SD-WAN vManager Configuration Automation

A Python-based automation tool for configuring Cisco SD-WAN vManager using Excel spreadsheets as the configuration source. This tool reads configuration parameters from Excel files and creates feature profiles, parcels, and configuration groups via the vManager REST API.

Overview

This project provides an SDK-like framework to automate the creation of SD-WAN configuration objects including:

• System Profiles (AAA, BFD, OMP, NTP, Logging, SNMP, Security, etc.)
• Transport Profiles (VPNs, Interfaces, BGP)
• Service Profiles (VPNs, Interfaces)
• CLI Profiles (Custom CLI configurations)
• Configuration Groups (Profile associations and device configurations)

The tool uses Pydantic models for JSON payload generation and validation, ensuring type safety and proper data structure for vManager API calls.

Features

• Excel-Driven Configuration: Define all configuration parameters in a structured Excel file (input.xlsx)
• Modular Architecture: Organized folder structure that mirrors vManager GUI and API organization
• Type Safety: Pydantic models ensure data validation and proper JSON structure
• Hierarchical Object Creation: Automatically handles dependencies (profiles → VPNs → interfaces)
• Audit Trail: Tracks all created objects with IDs in objects_created.xlsx
• Execution Summary: Provides detailed summary of objects created during each run
• Flexible Execution: Run all configurations or select specific feature types
• Comprehensive Logging: Dual logging system (console + detailed file logs)

Project Structure

├── input.xlsx                    # Excel file with configuration data
├── excel2sdwan.py               # Main orchestrator script
├── objects_created.xlsx         # Audit trail of created objects
├── vmanager_conf.log            # Detailed execution logs
├── cleanup-excel2sdwan.py       # Utility to clean up created objects
├── LICENSE                      # MIT License
└── modules/
    ├── system/                  # System feature profiles
    │   ├── profile.py
    │   ├── aaa.py
    │   ├── bfd.py
    │   ├── omp.py
    │   ├── ntp.py
    │   ├── logg.py
    │   ├── snmp.py
    │   ├── security.py
    │   ├── banner.py
    │   ├── basic.py
    │   ├── globall.py
    │   └── parsers.py
    ├── transport/               # Transport feature profiles
    │   ├── profile.py
    │   ├── vpn.py
    │   ├── interface.py
    │   ├── bgp.py
    │   └── parsers.py
    ├── service/                 # Service feature profiles
    │   ├── profile.py
    │   ├── vpn.py
    │   ├── interface.py
    │   └── parsers.py
    ├── cli/                     # CLI profiles
    │   ├── profile.py
    │   ├── cli.py
    │   └── parsers.py
    └── conf_groups/             # Configuration groups
        ├── cg_model.py
        ├── cgroup.py
        └── parsers.py

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8 or higher
• Cisco SD-WAN vManager (tested on version 20.x)
• Network access to vManager
• Valid vManager credentials with appropriate permissions

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/apinto/sdwan-excel-automation.git
cd sdwan-excel-automation

2. Create a virtual environment:

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

3. Install dependencies:

pip install catalystwan pandas openpyxl

4. Update vManager credentials in excel2sdwan.py:

url      = "https://your-vmanager-ip"
username = "your-username"
password = "your-password"

Usage

Basic Usage

Run all configuration types in order (system → transport → service → cli → config-groups):

python excel2sdwan.py

Selective Execution

Run specific feature types:

# Run only system profiles
python excel2sdwan.py --feature-type system

# Run multiple specific types
python excel2sdwan.py --feature-type system,transport,service

# Run only configuration groups (requires profiles to exist)
python excel2sdwan.py --feature-type config-groups

Get Help

python excel2sdwan.py --help

Excel File Structure

The input.xlsx file should contain worksheets for each configuration type:

• system: System profile and parcels configuration
• transport: Transport profile and parcels configuration
• service: Service profile and parcels configuration
• cli: CLI profile and configurations
• ConfGroups: Configuration groups that reference other profiles

