Config View

A Config View is an abstraction layer for network device configurations. It provides a structured, Pythonic way to interact with and extract information from raw configuration data. Config Views are especially useful for standardizing how configuration elements are accessed across different platforms and devices.

The framework uses a combination of abstract base classes (e.g., ConfigViewInterfaceBase, HConfigViewBase) and platform-specific implementations (e.g., ConfigViewInterfaceCiscoIOS, HConfigViewCiscoIOS) to provide a unified interface for interacting with configurations while accounting for the unique syntax and semantics of each vendor or platform.

Why Use Config Views?

Vendor Abstraction: Network devices from different vendors (Cisco, Arista, Juniper, etc.) have varied configuration formats. Config Views standardize access, making it easier to work across platforms.
Simplified Interface: Accessing configuration data becomes more intuitive through Python properties and methods rather than manually parsing text.
Extensibility: Easily extendable to support new platforms or devices by implementing platform-specific subclasses.
Error Reduction: Encapsulates parsing logic, reducing the risk of errors due to configuration syntax differences.

Available Config Views

Property/Method	Type	Description
`bundle_interface_views`	`Iterable`	Yields interfaces configured as bundles.
`config`	`HConfig`	Root configuration object.
`dot1q_mode_from_vlans`	`Callable`	Determines 802.1Q mode based on VLANs and tagging.
`hostname`	`Optional[str]`	Retrieves the device hostname.
`interface_names_mentioned`	`frozenset[str]`	Set of all interface names mentioned.
`interface_view_by_name`	`Callable`	Returns view of a specific interface by name.
`interface_views`	`Iterable`	Yields all interface views.
`interfaces`	`Iterable[HConfigChild]`	Yields raw configuration objects for all interfaces.
`interfaces_names`	`Iterable[str]`	Yields the names of all interfaces.
`ipv4_default_gw`	`Optional[IPv4Address]`	Retrieves the IPv4 default gateway.
`location`	`str`	Returns the SNMP location.
`module_numbers`	`Iterable[int]`	Yields module numbers from interfaces.
`stack_members`	`Iterable[StackMember]`	Yields stack members configured on the device.
`vlan_ids`	`frozenset[int]`	Set of VLAN IDs configured.
`vlans`	`Iterable[Vlan]`	Yields VLAN objects, including ID and name.

Available Config Interface Views

Basic Identity

Property	Type	Description
`name`	`str`	Returns the name of the interface (e.g. `GigabitEthernet0/1`).
`number`	`str`	Extracts the numeric portion of the interface name.
`description`	`str`	Returns the configured description of the interface.
`parent_name`	`Optional[str]`	Retrieves the name of the parent bundle interface, if any.

Operational State

Property	Type	Description
`enabled`	`bool`	`True` if the interface is not shut down.
`poe`	`bool`	`True` if Power over Ethernet (PoE) is enabled on the interface.

IP Addressing

Property	Type	Description
`ipv4_interface`	`Optional[IPv4Interface]`	Retrieves the first configured IPv4 address and prefix.
`ipv4_interfaces`	`Iterable[IPv4Interface]`	Lists all IPv4 addresses and prefixes configured on the interface.
`vrf`	`str`	Retrieves the VRF (Virtual Routing and Forwarding) associated with the interface.

VLAN and 802.1Q

Property	Type	Description
`dot1q_mode`	`Optional[InterfaceDot1qMode]`	Determines the 802.1Q mode (`ACCESS`, `TAGGED`, `TRUNK`, etc.) based on VLAN tagging configuration.
`native_vlan`	`Optional[int]`	Retrieves the native VLAN of the interface.
`tagged_vlans`	`tuple[int, ...]`	Lists the VLANs that are tagged on the interface.
`tagged_all`	`bool`	`True` if all VLANs are tagged on the interface.

Interface Type Flags

Property	Type	Description
`is_bundle`	`bool`	`True` if the interface is a bundle (port-channel / LAG).
`is_loopback`	`bool`	`True` if the interface is a loopback.
`is_subinterface`	`bool`	`True` if the interface is a subinterface (e.g. `Gi0/1.100`).
`is_svi`	`bool`	`True` if the interface is a switched virtual interface (SVI / VLAN interface).

Bundle / Port Channel

Property	Type	Description
`bundle_id`	`Optional[str]`	Retrieves the bundle ID of the interface.
`bundle_name`	`Optional[str]`	Retrieves the name of the bundle to which the interface belongs.
`bundle_member_interfaces`	`Iterable[str]`	Lists the member interfaces of a bundle.

