Introduction

This is the client library for the Cisco VIRL ² Network Simulation Platform (virl2_client). It provides a Python package to programmatically create, edit, delete and control network simulations on a VIRL ² controller.

It is a pure Python implementation that requires Python3. We’ve written and tested the package with Python 3.6.8.

The status of this package can be considered Beta. We’re not aware of any major issues at the time of release. However, since this is the first release of the package, bugs might exist. Both in the package as well as in the API implementation on the controller.

Use Case Description

The client library provides a convenient interface to control the lifecycle of a network simulation running on VIRL2. This can be used for automation scripts directly in Python but also for third party integrations / plugins which need to integrate with a simulated network. Examples already existing are an Ansible plugin.

Installation

The package comes in form of a wheel that is downloadable from the VIRL controller. The package can be installed either from PyPi using:

pip install virl2_client

or, alternatively, the version that is bundled with the VIRL ² controller can be downloaded to the local filesystem and then directly installed via:

pip install ./virl2_client-*.whl

The bundled version is available on the index site of the docs when viewed directly on the VIRL ² controller.

We recommend the use of a virtual environment for installation.

Usage

The package itself is fairly well documented using docstrings. In addition, the documentation is available in HTML format on the controller itself, via the “Tools -> Client Library” menu.

Get started with the ClientLibrary class virl2_client.virl2_client.ClientLibrary and the Lab virl2_client.models.lab.Lab class.

Compatibility

This package and the used API is specific to VIRL ². It is not backwards compatible with VIRL 1.x and therefore can not be used with VIRL 1.x. If you are looking for a convenient tool to interface with the VIRL 1 API then the VIRL Utils tool is recommended.

Known Issues

There are no known issues at this point. See the comment in the Introduction section.

Getting Help

If you have questions, concerns, bug reports, etc., please create an issue against the repository on GitHub.

Getting Involved

We welcome contributions. Whether you fixed a bug, added a new feature or corrected a typo, all contributions are welcome. General instructions on how to contribute can be found in the CONTRIBUTING file.

Licensing Info

This code is licensed under the Apache 2.0 License. See LICENSE for details.

References

This package is part of the VIRL ² Network Simulation platform. For details, go to http://virl.cisco.com.