netscaler cookbook

A collection of resources for managing Citrix NetScaler (Nitro API).

This has been written so that adding a missing NetScaler resource should be easy.

Creating a new resource

1. All resources should have required attributes: hostname, username, password, and the resource name
2. All other attributes (payload for rest call) should default to nil.
3. Use http://<netscaler_ip>/nitro/v1/config/<resource_name> to see available payload options.

Creating a new provider

1. Actions supported:

• :create - calls create_resource
• :delete - calls delete_resource
• :bind - calls bind_resource

2. Attributes in the payload should be passed in as a hash
3. Add new row in payload_filter.rb for @@attribute_list_by_resource. The array should contain keys from the payload that can not be updated via the Nitro Api.
4. resource_type should be the the feature that you're manipulating (ie server, lbvserver, etc)
5. resource_id should be set to the key of the resource (ie name, servicegroupname, etc)
6. Be carefull of chef reserved words. If you look at the netscaler_server resource/provider you'll see I use the payload key as my attribute names for everthing except for servername which doesn't exist as a key for the server resource type. The key in the options hash is still 'name' though. The options hash key has to match the netscaler payload key.

Supported Platforms

• Any supported by chef

Library Methods

Netscaler::Helper

A collection of methods for CRUD operations on NetScaler

Methods

Name	Vars	Description
create_resource	resource_type, resource_id, hostname, username, password, payload = {}	Make a post call to the netscaler
update_resource	resource_type, resource_id, hostname, username, password, payload = {}	Make a put call to the netscaler
delete_resource	resource_type, resource_id, hostname, username, password, payload = {}	Make a delete call to the netscaler

Library Classes

Netscaler::Utilites

A utility class used by Netscaler::Helper

Methods

Name	Vars	Description
resource_exists?	resource_type, resource	Check if a resource exists
key_value_exists?	resource_type, resource, key, value	Check if a key/value exists
build_request	method, resource_type, resource, options	Create the rest call
build_url	method, primary_hostname, resource_type, resource, resource_id, binding	Create the url used for the rest call
find_primary	method, resource_type, resource, resource_id, binding, payload	Given an array of options, find the primary Netscaler
save_config		Save the netscaler configuration
logout		Log out of the netscaler

Netscaler::PayloadFilter

Filters out key/value params not allowed in the payload for updates.

Methods

Name	Vars	Description
filter_uneditable_attributes	resource_type, payload	remove attributes that can not be updated.

Examples

# New netscaler instance
netscalers = search(:node, "role:netscaler AND chef_environment:#{node.chef_environment}"
netscaler_ips = netscalers.map { |n| n['ipaddress'] }
ns = Netscaler::Utilities.new(
  :hostname => netscaler_ips,
  :username => 'iamgroot',
  :password => 'iamgroot'
)

# Check if a StarLord server exists
resource_exists = ns.resource_exists?('server','StarLord')

# Check if server StarLord exists
server_exists = ns.resource_exists?('server','StarLord')

# Check if StarLord server is UP in Guardians service group
server_up = ns.key_value_exists?(
  'server_servicegroup_binding',
  'StarLord',
  'svrstate',
  'UP'
)

# GET request for server StarLord
request = ns.build_request('get', 'server', 'StarLord')
response = request.execute

# Build the rest request to get StarLord server info
url = ns.build_url('get', '123.456.12.34', 'server', 'StarLord')

# Find the primary netscaler given an array
primary = ns.find_primary

# Save the configuration file
ns.save_config

# Logout of the netscaler
ns.logout

Resources/Providers

The idea here is that every rest call will eventually be represented with a new resource/provider. Below are a few examples to get you started.

netscaler_server

Actions

• :create: Create a resource, updates if necessary
• :delete: Delete an existing resource

Examples

# Create a new server called StarLord, update if necessary
netscaler_server "Create StarLord" do
  servername 'StarLord'
  hostname '123.45.123.1'
  domainresolveretry 6
  username 'iamgroot'
  password 'iamgroot'
  domain 'mydomain.com'
  action :create
end

# Delete a server called StarLord
netscaler_server 'Delete StarLord' do
  servername 'StarLord'
  hostname '123.45.123.1'
  username 'iamgroot'
  password 'iamgroot'
  action :delete
end

netscaler_servicegroup

Actions

• :create: Create a resource, updates if necessary
• :delete: Delete an existing resource
• :bind: Bind one resource to another

Examples

# Create a service group called Guardians
netscaler_servicegroup 'Create Guardians' do
  servicegroupname 'Guardians'
  servicetype 'HTTP'
  comment 'Something good, something bad'
  hostname '123.45.123.1'
  username 'iamgroot'
  password 'iamgroot'
  action :create
end

# Bind server StarLord to service group Guardians
netscaler_servicegroup 'Bind StarLord to Guardians' do
  hostname '172.16.198.2'
  username 'iamgroot'
  password 'iamgroot'
  servicegroupname 'Guardians'
  servername 'StarLord'
  port 80
  action :bind
end

netscaler_monitor

Actions

• :create: Create a resource, updates if necessary
• :bind: Bind one resource to another

Examples

# Create a monitor called Xandar
netscaler_monitor 'Create Xandar' do
  monitorname 'Xandar'
  type 'PING'
  hostname '123.45.123.1'
  username 'iamgroot'
  password 'iamgroot'
  action :create
end

# Bind monitor Xandar to service group Guardians
netscaler_monitor 'Bind Xandar to Guardians' do
  hostname '172.16.198.2'
  username 'iamgroot'
  password 'iamgroot'
  monitorname 'Xandar'
  servicegroupname 'Guardians'
  action :bind
end

netscaler_lbvserver

Actions

• :create: Create a resource, updates if necessary
• :delete: Delete an existing resource
• :bind: Bind one resource to another

Examples

# Create a lb vserver called Kyln
netscaler_lbvserver 'Create Kyln' do
  lbvservername 'Kyln'
  ipaddress '123.45.123.100'
  port 80
  servicetype 'HTTP' 
  hostname '123.45.123.1'
  username 'iamgroot'
  password 'iamgroot'
  action :create
end

# Bind service group Guardians to lb vserver Kyln
netscaler_lbvserver 'Bind Guardians to Kyln' do
  lbvservername 'Kyln'
  servicegroupname 'Guardians'
  hostname '123.45.123.1'
  username 'iamgroot'
  password 'iamgroot'
  action :bind
end

List of created resources/providers

• netscaler_server
• netscaler_servicegroup
• netscaler_monitor
• netscaler_lbvserver

TO DO

• More/better testing
• Add more resource/providers

Contributing

1. Fork the repository on Github
2. Create a named feature branch (i.e. add-new-recipe)
3. Write your change
4. Write tests for your change (if applicable)
5. Run the tests, ensuring they all pass
6. Submit a Pull Request

License and Authors

Author:: Changepoint Engineering (cpc_sea_teamengineering@changepoint.com)