I thought why not have a go at creating some videos to compliment the posts I publish on my blog, so I’ve created a YouTube channel and uploaded a couple of videos to get started.
My videos use GNS3 and simulated switches to help demonstrate something useful from an Extreme Networks experience with operating systems such as EXOS or VOSS.
Please check it out and subscribe if you like them and I will create some more.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-lME2FRFCEG-sLwZmPDCbw
Thanks
Rob
Visio Studio Code is great for working with Python scripts. A quick way to comment out lines of instructions is to use Ctrl + Alt + Down Arrow.
Before:
print(“line1”)
print(“line2”)
print(“line3”)
Place cursor at beginning of the first line, in this case the line with “print(“line1″)”. Next press Ctrl + Alt + Down Arrow and release when the last line is reached i.e. “print(“line3″)”. Type the “#” character and all lines will be commented out.
After:
#print(“line1”)
#print(“line2”)
#print(“line3”)
Similarly, to remove the “#” symbol use the same method to select the lines but select delete key to remove the hash character (in Python this will change the print statements back to code again).
Procedure
Login to your switch
Use VI to create a python script, or use TFTP to transfer the Python file to EXOS.
Type vi <Python_FILE_NAME>.py to create the Python file
In the Vi editor, type press the i key to enter insert mode.
Create the Python script.
Exit insert mode by pressing the Esc key.
Save and exit by typing :wq
Run your Python script.
To run the script use the command load script <Python_FILE_NAME>.py
Example:
# vi chg_mask.py
import exsh
exsh.clicmd(“unconfigure vlan MGMT ipaddress”)
exsh.clicmd(“configure vlan MGMT ipaddress 10.10.10.130 255.255.255.192”)
print (“Change complete!”)
# cat chg_mask.py
import exsh
exsh.clicmd(“unconfigure vlan MGMT ipaddress”)
exsh.clicmd(“configure vlan MGMT ipaddress 10.10.10.130 255.255.255.192”)
print (“Change complete!”)
# load sc chg_mask.py
Note: Used this on a live switch and changed the mask remotely without losing connection. Existing SSH session stayed connected which is why I scripted it, in case doing this procedure one line at a time without a script would cut me off.
Have you wondered how to clear the screen of your python interpreter?
Create a function that can be called to do this.
>>> import os
>>> def clear():
… os.system(‘cls’ if os.name == ‘nt’ else ‘clear’)
…
Microsoft Windows uses cls and Linux uses clear command.
Tip:
If you import inspect module you can see the code inside a function.
>>> import inspect
>>> print(inspect.getsource(clear))
The output will look like this:
def clear():
os.system(‘cls’ if os.name == ‘nt’ else ‘clear’)
Now to try clearing the screen.
Type clear() and the screen will clear…
>>>
Type dir() shows the three modules installed like ‘clear’, ‘inspect’ and ‘os’ in our session above amongst others.
The following command allowed me to change the persona of the Extreme Networks AP 305C-WR from WING to become a cloud based AP. After changing the OS and a reboot the AP was able to connect to Cloud IQ.
Configuration is reset, device will reboot to xiq-cloud force operational mode
#
Looking into a complaint where an AP keeps going offline (orange LED) on an EXOS switch. The port is running at 100 Mbps instead of 1000 Mbps.
Suspect a cabling issue could be the cause but how can I prove this?
Found a useful command to check the cable (can be used on a single port) from the command line which has highlighted there could be an issue with one of the pairs. The test runs for 30 seconds. It will impact traffic on the selected port during the test.
Slot-1 Switch1 #% run diagnostics cable ports 1:18
Do you want to continue cable diagnostics? (y/N) Yes
cablediag: 1.1.0.14
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
C A U T I O N +
cablediag will momentarily interfere with traffic on active ports +
+———————————————————————–+
Slot 1: Ports: 18 +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Collecting port cable diagnostic information may take a moment…
Slot 1
port 1:18: cable (4 pairs, length +/- 10 meters)
pair A Ok, length 31 meters
pair B Open, length 26 meters
pair C Ok, length 26 meters
pair D Ok, length 23 meters
If the diagnostic test reports that Pair B is open, it means there’s a break or disconnection in the second pair of wires inside the Ethernet cable — and this directly explains why we are only getting 100 Mbps instead of 1000 Mbps (and a possible cause of AP instability).
