Pyeapi Configuration File

The pyeapi configuration file is a convenient place to store node connection information. By keeping connection information central, your pyeapi scripts can effortlessly reference nodes without any manual import of credentials or location information. Therefore, the pyeapi configuration file becomes a reflection of your switch inventory and the way in which the EOS Command API is enabled on the node. The following explains how to craft your pyeapi configuration file to address specific implementation styles.

eapi.conf Parameters

The following configuration options are available for defining node entries:

host:

The IP address or FQDN of the remote device. If the host parameter is omitted then the connection name is used

username:

The eAPI username to use for authentication (only required for http or https connections)

password:

The eAPI password to use for authentication (only required for http or https connections)

enablepwd:

The enable mode password if required by the destination node

transport:

Configures the type of transport connection to use. Valid values are:

  • socket (default, available in EOS 4.14.5 or later)

  • http_local (available in EOS 4.14.5 or later)

  • http

  • https

  • https_certs

port:

Configures the port to use for the eAPI connection. A default port is used if this parameter is absent, based on the transport setting using the following values:

  • transport: http, default port: 80

  • transport: https, default port: 443

  • transport: https_certs, default port: 443

  • transport: http_local, default port: 8080

  • transport: socket, default port: n/a

When is an eapi.conf file needed?

It’s important to understand the nuances of the pyeapi configuration file so you can simplify your implementation. Here’s a quick summary of when the eapi.conf file is needed:

Transport

eapi.conf Required

Script run from

Authentication Required

http

Yes

On/Off-switch

Yes

https

Yes

On/Off-switch

Yes

https_certs

Yes

On/Off-switch

Yes (Auth done via certs, not un/pw)

http_local

Yes

On-switch only

No

socket

No

On-switch only

No

Where should the file be placed?

Search Order

Search Location

1

Environment Variable EAPI_CONF=/path/to/eapi.conf

2

$HOME/.eapi.conf

3

/mnt/flash/eapi.conf

Note

There is a slight difference in #2 .eapi.conf versus #3 eapi.conf

eapi.conf for On-box Implementations

This method would be used to run a pyeapi script on-box. In this mode, eAPI can be configured to require or not require authentication depending upon how you enabled EOS Command API.

Notice from the table above, that if EOS Command API Unix Sockets are enabled, or HTTP Local, you get the benefit of not needing to pass in credentials since the connection can only be made from localhost and it assumes the user has already authenticated to get on the switch.

Using Unix Sockets

This is the preferred method. The default transport for pyeapi is socket and the default host is localhost. Therefore, if running a pyeapi script on-box and have Unix Sockets enabled, you do not need an eapi.conf, nor do you need to pass any credentials (quite handy!).

Note

Unix Sockets are supported on EOS 4.14.5+

Using HTTP Local

As the table above indicates, a pyeapi configuration file is required in /mnt/flash/eapi.conf. It would contain something like:

[connection:localhost]
transport: http_local

Using HTTP or HTTPS

As the table above indicates, a pyeapi configuration file is required in /mnt/flash/eapi.conf. It would contain something like:

[connection:localhost]
transport: http[s]
username: admin
password: admin

eapi.conf for Off-box Implementations

This method would be used to run a pyeapi script from another server. In this mode, eAPI will require authentication. The only real option is whether you connect over HTTP or HTTPS.

Note

The socket and http_local transport options are not applicable.

Notice from the table above, that if EOS Command API Unix Sockets are enabled, or HTTP Local, you get the benefit of not needing to pass in credentials since the connection can only be made from localhost and it assumes the user has already authenticated to get on the switch.

Using HTTP or HTTPS

As the table above indicates, a pyeapi configuration file is required in $HOME/.eapi.conf. It would contain something like:

[connection:veos01]
transport: http
username: paul
password: nottelling

[connection:veos03]
transport: https
username: bob
password: mysecret

[connection:veos04]
host: 192.168.2.10
transport: https
username: admin
password: admin

Using HTTPS with Certificates

The https_certs transport options allows users to do authentication for pyeapi with certificates instead of username/password. This requires functional certificate chains are setup, copied to the proper location and trusted by EOS beforehand. The ca_file parameter is optional. If provided the switches certificate will also be validated against the provided CA cert. If no CA cert is provided then no server side validation will be done.

[connection:veos01]
transport: https_certs
cert_file: /path/to/certificate/file
key_file: /path/to/private/key/file
ca_file: /path/to/CA/certificate/file

[connection:veos02]
transport: https_certs
cert_file: /path/to/certificate/file
key_file: /path/to/private/key/file

The DEFAULT Section

The [DEFAULT] section can be used to gather globally applicable settings. Say that all of your nodes use the same transport or username, you can do something like:

[connection:veos01]

[connection:veos03]
transport: https
username: bob
password: mysecret

[connection:veos04]
host: 192.168.2.10

[DEFAULT]
transport: https
username: admin
password: admin