PExpect Module

Ever since I started this blog I have this post in draft mode. It seems like a no brainer that PExpect goes hand-in-hand with network engineering using Python. Until network vendors starts to implement real APIs, we have to use an interactive program to ssh/telnet to the device, do some commands, screen scrap, and exit. This was the case when I started in the field a number of years ago, and this is the case now. It is kind of depressing to think that we have not made any significant progress all these years, actually. We are starting to see changes, but it will be a number of years before we see a wide adaptation.

So back to the original topic, since I have been meaning to write this blog, why the delay? There are two reasons: 

1. The documentation and example of the pexpect module is excellent, http://www.noah.org/wiki/pexpect. I wish the examples can be directly posted on the web instead of looking thru the example subfolder, but that is just a small complain. The functions that is mostly used are on the site. 

2. I will be a hypocrite if I say I am a complete believer in using this module 100% of the time. At times, such as when hoping thru a Cisco terminal server to access a device thru console, it just became too problematic that rather than debug, I just go with Tcl Explect. It is easy enough to write a small Expect script and use a Python wrapper with subprocess to execute it, much like my post on Expect, http://blog.pythonicneteng.com/2012/09/tcl-expect-with-python-part-1.html. 

However, it is still a module that is very useful. Always nice to keep everything in Python so you dont need to go thru the mind-shift of another language. 

Here is an example with pexpect that I wrote with the same objective as the Expect script that I posted, http://blog.pythonicneteng.com/2012/09/tcl-expect-with-python-part-1.html. Basically this is what it does: 

1. Telnet to AT&T, Comcast, and University of Oregon route server. 

2. Execute 'show ip route', and 'show ip bgp ' on the Bing.com IP. 

Here is the list of route servers in a text file format: 

$cat route-servers

route-server.ip.att.net 

route-server.newyork.ny.ibone.comcast.net

route-views.oregon-ix.net

$

Here is the list of commands in a text file format:

$cat commands.txt 

show ip route 131.253.13.32

show ip bgp 131.253.13.32

$

Here is the script itself:

note. these are public route servers, sometimes you will get connection refused if all the vty lines are busy. They are also subject to change with no advance notice. Feel free to try out another route-server from www.traceroute.org.

[update 11/24, took out router = routeServer[0] that was a left over during testing, as a friend correctly pointed out] 

$cat routeServ_pexpect.py
#!/usr/bin/env python
import sys,pexpect
# query file for all route servers and put into a list
routerFile = open('route-servers', 'r')
routeServers = [i for i in routerFile] #look up list comprehension is not clear
# query file for all commands and put into a list
commandFile = open('commands.txt', 'r')
commands = [i for i in commandFile]

# Starts the loop
for router in routeServers:
    child = pexpect.spawn ('telnet', [router.strip()]) #option needs to be a list
    child.logfile = sys.stdout #display progress on screen
    child.expect ('Username:')
    child.sendline('rviews')
    for command in commands:
        child.expect(['route-server', 'route-views']) #different options on prompt
        child.sendline(command)
        child.expect(['route-server', 'route-views'])

$

Here is the output:

$./routeServ_pexpect.py
Trying 12.0.1.28...
Connected to route-server.cbbtier3.att.net.
Escape character is '^]'.
-------------- route-server.ip.att.net ---------------
---------  AT&T IP Services Route Monitor  -----------
The information available through route-server.ip.att.net is offered
by AT&T's Internet engineering organization to the Internet community.
This router maintains eBGP peerings with customer-facing routers
throughout the AT&T IP Services Backbone:
IPv4:
 12.123.21.243  Atlanta   12.123.133.124 Austin    12.123.41.250  Cambridge
 12.123.5.240   Chicago   12.123.17.244  Dallas    12.123.139.124 Detroit
 12.123.37.250  Denver    12.123.134.124 Houston   12.123.29.249  LA
 12.123.1.236   New York  12.123.33.249  Orlando   12.123.137.124 Philly
 12.123.142.124 Phoenix   12.123.145.124 SanDiego  12.123.13.241  SanFran
 12.123.25.245  St.Louis  12.123.45.252  Seattle   12.123.9.241   WashDC
IPv6:
 2001:1890:FF:FFFF:12:122:124:12   Atlanta
 2001:1890:FF:FFFF:12:122:127:66   Chicago
 2001:1890:FF:FFFF:12:122:124:138  Dallas
 2001:1890:FF:FFFF:12:122:120:7    Fort Lauderdale
 2001:1890:FF:FFFF:12:122:125:6    Los Angeles
 2001:1890:FF:FFFF:12:122:125:44   New York
 2001:1890:FF:FFFF:12:122:125:106  Philadelphia
 2001:1890:FF:FFFF:12:122:125:132  Phoenix
 2001:1890:FF:FFFF:12:122:126:232  San Francisco
 2001:1890:FF:FFFF:12:122:125:224  Seattle
 2001:1890:FF:FFFF:12:122:126:9    St. Louis
 2001:1890:FF:FFFF:12:122:126:64   Washington
*** Please Note:
Ping and traceroute delay figures measured here are unreliable, due to the
high CPU load experienced when complicated "show" commands are running.
For questions about this route-server, send email to: jayb@att.com
*** Log in with username "rviews", no password required ***

