Last Updated on January 23, 2021 by Admin

8.8.3 Packet Tracer – Implement REST APIs with an SDN Controller Answers

Packet Tracer – Implement REST APIs with an SDN Controller (Answers Version)

Answers Note: Red font color or gray highlights indicate text that appears in the Answers copy only.

Addressing Table

Note: All subnet masks are /24 (255.255.255.0).

Device	Interface	IP Address
R1	G0/0/0	192.168.101.1/24
R1	S0/1/0	192.168.1.2
R2	G0/0/0	192.168.102.1
R2	S0/1/1	192.168.2.2
R3	G0/0/0	10.0.1.1
R3	G0/0/1	10.0.2.1
R3	S0/1/0	192.168.1.1
R3	S0/1/1	192.168.2.1
SWL1	VLAN 1	192.168.101.2
SWL2	VLAN 1	192.168.102.2
SWR1	VLAN 1	10.0.1.2
SWR2	VLAN 1	10.0.1.3
SWR3	VLAN 1	10.0.1.4
SWR4	VLAN 1	10.0.1.5
Admin	NIC	10.0.1.129
PC1	NIC	10.0.1.130
PC2	NIC	10.0.2.129
PC3	NIC	10.0.2.130
PC4	NIC	192.168.102.3
Example Server	NIC	192.168.101.100
PT-Controller	NIC	192.168.101.254

Objectives

Part 1: Launch the DEVASC VM

Part 2: Verify External Connectivity to Packet Tracer

Part 3: Request an Authentication Token with Postman

Part 4: Send REST Requests with Postman

Part 5: Send REST Requests with VS Code

Part 6: Send REST Requests Inside Packet Tracer

Background / Scenario

In this Packet Tracer activity, you will use the Packet Tracer Network Controller and associated API documentation to send REST requests from Postman and from Visual Studio Code (VS Code). Packet Tracer also supports a Python coding environment. Therefore, in the final Part of this activity, you will send REST requests from within Packet Tracer.

Required Resources

1 PC with operating system of your choice
Virtual Box or VMWare
DEVASC Virtual Machine

Instructions

Part 1: Launch the DEVASC VM

If you have not already completed the Lab – Install the Virtual Machine Lab Environment, do so now. If you have already completed that lab, launch the DEVASC VM now.

Part 2: Verify External Connectivity to Packet Tracer

In this Part, you will verify that Packet Tracer can be accessed by other applications on the DEVASC VM. This activity must be completed entirely within the DEVASC virtual machine environment. Support for other setups is not provided.

Step 1: If you have not done so already, open the Packet Tracer activity.

Within the DEVASC VM, access your course curriculum in the Chromium browser.
Navigate to the page for this activity.
Download and launch the file Packet Tracer – Implement REST APIs with an SDN Controller.pka associated with these instructions.

Step 2: Verify Packet Tracer‘s settings for external access.

Click Options > Preferences > Miscellaneous. Under External Network Access, verify that Enable External Access for Network Controller REST API is checked.
Close the Preferences window.
Click PT-Controller0 > Config.
On the left, under REAL WORLD, click Controller.
Check Access Enabled and make note of the port number, which is most likely 58000. This is the port number you will need when externally accessing the Packet Tracer activity from Chromium, VS Code, and Postman later in this activity.

Step 3: Verify you can access Packet Tracer from another program on the DEVASC VM.

Open Chromium and navigate to http://localhost:58000/api/v1/host.

You will get the following response. This step verifies that you can externally access Packet Tracer and PT-Controller0. Notice that authorization requires a ticket. You will get an authorization token in the next Part.

{

“response”: {

“detail”: “Security Authentication Failure”,

“errorCode“: “REST_API_EXTERNAL_ACCESS”,

“message”: “Ticket-based authorization: empty ticket.”

“version”: “1.0”

} {

Part 3: Request an Authentication Token with Postman

In this Part, you will investigate the REST API documentation in Packet Tracer and use Postman to request an authentication token from the PT-Controller0. You can also do this in VS Code with a Python script.

Step 1: Investigate the REST API documentation for the Network Controller.

To see the REST API documentation for PT-Controller0, complete the following steps:

Click Admin > Desktop > Web Browser.
Enter 192.168.101.254.
Log in to PT-Controller0 with user cisco and password cisco123!.
Click the menu next to the Cisco logo and choose API Docs.
You can also access this same documentation from the Help menu. Click Help > Contents.
In the navigation pane on the left, scroll down about two-thirds of the way and click Network Controller API. This provides the same documentation you found on PT-Controller0.
In the API documentation, click addTicket. You will use this documentation in the next step.

Note: Some REST API functionality may not be available in the current version of Packet Tracer.

Step 2: Create a new POST request.

After reviewing the addTicket REST API Method documentation, open Postman. In the Launch area, click the plus sign to create a new Untitled Request.
Click the down arrow and change the type from GET to POST.
Enter the URL http://localhost:58000/api/v1/ticket.
Below the URL field, click Body. Change the type to raw.
Click the down arrow next to Text and change it to JSON. This change will also set the “Content-type” HTTP Header to “application/json” that is required for this API call.
Paste the following JSON object into the Body field. Make sure your code is properly formatted

{

“username”: “cisco”,

“password”: “cisco123!”

