Genie Learn

genie learn is a powerful tool that can be extensively used to accomplish stateful network validation across multiple devices, with one linux command.

Genie Ops is used to represent the operational state of a feature using Python datastructures. genie learn works by to “learning” a feature configured on a device by executing Genie Ops directly from a linux terminal.

For each feature, the operational information is collected by executing multiple show-commands, after which that output is parsed and stored into a Python datastructure.

To see what functionality genie learn offers, execute the following in your linux terminal:

(genie) bash-4.1$ genie learn --help
Usage:
  genie learn [commands] [options]

Example
-------
  genie learn ospf --testbed-file /path/to/testbed.yaml
  genie learn ospf --testbed-file /path/to/testbed.yaml --output features_snapshots/ --devices nxos-osv-1
  genie learn ospf interface bgp platform --testbed-file /path/to/testbed.yaml --output features_snapshots/

Description:
  Learn device feature and parse into Python datastructures

      List of available features: https://pubhub.devnetcloud.com/media/genie-feature-browser/docs/#/models

Learn Options:
  ops                   List of Feature to learn, comma separated, ospf,bgp
  --testbed-file        TESTBED_FILE
                        specify testbed_file yaml
  --devices             DEVICE_1 DEVICE_2
                        space separated, if not provided it will learn on all
                        devices (Optional)
  --output OUTPUT       Which directory to store logs, by default it will be current directory
                        (Optional)
  --single-process      Learn one device at the time instead of in parallel (Optional)
  --via [VIA [VIA ...]]
                        List of connection to use per device "nxos-1:ssh"

General Options:
  -h, --help            Show help
  -v, --verbose         Give more output, additive up to 3 times.
  -q, --quiet           Give less output, additive up to 3 times, corresponding to WARNING, ERROR,
                        and CRITICAL logging levels

The following is a complete list of of feature’s available to learn using genie learn: Genie Models. It also provides details on the Python datastructure that will be built with genie learn for each feature.

Refer to Genie Ops for more information on how Genie Ops works.

Single Feature

The following is an example of how to learn one feature (BGP) on the device uut:

(genie) bash-4.1$ genie learn bgp --testbed-file /path/to/testbed.yaml --devices nx-osv-1

Learning '['bgp']' on devices '['uut']'
100%|############################################################| 1/1 [00:11<00:00, 11.04s/it]
+==============================================================================+
| Genie Learn Summary for device nx-osv-1                                      |
+==============================================================================+
|  Connected to nx-osv-1                                                       |
|  -   Log: ./connection_uut.txt                                               |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Learnt feature 'bgp'                                                        |
|  -  Ops structure:  ./bgp_nxos_nx-osv-1_ops.txt                              |
|  -  Device Console: ./bgp_nxos_nx-osv-1_console.txt                          |
|==============================================================================|

Note

Default behaviour:

1. genie learn will save all the Ops objects that are built, into files

   within the current directory of execution; unless argument ‘–output’ specifying the directory is provided.

2. genie learn will execute on all device’s within the testbed YAML in

   parallel; unless argument ‘–single-process’ is provided. This will cause Genie to execute Ops sequentially on each device.

Similar to the genie parse mechanism, genie learn generates 3 files:

1. Unicon telnet connection log

2. device console output (for all show commands executed in Ops)

3. Ops Python datastructure in JSON.

The following is a snippet of the Ops Python datastructure (in JSON format) created by genie learn for feature BGP:

(genie) bash-4.1$ more ./bgp_nxos_nx-osv-1_ops.txt
{
  "attributes": null,
  "commands": null,
  "connections": null,
  "context_manager": {},
  "info": {
    "instance": {
      "default": {
        "bgp_id": 100,
        "peer_policy": {
          "PP-1": {
            "send_community": true,
            "soft_reconfiguration": true
          }
        },
        "peer_session": {
          "PS-1": {
            "disable_connected_check": true
          }
        },
        "protocol_state": "running",
        "vrf": {
          "VRF1": {
            "address_family": {
              "ipv4 unicast": {
                "label_allocation_mode": "per-vrf",
                "nexthop_trigger_delay_critical": 3000,
                "nexthop_trigger_delay_non_critical": 10000,
                "nexthop_trigger_enable": true
              },
              "ipv6 unicast": {
                "label_allocation_mode": "per-vrf",
                "nexthop_trigger_delay_critical": 3000,
                "nexthop_trigger_delay_non_critical": 10000,
                "nexthop_trigger_enable": true
              }
            },
            "cluster_id": "0.0.0.0",
            "confederation_identifier": 0,
            "neighbor": {
              "55.1.1.101": {
                "address_family": {
                  "ipv4 unicast": {
                    "as_override": true,
                    "bgp_table_version": 2,
                    "session_state": "idle"
                  }
                },
        ...

A Genie Ops datastructure contains extensive information on the operational state of the feature on the device. Using genie learn facilitates and expedites stateful network validation of all features configured on all device’s in a network.