User Access Verification
Username: Kerberos: No default realm defined for Kerberos!
rviews
rviews
route-server>show ip route 131.253.13.32
show ip route 131.253.13.32
Routing entry for 131.253.12.0/22
  Known via "bgp 65000", distance 20, metric 0
  Tag 7018, type external
  Last update from 12.123.1.236 4w1d ago
  Routing Descriptor Blocks:
  * 12.123.1.236, from 12.123.1.236, 4w1d ago
      Route metric is 0, traffic share count is 1
      AS Hops 3
      Route tag 7018
route-server>
route-server>show ip bgp 131.253.13.32
show ip bgp 131.253.13.32
BGP routing table entry for 131.253.12.0/22, version 711761
Paths: (18 available, best #13, table Default-IP-Routing-Table)
  Not advertised to any peer
  7018 8075 8075, (received & used)
    12.123.133.124 from 12.123.133.124 (12.123.133.124)
      Origin IGP, localpref 100, valid, external
      Community: 7018:2500 7018:36244
  7018 8075 8075, (received & used)
    12.123.21.243 from 12.123.21.243 (12.123.21.243)
      Origin IGP, localpref 100, valid, external
      Community: 7018:2500 7018:36244
  7018 8075 8075, (received & used)
    12.123.139.124 from 12.123.139.124 (12.123.139.124)
      Origin IGP, localpref 100, valid, external
      Community: 7018:2500 7018:34011
  7018 8075 8075, (received & used)
    12.123.33.249 from 12.123.33.249 (12.123.33.249)
      Origin IGP, localpref 100, valid, external
      Community: 7018:2500 7018:36244
  7018 8075 8075, (received & used)
    12.123.17.244 from 12.123.17.244 (12.123.17.244)
      Origin IGP, localpref 100, valid, external
      Community: 7018:2500 7018:36244
        
route-server>Trying 66.208.229.1...
Connected to route-server.newyork.ny.ibone.comcast.net.
Escape character is '^]'.
********************************************************************************
                       Comcast NETO Route Server
        This route server is provided by Comcast National Engineering &
Technical Operations to provide visibility into the Internet routing table
from the perspective of Comcast's network.  This server has BGP peerings to
the following routers and the Internet routing table view from each device:
68.86.80.0 - Ashburn, VA
68.86.80.2 - New York, NY
68.86.80.5 - Chicago, IL
68.86.80.6 - Chicago, IL 2
68.86.80.7 - Denver, CO
68.86.80.10 - San Jose, CA
68.86.80.11 - Los Angeles, CA
68.86.80.12 - Atlanta, GA
68.86.80.13 - Dallas, TX
        
