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September 6, 2022 07:42 pm GMT

Automating DrawIO network topology using Python

Intro

In this blog , we are going to show how to use the draw_network_plot python library to generate a DrawIO Network topology easily instead of manually drawing them yourself .

DrawIO is widely used as a free alternative to Microsoft's Visio to draw network topologies.

I will be using Netmiko and CDP to acquire the data needed for the plot for the devices themselves , but this part won't be the focus of the article .

Focus of the article is how to use the "drawio_network_plot" library" to generate the DrawIO file .

Library setup

Make sure to have Python 3.7 and above , then install the library using :
$ pip install drawio_network_plot

Lab setup

Lab is done on EVE-NG using Cisco's 7200VXR image to create the topology , the whole topology is L3 with Loopback so the Python CentOS server would be able to ssh to each device .

EVE-NG Topology Diagram (Non-generated):

Image description

Configuration and Script

You can find both the below script and all the EVE-NG Cisco devices configuration in the following Github Link :
drawio_network_plot/examples/cisco_gather_cdp_and_plot

from netmiko import ConnectHandlerimport re from drawio_network_plot.drawio_network_plot import NetPlot# ----------------- Getting live CDP Neigbors to gather links endpoints ---------------------------def retieve_lldp_neigbor_hostname(devices_list):    list_of_cdp_neighborship = []    for device in devices_list:        device_dictionary = {                            'device_type': 'cisco_ios',                              'host': device['ip_address'],                            'username': 'automation',                            'password' : '1234567',                        }        net_connect = ConnectHandler(**device_dictionary)        output = net_connect.send_command("show cdp neighbor")        lines_list = output.splitlines()        for line in lines_list:            try:                # regex to search the name of the device before the domain ID ".default" , then removing the word ".default" from the string                link = {                            'sourceNodeID' : device['nodeName'],                            'destinationNodeID' : re.search('\S+\.default',line).group().replace('.default','')                             }                # checking for duplication before adding new link :                 if {'sourceNodeID':link['destinationNodeID'],'destinationNodeID':link['sourceNodeID']} not in list_of_cdp_neighborship:                    list_of_cdp_neighborship.append(link)            except:                continue        net_connect.disconnect()    return list_of_cdp_neighborshipdef main():    # Lab Devices , must have the device type for the plotting library to work     devices = [            {'nodeName':'Router_1','ip_address':'100.0.1.1','nodeType':'router','nodeDescription':'NA'},            {'nodeName':'Router_2','ip_address':'100.0.1.2','nodeType':'router','nodeDescription':'NA'},            {'nodeName':'Spine_1','ip_address':'100.0.2.1','nodeType':'l3_switch','nodeDescription':'NA'},            {'nodeName':'Spine_2','ip_address':'100.0.2.2','nodeType':'l3_switch','nodeDescription':'NA'},            {'nodeName':'Leaf_1','ip_address':'100.0.3.1','nodeType':'l2_switch','nodeDescription':'NA'},            {'nodeName':'Leaf_2','ip_address':'100.0.3.2','nodeType':'l2_switch','nodeDescription':'NA'},            {'nodeName':'Leaf_3','ip_address':'100.0.3.3','nodeType':'l2_switch','nodeDescription':'NA'}            ]    # Getting list of links for each device    list_of_cdp_neighborship = retieve_lldp_neigbor_hostname(devices)    for peering in list_of_cdp_neighborship:        print(peering)    # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------    # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------    # ----------------- Main Part : using library to generate XML DrawIIO format ---------------------------    # Using the Plot library     x = NetPlot()    x.addNodeList(devices)    x.addLinkList(list_of_cdp_neighborship)    print(x.display_xml())    # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------    # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------    # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------if __name__ == "__main__":    main()

Library Options

Remember , you can gather the data however you like , this was just a simple demonstration of what you can do , main code to remember is the plotting part :

# please adhere to the naming scheme in the variables device_list = [{'nodeName' : 'TOR_1','nodeType' : 'l2_switch','nodeDescription' : 'Leaf Switch 01'}]x = NetPlot()# **IMPORTANT NOTE :**---> Make sure that the sourceNode in the connection is the higher level device and that connections are not replicated , this way when you use the DrawIO automatic layout , it would create the diagram hierarchy the correct way connections_list = [{'sourceNodeID' : 'Router_1','destinationNodeID' : 'Core_switch_1'}]    # Adding using list all at once    x.addNodeList(device_list)    x.addLinkList(connections_list)    # Adding node by node and link by link    x.addNode(nodeName='Router_18',nodeType='router')    x.addLink('Router_17','Router_18')    # --- Output ---    # You can print the XML to the Stdout     print(x.display_xml())    # Or You can also directly generate an XML file using the built in function :    # x.exportXML('examples/output.xml')    

Generated output will be collapsed in one point , you will have to choose the Layout you would like in DrawIO after opening the file like showed as follows :

Generated Topology

1- Open generated XML file in DrawIO
Initial Generated File

2- go to Arrange/Layout/Vertical Tree
go to Arrange/Layout/Vertical Tree

3- Final Result
Image description

For any comment on the pip package , feature addition or any comment , please share your suggestions as this is my 1st PIP library , and divinely its not perfect .

Thanks ...


Original Link: https://dev.to/amrelhusseiny/automating-drawio-network-topology-using-python-4k25

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