Multiple Features

genie learn also supports learning multiple features on a multiple device’s in a testbed as shown in the example below:

(genie) bash-4.1$ genie learn bgp ospf --testbed-file /path/to/testbed.yaml --output genie_learn

Learning '['bgp', 'ospf']' on devices '['nx-osv-1', 'csr1000v-1']
100%|############################################################| 1/1 [00:27<00:00, 27.60s/it]

+==============================================================================+
| Genie Learn Summary for device nx-osv-1                                      |
+==============================================================================+
|  Connected to nx-osv-1                                                       |
|  -   Log: genie_learn/connection_nx-osv-1.txt                                |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Learnt feature 'bgp'                                                        |
|  -  Ops structure:  genie_learn/bgp_nxos_nx-osv-1_ops.txt                    |
|  -  Device Console: genie_learn/bgp_nxos_nx-osv-1_console.txt                |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Learnt feature 'ospf'                                                       |
|  -  Ops structure:  genie_learn/ospf_nxos_nx-osv-1_ops.txt                   |
|  -  Device Console: genie_learn/ospf_nxos_nx-osv-1_console.txt               |
|==============================================================================|

+==============================================================================+
| Genie Learn Summary for device csr1000v-1                                    |
+==============================================================================+
|  Connected to csr1000v-1                                                     |
|  -   Log: genie_learn/connection_csr1000v-1.txt                              |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Could not learn feature 'bgp'                                               |
|  -  Exception:      genie_learn/bgp_nxos_csr1000v-1_exception.txt            |
|  -  Ops structure:  genie_learn/bgp_nxos_csr1000v-1_ops.txt                  |
|  -  Device Console: genie_learn/bgp_nxos_csr1000v-1_console.txt              |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Learnt feature 'ospf'                                                       |
|  -  Ops structure:  genie_learn/ospf_nxos_csr1000v-1_ops.txt                 |
|  -  Device Console: genie_learn/ospf_nxos_csr1000v-1_console.txt             |
|==============================================================================|

genie learn creates a new directory with the name specified within ‘–output’ argument. Within this directory, it creates the Ops output for each feature on each device.

All Features

genie learn can also be used to learn all the features available within Genie Ops.

The following is a complete list of of feature’s available to learn using genie learn: Genie Models. It also provides details on the Python datastructure that will be built with genie learn for each feature.

Here is an example:

(genie) bash-4.1$ genie learn all --testbed-file /path/to/testbed.yaml --devices nx-osv-1 --output genie_learn_all

Learning '['acl', 'bgp', 'dot1x', 'fdb', 'hsrp', 'igmp', 'interface', 'lag', 'lisp', 'lldp', 'mcast', 'mld', 'msdp', 'nd', 'ntp', 'ospf', 'pim', 'platform', 'prefix_list', 'route_policy', 'routing', 'static_routing', 'stp', 'vlan', 'vrf', 'vxlan', 'arp']' on devices '['uut']'
100%|##########################################################| 27/27 [01:49<00:00,  3.94s/it]

