodes via CML2 GUI. To do that, open the CML2 GUI, select your lab and click anywhere on the background. Then select Design tab and press the Build Initial Bootstrap Configurations button.
If you update the topology by adding the new nodes, you need to generate initial configurations for them before running the CMLNetKit again.
The CMLNetKit won't amend the interface configuration if IP addresses are already present. How to install CMLNetKit? =========================
Please follow the steps described below to install the CMLNetKit.
CMLNetKit requires Python versions 3.5+. The OS should not matter. It has been tested on Python version 3.7.7 on Linux and MacOS.
The required Python libraries are defined in requirements.txt. It is also recommended to have git client installed on the host. Alternatively, you can download the repository package from GitHub project site.
It is required to run CMLNetKet from the host that is allowed to access the CML2 API. If you can access the CML2 GUI, you can also use the CMLNetKit from this host.
Download the CMLNetKit repository
$ git clone https://github.com/WojciechowskiPiotr/CMLNetKit $ cd CMLNetKit
Install required python libraries
$ pip install -r requirements.txt
The minimum required parameter is the hostname or IP address of the CML2 server provided as -H value. If no username or password is provided, the default of virl2/virl2 is used. To disable the SSL verification, always add --no-ssl-verification to any command you run.
The following options are required or optional. You can always display help using the -h parameter.
usage: cmlnetkit.py [-h] [-H HOST] [-l LAB_ID] [--list-labs] [--list-ips]
[-P PORT] [-u USERNAME] [-p PASSWORD]
[--no-ssl-verification] [--dry-run] [-b]
[--lo-subnet LOOPBACK_SUBNET]
[--mgmt-range MGMT_IP_LOW MGMT_IP_HIGH]
[--peer-subnet PEER_SUBNET]
[--mgmt-netmask MGMT_NETMASK | --mgmt-prefixlen MGMT_PREFIXLEN]
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
Connection options:
-H HOST, --host HOST CML2.0 host address
-l LAB_ID, --lab LAB_ID
Lab ID
--list-labs List the ID of existing labs
--list-ips List the IP addresses configured on L3 links
-P PORT, --port PORT CML 2.0 API port (default 443)
-u USERNAME, --username USERNAME
CML 2.0 API username (default "virl2")
-p PASSWORD, --password PASSWORD
CML 2.0 API password (default "virl2")
--no-ssl-verification
Disable the SSL certification verification on the CML2
server
--dry-run Don't apply any changes to CML2 server.
Configuration changes:
-b Changing all "External Connection" objects
configuration to "Bridge"
--lo-subnet LOOPBACK_SUBNET
Subnet for the Loopback ip addresses assignment, must
be provided in format as subnet/mask. If mask not
provided default mask for subnet is used.If none
provided the default 10.0.0.0/24 is used. Loopback
addresses are always /32
--mgmt-range MGMT_IP_LOW MGMT_IP_HIGH
Contiguous range of IP addresses must be provided. As
argument values provide first and last IP address of
the range
--peer-subnet PEER_SUBNET
Subnet for the ip addresses assignment for direct
connections betweend devices,must be provided in
format as subnet/mask. If mask not provided the /24 is
used.Direct connections betweend devices are addressed
with /30 mask
--mgmt-netmask MGMT_NETMASK
Subnet mask that needs to be assigned to management
interfaces IP addresses on devices. Mask must be
provided in standard netmask notation 255.255.255.0 If
neither -mgmt-netmask nor -mgmt-prefixlen is provided
then /24 prefixlen (mask of 255.255.255.0) is
assigned.
--mgmt-prefixlen MGMT_PREFIXLEN
Subnet mask that needs to be assigned to management
interfaces IP addresses on devices. Prefixlen must be
provided as integer between 0 and 32. If neither
-mgmt-netmask nor -mgmt-prefixlen is provided then /24
prefixlen (mask of 255.255.255.0) is assigned.
First, you need to list available labs on the CML2 server. In GUI, you see the lab's names, but in CMLNetKit, you need to provide the lab ID. To list all the available labs, use the --list-labs parameter.
cmlnetkit.py -H cml.server.address --list-labs
In the output, you will see all the available labs. The first column contains six characters long lab ID. Please provide it every time using -l as a reference to source lab you want to modify.
To change the "External Connection" objects configuration to "bridge".
cmlnetkit.py -H cml.server.address -l abc123 -b
If you want to amend addressing the Loopback interfaces, use the --lo-subnet parameter followed by the subnet you want to use for loopbacks. CMLNetKit will assign /32 addresses from this subnet for the Loopback interfaces of each node.
cmlnetkit.py -H cml.server.address -l abc123 --lo-subnet 10.0.0.0/24
To assign addresses to management interfaces, you need to provide two parameters: using the --mgmt-range specify the first and the last IP address of the continuous range that should be used for management interfaces, and then --mgmt-prefixlen to specify the subnet mask lengths that should be assigned. .. code:
cmlnetkit.py -H cml.server.address -labc123 --mgmt-range 172.16.16.2 172.16.16.25 --mgmt-prefixlen 24
To address interfaces the direct connections between the simulation devices, you need to provide a subnet for peer-to-peer connections. It will be subnetted into /30's subnet per each link.
cmlnetkit.py -H cml.server.address -l abc123 --peer-subnet 10.100.0.0/22
You can use the parameters altogether with SSL verification disabled to perform all operations at once
cmlnetkit.py -H cml.server.address -l abc123 --no-ssl-verification -lo --lo-subnet 10.0.0.0/24 -mgmt --mgmt-range 172.16.16.2 172.16.16.25 --mgmt-prefixlen 24 --peer-subnet 10.100.0.0/22
List IP addresses assigned to devices in initial configuration
cmlnetkit.py -H cml.server.address -l abc123 --list-ip
If you find a bug or want to request additional features, please open the Issue on the CMLNetKit GitHub project at https://github.com/WojciechowskiPiotr/CMLNetKit
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