Physical Layer

Property	Type	Description
`duplex`	`InterfaceDuplex`	Determines the duplex mode of the interface (`FULL`, `HALF`, `AUTO`).
`speed`	`Optional[tuple[int, ...]]`	Lists the static speeds (in Mbps) at which the interface can operate.
`port_number`	`int`	Retrieves the port number of the interface.
`module_number`	`Optional[int]`	Retrieves the module number of the interface.
`subinterface_number`	`Optional[int]`	Retrieves the subinterface number, if applicable.

NAC (Network Admission Control)

Property	Type	Description
`has_nac`	`bool`	`True` if NAC is configured on the interface.
`nac_control_direction_in`	`bool`	`True` if NAC is configured with `control direction in`.
`nac_host_mode`	`Optional[NACHostMode]`	Retrieves the NAC host mode (`SINGLE_HOST`, `MULTI_AUTH`, etc.).
`nac_mab_first`	`bool`	`True` if NAC is configured to try MAB (MAC Authentication Bypass) before 802.1X.
`nac_max_dot1x_clients`	`int`	Maximum number of 802.1X clients allowed on the interface.
`nac_max_mab_clients`	`int`	Maximum number of MAB clients allowed on the interface.

Example: Cisco IOS Config View

Step 1: Parse Configuration

Assume we have a Cisco IOS configuration file as a string.

from hier_config import Platform, get_hconfig


raw_config = """
hostname router1
interface GigabitEthernet0/1
 description Uplink to Switch
 switchport access vlan 10
 ip address 192.168.1.1 255.255.255.0
 shutdown
!
vlan 10
 name DATA
"""

hconfig = get_hconfig(Platform.CISCO_IOS, raw_config)

Step 2: Create Config View

from hier_config.platforms.cisco_ios.view import HConfigViewCiscoIOS


config_view = HConfigViewCiscoIOS(hconfig)

Step 3: Access Configuration Details

Access properties to interact with the configuration programmatically:

# Get the hostname
print(config_view.hostname)  # Output: router1

# List all interface names
print(list(config_view.interfaces_names))  # Output: ['GigabitEthernet0/1']

# Check if an interface is enabled
for interface_view in config_view.interface_views:
    print(interface_view.name, "Enabled:", interface_view.enabled)

# Get all VLANs
for vlan in config_view.vlans:
    print(f"VLAN {vlan.id}: {vlan.name}")

Example: Cisco IOS Config Interface View

Step 1: Parse Configuration

Assume we have a Cisco IOS configuration file as a string.

from hier_config import Platform, get_hconfig


raw_config = """
interface GigabitEthernet0/1
 description Uplink to Switch
 switchport access vlan 10
 switchport mode access
 ip address 192.168.1.1 255.255.255.0
 shutdown
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/2
 switchport trunk allowed vlan 20,30,40
 switchport mode trunk
!
"""

hconfig = get_hconfig(Platform.CISCO_IOS, raw_config)

Step 2: Create Config View and Access Interface Views

from hier_config.platforms.cisco_ios.view import HConfigViewCiscoIOS

config_view = HConfigViewCiscoIOS(hconfig)

Step 3: Access Interface Details

Access properties and methods to interact with individual interface configurations programmatically:

Retrieve Interface Properties

Loop through all interface views and display their properties

for interface_view in config_view.interface_views:
    print(f"Interface Name: {interface_view.name}")
    print(f"Description: {interface_view.description}")
    print(f"Enabled: {interface_view.enabled}")
    print(f"Dot1Q Mode: {interface_view.dot1q_mode}")
    print(f"Native VLAN: {interface_view.native_vlan}")
    print(f"Tagged VLANs: {interface_view.tagged_vlans}")
    print(f"IP Address: {interface_view.ipv4_interface}")
    print(f"Is Subinterface: {interface_view.is_subinterface}")
    print("-" * 40)

Example Output:

Interface Name: GigabitEthernet0/1
Description: Uplink to Switch
Enabled: False
Dot1Q Mode: InterfaceDot1qMode.ACCESS
Native VLAN: 10
Tagged VLANs: ()
IP Address: 192.168.1.1/24
Is Subinterface: False
----------------------------------------
Interface Name: GigabitEthernet0/2
Description: None
Enabled: True
Dot1Q Mode: InterfaceDot1qMode.TAGGED
Native VLAN: None
Tagged VLANs: (20, 30, 40)
IP Address: None
Is Subinterface: False
----------------------------------------