+=================================================================================+
| Genie Learn Summary for device nx-osv-1                                         |
+=================================================================================+
|  Connected to nx-osv-1                                                          |
|  -   Log: genie_learn_all/connection_uut.txt                                    |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Could not learn feature 'acl'                                                  |
|  -  Exception:      genie_learn_all/acl_nxos_nx-osv-1_exception.txt             |
|  -  Feature not yet developed for this os                                       |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Learnt feature 'bgp'                                                           |
|  -  Ops structure:  genie_learn_all/bgp_nxos_nx-osv-1_ops.txt                   |
|  -  Device Console: genie_learn_all/bgp_nxos_nx-osv-1_console.txt               |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Could not learn feature 'dot1x'                                                |
|  -  Exception:      genie_learn_all/dot1x_nxos_nx-osv-1_exception.txt           |
|  -  Feature not yet developed for this os                                       |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Could not learn feature 'fdb'                                                  |
|  -  Exception:      genie_learn_all/fdb_nxos_nx-osv-1_exception.txt             |
|  -  Feature not yet developed for this os                                       |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Learnt feature 'hsrp'                                                          |
|  -  Ops structure:  genie_learn_all/hsrp_nxos_nx-osv-1_ops.txt                  |
|  -  Device Console: genie_learn_all/hsrp_nxos_nx-osv-1_console.txt              |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Learnt feature 'igmp'                                                          |
|  -  Ops structure:  genie_learn_all/igmp_nxos_nx-osv-1_ops.txt                  |
|  -  Device Console: genie_learn_all/igmp_nxos_nx-osv-1_console.txt              |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Learnt feature 'interface'                                                     |
|  -  Ops structure:  genie_learn_all/interface_nxos_nx-osv-1_ops.txt             |
|  -  Device Console: genie_learn_all/interface_nxos_nx-osv-1_console.txt         |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Could not learn feature 'lag'                                                  |
|  -  Exception:      genie_learn_all/lag_nxos_nx-osv-1_exception.txt             |
|  -  Feature not yet developed for this os                                       |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Could not learn feature 'lisp'                                                 |
|  -  Exception:      genie_learn_all/lisp_nxos_nx-osv-1_exception.txt            |
|  -  Feature not yet developed for this os                                       |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Could not learn feature 'lldp'                                                 |
|  -  Exception:      genie_learn_all/lldp_nxos_nx-osv-1_exception.txt            |
|  -  Feature not yet developed for this os                                       |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Learnt feature 'mcast'                                                         |
|  -  Ops structure:  genie_learn_all/mcast_nxos_nx-osv-1_ops.txt                 |
|  -  Device Console: genie_learn_all/mcast_nxos_nx-osv-1_console.txt             |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Learnt feature 'mld'                                                           |
|  -  Ops structure:  genie_learn_all/mld_nxos_nx-osv-1_ops.txt                   |
|  -  Device Console: genie_learn_all/mld_nxos_nx-osv-1_console.txt               |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Learnt feature 'msdp'                                                          |
|  -  Ops structure:  genie_learn_all/msdp_nxos_nx-osv-1_ops.txt                  |
|  -  Device Console: genie_learn_all/msdp_nxos_nx-osv-1_console.txt              |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Learnt feature 'nd'                                                            |
|  -  Ops structure:  genie_learn_all/nd_nxos_nx-osv-1_ops.txt                    |
|  -  Device Console: genie_learn_all/nd_nxos_nx-osv-1_console.txt                |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Learnt feature 'ntp'                                                           |
|  -  Ops structure:  genie_learn_all/ntp_nxos_nx-osv-1_ops.txt                   |
|  -  Device Console: genie_learn_all/ntp_nxos_nx-osv-1_console.txt               |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Learnt feature 'ospf'                                                          |
|  -  Ops structure:  genie_learn_all/ospf_nxos_nx-osv-1_ops.txt                  |
|  -  Device Console: genie_learn_all/ospf_nxos_nx-osv-1_console.txt              |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Learnt feature 'pim'                                                           |
|  -  Ops structure:  genie_learn_all/pim_nxos_nx-osv-1_ops.txt                   |
|  -  Device Console: genie_learn_all/pim_nxos_nx-osv-1_console.txt               |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Learnt feature 'platform'                                                      |
|  -  Ops structure:  genie_learn_all/platform_nxos_nx-osv-1_ops.txt              |
|  -  Device Console: genie_learn_all/platform_nxos_nx-osv-1_console.txt          |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Learnt feature 'prefix_list'                                                   |
|  -  Ops structure:  genie_learn_all/prefix_list_nxos_nx-osv-1_ops.txt           |
|  -  Device Console: genie_learn_all/prefix_list_nxos_nx-osv-1_console.txt       |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Learnt feature 'route_policy'                                                  |
|  -  Ops structure:  genie_learn_all/route_policy_nxos_nx-osv-1_ops.txt          |
|  -  Device Console: genie_learn_all/route_policy_nxos_nx-osv-1_console.txt      |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Learnt feature 'routing'                                                       |
|  -  Ops structure:  genie_learn_all/routing_nxos_nx-osv-1_ops.txt               |
|  -  Device Console: genie_learn_all/routing_nxos_nx-osv-1_console.txt           |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Could not learn feature 'static_routing'                                       |
|  -  Exception:      genie_learn_all/static_routing_nxos_nx-osv-1_exception.txt  |
|  -  Feature not yet developed for this os                                       |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Could not learn feature 'stp'                                                  |
|  -  Exception:      genie_learn_all/stp_nxos_nx-osv-1_exception.txt             |
|  -  Feature not yet developed for this os                                       |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Learnt feature 'vlan'                                                          |
|  -  Ops structure:  genie_learn_all/vlan_nxos_nx-osv-1_ops.txt                  |
|  -  Device Console: genie_learn_all/vlan_nxos_nx-osv-1_console.txt              |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Learnt feature 'vrf'                                                           |
|  -  Ops structure:  genie_learn_all/vrf_nxos_nx-osv-1_ops.txt                   |
|  -  Device Console: genie_learn_all/vrf_nxos_nx-osv-1_console.txt               |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Could not learn feature 'vxlan'                                                |
|  -  Exception:      genie_learn_all/vxlan_nxos_nx-osv-1_exception.txt           |
|  -  Ops structure:  genie_learn_all/vxlan_nxos_nx-osv-1_ops.txt                 |
|  -  Device Console: genie_learn_all/vxlan_nxos_nx-osv-1_console.txt             |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Learnt feature 'arp'                                                           |
|  -  Ops structure:  genie_learn_all/arp_nxos_nx-osv-1_ops.txt                   |
|  -  Device Console: genie_learn_all/arp_nxos_nx-osv-1_console.txt               |
|=================================================================================|

genie learn is well equipped with efficient error handling. In the event that the Genie Ops has not been developed for a certain OS on a certain feature, genie learn will print a proper error message displaying this to the user as seen in the exampe above:

|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Could not learn feature 'lisp'                                              |
|  -  Exception:      genie_learn_all/lisp_nxos_nx-osv-1_exception.txt         |
|  -  Feature not yet developed for this os                                    |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

genie learn is a powerful tool that can be extensively used for accomplish stateful network validation in a few simple steps