}

Step 3: Send the POST request

Click Send to send the POST request to the PT-Controller0.

You should get a response similar to the following. However, your_serviceTicket will be an actual value.

{

“response”: {

“idleTimeout“: 900,

“serviceTicket“: “your_serviceTicket“,

“sessionTimeout“: 3600

“version”: “1.0”

}

Copy the serviceTicket value without the quotes to a text file for later use.

Part 4: Send REST Requests with Postman

In this Part, you will use your service ticket to send three REST requests to the PT-Controller0.

Step 1: Create a new GET request for all network devices in the network.

In Postman, click the plus sign to create a new Untitled Request.
Enter the URL http://localhost:58000/api/v1/network-device.
Below the URL field, click Headers.
Under the last KEY, click the Key field and enter X-Auth-Token.
In the Value field, enter the value for your service ticket.

Step 2: Send the GET request.

Click Send to send the GET request to the PT-Controller0.

You should get a response listing the details that the controller has for the nine network devices in the network. The response for the first device is shown here.

{

“response”: [

{

“collectionStatus“: “Managed”,

“connectedInterfaceName“: [

“GigabitEthernet0/0/0”,

“GigabitEthernet0”,

“FastEthernet0”

“connectedNetworkDeviceIpAddress“: [

“192.168.101.1”,

“192.168.101.254”,

“192.168.101.100”

“connectedNetworkDeviceName“: [

“R1”,

“NetworkController“,

“Example Server”

“errorDescription“: “”,

“globalCredentialId“: “53046ecc-88c3-49f6-9626-ca8ab9db6725”,

“hostname”: “SWL1”,

“id”: “CAT1010BT47-uuid”,

“interfaceCount“: “29”,

“inventoryStatusDetail“: “Managed”,

“lastUpdateTime“: “6”,

“lastUpdated“: “2020-06-11 22:55:51”,

“macAddress“: “000C.CF42.2B11”,

“managementIpAddress“: “192.168.101.2”,

“platformId“: “3650”,

“productId“: “3650-24PS”,

“reachabilityFailureReason“: “”,

“reachabilityStatus“: “Reachable”,

“serialNumber“: “CAT1010BT47-“,

“softwareVersion“: “16.3.2”,

“type”: “MultiLayerSwitch“,

“upTime“: “4 hours, 55 minutes, 11 seconds”

“version”: “1.0”

}

Step 3: Duplicate the GET request and modify it for all hosts on the network.

In Postman, right-click the tab for your host GET request and choose Duplicate Tab.
All information in the ticket is the same except for the URL. Simply change network-device to host:

http://localhost:58000/api/v1/host.

Step 4: Send the GET request.

Click Send to send the GET request to the PT-Controller0.

You should get a response listing the details that the controller has for the six host devices in the network. The response for the first device is shown here.

{

“response”: [

{

“connectedAPMacAddress“: “”,

“connectedAPName“: “”,

“connectedInterfaceName“: “GigabitEthernet1/0/24”,

“connectedNetworkDeviceIpAddress“: “192.168.102.2”,

“connectedNetworkDeviceName“: “SWL2”,

“hostIp“: “192.168.102.3”,

“hostMac“: “00E0.F96C.155B”,

“hostName“: “PC4”,

“hostType“: “Pc”,

“id”: “PTT08108MO8-uuid”,

“lastUpdated“: “2020-06-11 22:49:32”,

“pingStatus“: “SUCCESS”

“version”: “1.0”

}

Step 5: Close Postman to free up memory in the DEVASC VM.

Part 5: Send REST Requests with VS Code

In this Part, you will use Python script in VS Code to send the same API requests you sent in Postman. However, you will also use Python for loops to parse the JSON and display only specific key value pairs.

Step 1: Use a script to request a service ticket.

Open VS code.
Click File > Open Folder… and navigate to the devnet-src/ptna directory.
Click OK.

Notice in the EXPLORE pane on the left that three scripts are shown: 01_get-ticket.py, 02_get-network-device.py, and 03_get-host.py. Review the code for each. Notice that the scripts for network devices and hosts require that you replace the your_serviceTicket value with the value Packet Tracer gave you when you requested a ticket. Request a new service ticket to see the function of the 01_get-ticket.py script.

Open a terminal window in VS Code: Terminal > New Terminal.
Run the 01_get-ticket.py to see output similar to the following.

devasc@labvm:~/labs/devnet-src/ptna$ python3 01_get-ticket.py

Ticket request status: 201

The service ticket number is: your_serviceTicket

devasc@labvm:~/labs/devnet-src/ptna$

Replace the your_serviceTicket value in 02_get-network-device.py and 03_get-host.py with the value Packet Tracer gave you.

Step 2: Use a script to request a list of network devices.

Previously in Postman, the call to the network device‘s API returned a list of all nine network devices and all the information available for each device. However, the 02_get-network-device.py script prints only the values of the keys that the programmer is interested in: hostname, platformId, and managementIpAddress.