Note: Due to high CPU utilization on this device, ping and traceroute results
may be unreliable.  This route server should not be used to measure network
performance as a result.
Login with username: rviews
Location:   New York City
Network:  Comcast Route Server
********************************************************************************
User Access Verification
Username: rviews
Kerberos: No default realm defined for Kerberos!
rviews
route-server.newyork.ny.ibone>show ip route 131.253.13.32
show ip route 131.253.13.32
Command authorization failed.
route-server.newyork.ny.ibone>
route-server.newyork.ny.ibone>show ip bgp 131.253.13.32
show ip bgp 131.253.13.32
BGP routing table entry for 131.253.12.0/22, version 1517562788
Paths: (8 available, best #8, table Default-IP-Routing-Table)
  Advertised to update-groups:
     2       
  8075 8075, (received & used)
    68.86.1.38 (metric 81950) from 68.86.80.10 (68.86.1.10)
      Origin IGP, metric 0, localpref 300, valid, internal
      Community: 7922:38 7922:3020
      Originator: 68.86.1.38, Cluster list: 68.86.1.10
  8075 8075, (received & used)
    68.86.1.38 (metric 81950) from 68.86.80.11 (68.86.1.11)
      Origin IGP, metric 0, localpref 300, valid, internal
      Community: 7922:38 7922:3020
      Originator: 68.86.1.38, Cluster list: 68.86.1.11, 68.86.1.10
  8075 8075, (received & used)
    68.86.1.41 (metric 73815) from 68.86.80.13 (68.86.1.13)
      Origin IGP, metric 0, localpref 300, valid, internal
      Community: 7922:41 7922:3020
      Originator: 68.86.1.41, Cluster list: 68.86.1.13
  8075 8075, (received & used)
    68.86.1.40 (metric 69750) from 68.86.80.12 (68.86.1.12)
      Origin IGP, metric 0, localpref 300, valid, internal
      Community: 7922:40 7922:3020
        
route-server.newyork.ny.ibone>Trying 128.223.51.103...
Connected to route-views.oregon-ix.net.
Escape character is '^]'.
 **********************************************************************
                    Oregon Exchange BGP Route Viewer
          route-views.oregon-ix.net / route-views.routeviews.org
 route views data is archived on http://archive.routeviews.org
 This hardware is part of a grant from Cisco Systems.
 Please contact help@routeviews.org if you have questions or
 comments about this service, its use, or if you might be able to
 contribute your view.
 This router has views of the full routing tables from several ASes.
 The list of ASes is documented under "Current Participants" on
 http://www.routeviews.org/.
                          **************
 route-views.routeviews.org is now using AAA for logins.  Login with
 username "rviews".  See http://routeviews.org/aaa.html
 **********************************************************************

User Access Verification
Username: rviews
rviews
route-views>show ip route 131.253.13.32
show ip route 131.253.13.32
Routing entry for 131.253.12.0/22
  Known via "bgp 6447", distance 20, metric 100
  Tag 8075, type external
  Last update from 207.46.32.34 3d07h ago
  Routing Descriptor Blocks:
  * 207.46.32.34, from 207.46.32.34, 3d07h ago
      Route metric is 100, traffic share count is 1
      AS Hops 2
      Route tag 8075
route-views>
route-views>show ip bgp 131.253.13.32
show ip bgp 131.253.13.32
BGP routing table entry for 131.253.12.0/22, version 218212
Paths: (33 available, best #7, table Default-IP-Routing-Table)
  Not advertised to any peer
  852 8075 8075
    154.11.11.113 from 154.11.11.113 (154.11.11.113)
      Origin IGP, metric 0, localpref 100, valid, external
      Community: 852:180
  3356 8075 8075
    4.69.184.193 from 4.69.184.193 (4.69.184.193)
      Origin IGP, metric 0, localpref 100, valid, external
      Community: 209:80 209:888 701:30 703:30 1120:2 1299:2869 1299:5509 1299:5583 2914:470 3356:3 3356:22 3356:100 3356:123 3356:575 3356:2012 3549:200 3549:666 4657:905 5511:1550 6453:80 6762:20008 7018:80 7473:22009 7473:23009 10026:11010 10026:11020 10026:11030 10026:11040 10026:11050 10026:11060 10026:11070 10026:11080 10026:11090 10026:11100 25160:209 25160:1239 65009:7018
  4436 8075 8075
    69.31.111.244 from 69.31.111.244 (69.31.111.244)
      Origin IGP, metric 0, localpref 100, valid, external
      Community: 209:80 209:888 701:30 703:30 1120:2 1299:2869 1299:5509 1299:5583 2914:470 3549:200 3549:666 4436:21216 4657:905 5511:1550 6453:80 6762:20008 7018:80 7473:22009 7473:23009 10026:11010 10026:11020 10026:11030 10026:11040 10026:11050 10026:11060 10026:11070 10026:11080 10026:11090 10026:11100 25160:209 25160:1239 65009:7018
        
route-views>$

$

Happy Holidays!