Owner's Manual

Smart Scripting | 51

Smart Scripting

Smart Scripting is supported on platforms: z

Smart Scripting allows you to add functionality to the FTOS operating system

without requiring updates to the FTOS release. Smart Scripting is available as a

separate installable package that supports Perl, Python, and UNIX scripting and

various FTOS functions.

The Smart Scripting package supports smart utility APIs (SmartUtils) to provide

developers with an easier way to invoke switch operations by creating and running

Perl, Python, and UNIX shell scripts on the FTOS operating system. API library files

describe the functions supported in Perl, Python, and UNIX scripts.

A separate package has been extended with HTTP and HTTPS daemons to support a

REST-like API based on CGI scripts and a Web-based graphical user interface. For

information on the HTTP Get requests supported by the REST API, see Chapter 10,

Programmatic Management.

Overview

Using Smart Scripting, network administrators can create custom Perl, Python, and

UNIX shell scripts to manage and interact with Dell Force10 switches/routers in the

network. Smart Scripting provides support for:

• Modules required to run Perl scripts, such as the software development kits

(SDKs) for VMware and vCenter/vSphere

• Modules that implement requested Python features, such as AMQP (message

queuing), XML-RPC (arbitrary data exchange), and Twisted (event-driven

networking engine).

With Smart Scripting, there is no need to learn proprietary scripting languages,

allowing for the faster development and deployment of custom scripts.

Smart Scripting also offers solutions in a UNIX environment that are useful to cloud

administrators who are familiar with working directly in a UNIX shell. Script support

in a UNIX environment allows you to invoke standard UNIX utilities, such as netstat,

tcpdump, ls, chmod, chown, and so on.