In the terminal window, run the 02_get-network-device.py script.

devasc@labvm:~/labs/devnet-src/ptna$ python3 02_get-network-device.py

Request status: 200

SWL1 3650 192.168.101.2

R1 ISR4300 192.168.1.2

R3 ISR4300 192.168.2.1

SWR1 3650 10.0.1.2

SWR2 3650 10.0.1.3

R2 ISR4300 192.168.2.2

SWL2 3650 192.168.102.2

SWR4 3650 10.0.1.5

SWR3 3650 10.0.1.4

devasc@labvm:~/labs/devnet-src/ptna$

Step 3: Use a script to request a list of host devices.

Similarly, the programmer chose to list specific information for each of the six host devices connected to the network.

In the terminal window, run the 03_get-host.py script.

devasc@labvm:~/labs/devnet-src/ptna$ python3 03_get-host.py

Request status: 200

PC4 192.168.102.3 00E0.F96C.155B GigabitEthernet1/0/24

PC3 10.0.2.129 0004.9A42.C245 GigabitEthernet1/0/24

PC1 10.0.1.129 00E0.A330.3359 GigabitEthernet1/0/22

PC2 10.0.2.130 0060.47C1.A4DB GigabitEthernet1/0/23

Admin 10.0.1.130 0050.0FCE.B095 GigabitEthernet1/0/21

Example Server 192.168.101.100 000A.413D.D793 GigabitEthernet1/0/3

devasc@labvm:~/labs/devnet-src/ptna$

Part 6: Send REST Requests Inside Packet Tracer (Optional)

In this Part, you will use the same scripts with one small edit to send the same API requests inside Packet Tracer that you sent from VS Code.

Step 1: Create a Project in Packet Tracer

In Packet Tracer, click the Admin PC.
Click the Programming tab.
There is currently no project. Click New.
Enter REST APIs as the Name and choose Empty – Python as the template.
Click Create.

The REST APIs (Python) project is now created with a blank main.py script.

Step 2: Modify the scripts to run inside Packet Tracer.

Access from one application to another on the same host machine requires that the port number be specified in the URL. However, Packet Tracer is simulating a real network. In the real world, you do not normally specify the port number when making API requests. In addition, you would use a domain name or IP address in the URL.

In VS Code, copy the code for 03_get-host.py.
In the Admin > Programming tab, double-click the main.py script to open it.
Paste the code in the main.py script.
Change the api_url. Replace localhost:58000/api/v1/host with 192.168.101.254/api/v1/host.
Edits are automatically saved. Click Run. Packet Tracer output does not exactly simulate what you see in the Linux command line. However, you should see similar output as shown below.

Starting REST APIs (Python)…

(‘Request status: ‘, 200)

(‘PC4’, ‘\t’, ‘192.168.102.3’, ‘\t’, ’00E0.F96C.155B’, ‘\t’, ‘GigabitEthernet1/0/24’)

(‘PC3’, ‘\t’, ‘10.0.2.129’, ‘\t’, ‘0004.9A42.C245′, ‘\t’, ‘GigabitEthernet1/0/24’)

(‘PC1’, ‘\t’, ‘10.0.1.129’, ‘\t’, ’00E0.A330.3359′, ‘\t’, ‘GigabitEthernet1/0/22’)

(‘PC2’, ‘\t’, ‘10.0.2.130’, ‘\t’, ‘0060.47C1.A4DB’, ‘\t’, ‘GigabitEthernet1/0/23’)

(‘Admin’, ‘\t’, ‘10.0.1.130’, ‘\t’, ‘0050.0FCE.B095′, ‘\t’, ‘GigabitEthernet1/0/21’)

(‘Example Server’, ‘\t’, ‘192.168.101.100’, ‘\t’, ‘000A.413D.D793’, ‘\t’, ‘GigabitEthernet1/0/3’)

REST APIs (Python) finished running.

Copy and paste 02_get-network-device.py into the main.py. Change the URL and run it.

REST APIs (Python) finished running.

Starting REST APIs (Python)…

(‘Request status: ‘, 200)

(‘SWL1’, ‘\t’, ‘3650’, ‘\t’, ‘192.168.101.2’)

(‘R1’, ‘\t’, ‘ISR4300’, ‘\t’, ‘192.168.1.2’)

(‘R3’, ‘\t’, ‘ISR4300’, ‘\t’, ‘192.168.2.1’)

(‘SWR1’, ‘\t’, ‘3650’, ‘\t’, ‘10.0.1.2’)

(‘SWR2’, ‘\t’, ‘3650’, ‘\t’, ‘10.0.1.3’)

(‘R2’, ‘\t’, ‘ISR4300’, ‘\t’, ‘192.168.2.2’)

(‘SWL2’, ‘\t’, ‘3650’, ‘\t’, ‘192.168.102.2’)

(‘SWR4’, ‘\t’, ‘3650’, ‘\t’, ‘10.0.1.5’)

(‘SWR3’, ‘\t’, ‘3650’, ‘\t’, ‘10.0.1.4’)

REST APIs (Python) finished running