Introduction
=============

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

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 <https://github.com/CiscoDevNet/ansible-virl/>`_.

Installation
*************

The package comes in form of a wheel that is downloadable from the VIRL
controller itself. It should also be available on PyPi after the release of
VIRL :sup:`2` itself. When available on PyPi, the package can be
installed via::

    pip install virl2_client

Otherwise, the wheel can be installed via::

    pip install ./virl2_client-*.whl

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 
:class:`virl2_client.virl2_client.ClientLibrary`
and the ``Lab`` :class:`virl2_client.models.lab.Lab` class.

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 this repository.

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 :sup:`2` Network Simulation platform.
For details, go to `<http://virl.cisco.com>`_.