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aci_rest – Direct access to the Cisco APIC REST API
New in version 2.4.
Synopsis
- Enables the management of the Cisco ACI fabric through direct access to the Cisco APIC REST API.
 - Thanks to the idempotent nature of the APIC, this module is idempotent and reports changes.
 
Requirements
The below requirements are needed on the host that executes this module.
- lxml (when using XML payload)
 - xmljson >= 0.1.8 (when using XML payload)
 - python 2.7+ (when using xmljson)
 
Parameters
| Parameter | Choices/Defaults | Comments | 
|---|---|---|
| certificate_name
        
        string
         | 
      
        
        The X.509 certificate name attached to the APIC AAA user used for signature-based authentication.
        
       
        If a  
       private_key filename was provided, this defaults to the private_key basename, without extension.
       
        If PEM-formatted content was provided for  
       private_key, this defaults to the username value.
       aliases: cert_name  | 
     |
| content
        
        raw
         | 
      
        
        When used instead of  
       src, sets the payload of the API request directly.
       
        This may be convenient to template simple requests.
        
       
        For anything complex use the  template lookup plugin (see examples) or the template module with parameter src.
        | 
     |
| host
        
        string / required
         | 
      
        
        IP Address or hostname of APIC resolvable by Ansible control host.
        
       aliases: hostname  | 
     |
| method
        
        string
         | 
      
       
  | 
      
        
        The HTTP method of the request.
        
       
        Using  
       delete is typically used for deleting objects.
       
        Using  
       get is typically used for querying objects.
       
        Using  
       post is typically used for modifying objects.
       aliases: action  | 
     
| output_level
        
        string
         | 
      
       
  | 
      
        
        Influence the output of this ACI module.
        
       normal means the standard output, incl. current dict
       info adds informational output, incl. previous, proposed and sent dicts
       debug adds debugging output, incl. filter_string, method, response, status and url information
        | 
     
| password
        
        string / required
         | 
      
        
        The password to use for authentication.
        
       
        This option is mutual exclusive with  private_key. If private_key is provided too, it will be used instead.
        | 
     |
| path
        
        string / required
         | 
      
        
        URI being used to execute API calls.
        
       
        Must end in  
       .xml or .json.
       aliases: uri  | 
     |
| port
        
        integer
         | 
      
        
        Port number to be used for REST connection.
        
       
        The default value depends on parameter  use_ssl.
        | 
     |
| private_key
        
        string / required
         | 
      
        
        Either a PEM-formatted private key file or the private key content used for signature-based authentication.
        
       
        This value also influences the default  
       certificate_name that is used.
       
        This option is mutual exclusive with  
       password. If password is provided too, it will be ignored.
       aliases: cert_key  | 
     |
| src
        
        path
         | 
      
        
        Name of the absolute path of the filename that includes the body of the HTTP request being sent to the ACI fabric.
        
       
        If you require a templated payload, use the  
       content parameter together with the template lookup plugin, or use template.
       aliases: config_file  | 
     |
| timeout
        
        integer
         | 
      Default: 
        30
         | 
      
        
        The socket level timeout in seconds.
         | 
     
| use_proxy
        
        boolean
         | 
      
       
  | 
      
        
        If  no, it will not use a proxy, even if one is defined in an environment variable on the target hosts.
        | 
     
| use_ssl
        
        boolean
         | 
      
       
  | 
      
        
        If  no, an HTTP connection will be used instead of the default HTTPS connection.
        | 
     
| username
        
        string
         | 
      Default: 
        "admin"
         | 
      
        
        The username to use for authentication.
        
       aliases: user  | 
     
| validate_certs
        
        boolean
         | 
      
       
  | 
      
        
        If  
       no, SSL certificates will not be validated.
       
        This should only set to  no when used on personally controlled sites using self-signed certificates.
        | 
     
Notes
Note
- Certain payloads are known not to be idempotent, so be careful when constructing payloads, e.g. using 
status="created"will cause idempotency issues, usestatus="modified"instead. More information in the ACI documentation. - Certain payloads (and used paths) are known to report no changes happened when changes did happen. This is a known APIC problem and has been reported to the vendor. A workaround for this issue exists. More information in the ACI documentation.
 - XML payloads require the 
lxmlandxmljsonpython libraries. For JSON payloads nothing special is needed. 
See Also
See also
- aci_tenant – Manage tenants (fv:Tenant)
 - The official documentation on the aci_tenant module.
 - Cisco APIC REST API Configuration Guide
 - More information about the APIC REST API.
 - Cisco ACI Guide
 - Detailed information on how to manage your ACI infrastructure using Ansible.
 - Developing Cisco ACI modules
 - Detailed guide on how to write your own Cisco ACI modules to contribute.
 