Each worksheet follows a specific column structure with fields like:

• ObjectName: Name of the configuration object
• Type: Object type (profile, parcel, etc.)
• section: Configuration section
• fieldName: API field name
• optionType: Configuration option type (default, global, variable)
• value: Configuration value

How It Works

1. Excel Parsing: Reads configuration data from input.xlsx worksheets
2. Pydantic Model Building: Constructs type-safe Pydantic models with proper validation
3. JSON Payload Generation: Converts Pydantic models to JSON payloads for vManager API
4. API Calls: Posts configurations to vManager REST API in the correct order
5. Object Tracking: Saves created object IDs to objects_created.xlsx
6. Dependency Resolution: For config groups, resolves profile names to IDs from the audit file

Output Files

• objects_created.xlsx: Audit trail with details of all created objects

  • Run ID and timestamp
  • Object type and name
  • API URL used
  • Object ID returned by vManager

• vmanager_conf.log: Detailed execution logs

  • Console logs (INFO level)
  • Detailed API request/response (DEBUG level)
  • JSON payloads and responses

Design Principles

1. Self-Contained Modules: Each module (system, transport, service) is independent
2. Builder Pattern: Step-by-step construction of configuration objects
3. Type Safety: Pydantic ensures proper data types and structure
4. Default Values: Modules use default_factory for unspecified fields
5. Code Consistency: Uniform coding style across all modules

Cleanup

The cleanup script provides a safe way to remove objects created by excel2sdwan.py from vManager.

How It Works

The cleanup-excel2sdwan.py script:

1. Reads the Audit Trail: Loads objects_created.xlsx which contains all objects created during previous runs
2. Tracks by Run ID: Each execution of excel2sdwan.py generates a unique Run ID (timestamp-based)
3. Reverse Order Deletion: Processes objects in reverse order (bottom-to-top) to respect dependencies
4. API-Based Removal: Makes DELETE requests to vManager REST API for each object
5. Updates Audit File: Removes successfully deleted objects from objects_created.xlsx

Object Tracking

Every time excel2sdwan.py creates an object, it logs the following information to objects_created.xlsx:

This tracking enables:

• Selective deletion by Run ID
• Complete rollback of specific execution runs
• Audit trail for compliance and troubleshooting
• Safe cleanup without affecting manually created objects

Usage Examples

# Delete most recent run (default)
python cleanup-excel2sdwan.py

# List all available runs
python cleanup-excel2sdwan.py --list-runs

# Delete a specific run by ID
python cleanup-excel2sdwan.py --run-id 1737241234

# Delete all runs (all tracked objects)
python cleanup-excel2sdwan.py --all-runs

# Dry run - preview what would be deleted
python cleanup-excel2sdwan.py --dry-run

# Remove from Excel only (no API calls)
python cleanup-excel2sdwan.py --run-id 1737241234 --remove-from-excel-only

Important Notes

• Objects are deleted in reverse order to handle dependencies correctly
• Successfully deleted objects are automatically removed from objects_created.xlsx
• Failed deletions remain in the audit file for retry
• All cleanup operations are logged to vmanager_cleanup.log

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Whether you want to:

• Add support for new feature profiles or parcels
• Improve error handling and validation
• Enhance documentation
• Fix bugs or optimize code
• Add new features

Please feel free to:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Submit a pull request

Disclaimer

IMPORTANT: This tool is provided as-is, without any warranties or guarantees. The authors take no responsibility for any issues, damages, or problems that may arise from using this script. Use at your own risk.

• Always test in a lab environment first
• Review generated configurations before applying to production
• Ensure you have proper backups of your vManager configuration
• Verify API permissions and access controls
• This tool makes changes to your SD-WAN infrastructure - use with caution

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Author

Artur Pinto (arturj.pinto@gmail.com)

Acknowledgments

• Built using catalystwan SDK
• Inspired by the need to automate repetitive vManager configuration tasks
• Thanks to the Cisco SD-WAN community for their support and feedback