Examples
- name: Add a tenant using certificate authentication
  aci_rest:
    host: apic
    username: admin
    private_key: pki/admin.key
    method: post
    path: /api/mo/uni.xml
    src: /home/cisco/ansible/aci/configs/aci_config.xml
  delegate_to: localhost
- name: Add a tenant from a templated payload file from templates/
  aci_rest:
    host: apic
    username: admin
    private_key: pki/admin.key
    method: post
    path: /api/mo/uni.xml
    content: "{{ lookup('template', 'aci/tenant.xml.j2') }}"
  delegate_to: localhost
- name: Add a tenant using inline YAML
  aci_rest:
    host: apic
    username: admin
    private_key: pki/admin.key
    validate_certs: no
    path: /api/mo/uni.json
    method: post
    content:
      fvTenant:
        attributes:
          name: Sales
          descr: Sales department
  delegate_to: localhost
- name: Add a tenant using a JSON string
  aci_rest:
    host: apic
    username: admin
    private_key: pki/admin.key
    validate_certs: no
    path: /api/mo/uni.json
    method: post
    content:
      {
        "fvTenant": {
          "attributes": {
            "name": "Sales",
            "descr": "Sales department"
          }
        }
      }
  delegate_to: localhost
- name: Add a tenant using an XML string
  aci_rest:
    host: apic
    username: admin
    private_key: pki/{{ aci_username }}.key
    validate_certs: no
    path: /api/mo/uni.xml
    method: post
    content: '<fvTenant name="Sales" descr="Sales departement"/>'
  delegate_to: localhost
- name: Get tenants using password authentication
  aci_rest:
    host: apic
    username: admin
    password: SomeSecretPassword
    method: get
    path: /api/node/class/fvTenant.json
  delegate_to: localhost
  register: query_result
- name: Configure contracts
  aci_rest:
    host: apic
    username: admin
    private_key: pki/admin.key
    method: post
    path: /api/mo/uni.xml
    src: /home/cisco/ansible/aci/configs/contract_config.xml
  delegate_to: localhost
- name: Register leaves and spines
  aci_rest:
    host: apic
    username: admin
    private_key: pki/admin.key
    validate_certs: no
    method: post
    path: /api/mo/uni/controller/nodeidentpol.xml
    content: |
      <fabricNodeIdentPol>
        <fabricNodeIdentP name="{{ item.name }}" nodeId="{{ item.nodeid }}" status="{{ item.status }}" serial="{{ item.serial }}"/>
      </fabricNodeIdentPol>
  with_items:
  - '{{ apic_leavesspines }}'
  delegate_to: localhost
- name: Wait for all controllers to become ready
  aci_rest:
    host: apic
    username: admin
    private_key: pki/admin.key
    validate_certs: no
    path: /api/node/class/topSystem.json?query-target-filter=eq(topSystem.role,"controller")
  register: apics
  until: "'totalCount' in apics and apics.totalCount|int >= groups['apic']|count"
  retries: 120
  delay: 30
  delegate_to: localhost
  run_once: yes
  Return Values
Common return values are documented here, the following are the fields unique to this module:
| Key | Returned | Description | 
|---|---|---|
| error_code
        
        integer
         | 
      always | 
        
        The REST ACI return code, useful for troubleshooting on failure
         Sample:
        
       
        122
         | 
     
| error_text
        
        string
         | 
      always | 
        
        The REST ACI descriptive text, useful for troubleshooting on failure
         Sample:
        
       
        unknown managed object class foo
         | 
     
| imdata
        
        string
         | 
      always | 
        
        Converted output returned by the APIC REST (register this for post-processing)
         Sample:
        
       
        [{'error': {'attributes': {'code': '122', 'text': 'unknown managed object class foo'}}}]
         | 
     
| payload
        
        string
         | 
      always | 
        
        The (templated) payload send to the APIC REST API (xml or json)
         Sample:
        
       
        <foo bar="boo"/>
         | 
     
| raw
        
        string
         | 
      parse error | 
        
        The raw output returned by the APIC REST API (xml or json)
         Sample:
        
       
        <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><imdata totalCount="1"><error code="122" text="unknown managed object class foo"/></imdata>
         | 
     
| response
        
        string
         | 
      always | 
        
        HTTP response string
         Sample:
        
       
        HTTP Error 400: Bad Request
         | 
     
| status
        
        integer
         | 
      always | 
        
        HTTP status code
         Sample:
        
       
        400
         | 
     
| totalCount
        
        string
         | 
      always | 
        
        Number of items in the imdata array
         Sample:
        
       
        0
         | 
     
| url
        
        string
         | 
      success | 
        
        URL used for APIC REST call
         Sample:
        
       
        https://1.2.3.4/api/mo/uni/tn-[Dag].json?rsp-subtree=modified
         | 
     
Status
- This module is not guaranteed to have a backwards compatible interface. [preview]
 - This module is maintained by an Ansible Partner. [certified]
 
Authors
- Dag Wieers (@dagwieers)
 
Hint
If you notice any issues in this documentation you can edit this document to improve it.
© 2012–2018 Michael DeHaan
© 2018–2019 Red Hat, Inc.
Licensed under the GNU General Public License version 3.
 https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/2.8/modules/aci_rest_module.html