Created a web app which lists the videos on my You-Tube channel. The app accepts any public URL or can choose a number from the list and the video will play in the same window.
Gemini – You-Tube Video Viewer
In addition, a similar web app but uses the Extreme Videos playlist on my channel where I collect useful videos relating to Extreme Networks.
You-Tube Playlist Viewer (Extreme Videos):
https://www.youtube.com/@robd493/featured
Trying to keep up with AI and tried out Google Gemini Pro 2.5 to see how it differs from ChatGPT.
With simple prompt engineering it is possible to create web apps which interact with the user and the code can handle difference scenarios based on choices made by the user.
The key take away is that with a little imagination you can build a user interface which works in a browser and provides output. Useful for training or learning things.
The web apps can look different each time you ask, even with the same prompt. This seems a side effect of AI in that it does not always give the right answer or even the exact same answer. I’m sure there are ways to achieve consistency but in a way it is also useful to see alternative results.
I created web apps to provide the CLI commands for EXOS, VOSS and Cisco IOS. I also created a regular expression tutor which is great for testing.
A quick python script that will collect the VLANs configured on an individual port in VOSS.
import paramiko
import time
import re
# Configuration
HOST = “192.168.0.50”
USERNAME = “rwa”
PASSWORD = “rwa”
PORT = “1/9”
def extract_vlan_ids(output, port):
vlan_ids = []
for line in output.splitlines():
if port in line and “normal” in line:
words = line.split()
try:
normal_index = words.index(“normal”)
vlan_field = words[normal_index – 1]
vlan_ids = [int(v) for v in vlan_field.split(“,”) if v.isdigit()]
print(f”🔎 Extracted VLANs: {vlan_ids}”)
except (ValueError, IndexError):
print(“⚠️ Could not parse VLANs from line:”, line)
break
return vlan_ids
def remove_vlans_from_port(host, username, password, port):
try:
ssh = paramiko.SSHClient()
ssh.set_missing_host_key_policy(paramiko.AutoAddPolicy())
ssh.connect(host, username=username, password=password, look_for_keys=False)
shell = ssh.invoke_shell()
time.sleep(1)
shell.send(“enable\n”)
time.sleep(0.5)
shell.send(“configure terminal\n”)
time.sleep(0.5)
# Show VLAN info for the port
shell.send(f”show interface gig vlan {port}\n”)
time.sleep(2)
output = shell.recv(5000).decode()
print(“📋 Raw Output:\n”, output)
vlan_ids = extract_vlan_ids(output, port)
if not vlan_ids:
print(f”⚠️ No VLANs found near ‘normal’ for port {port}.”)
else:
for vlan_id in vlan_ids:
cmd = f”vlan members remove {vlan_id} {port}\n”
shell.send(cmd)
time.sleep(0.2)
print(f”✅ Sent: {cmd.strip()}”)
shell.send(“exit\n”)
time.sleep(0.5)
ssh.close()
print(f”✅ Completed: Removed VLANs {vlan_ids} from port {port} on {host}”)
except Exception as e:
print(f”❌ Error: {e}”)
# Run it
remove_vlans_from_port(HOST, USERNAME, PASSWORD, PORT)
##
5520-24T-FabricEngine:1(config)#
🔎 Extracted VLANs: [44, 55]
✅ Sent: vlan members remove 44 1/9
✅ Sent: vlan members remove 55 1/9
✅ Completed: Removed VLANs [44, 55] from port 1/9 on 192.168.0.50
Note: Alternatively, use EDM to remove port from VLANs and Apply. Or prepare a list of VLAN IDs in Column A in an Excel sheet and concatenate into the command “vlan members remove <cell-A1> <port>” to create the complete command in the next column and then select the + sign of that cell and drag the cell down until reach the end and you can then copy a list of commands into the CLI which will remove each VLAN from the port.
Another idea is to remove tagging from the port, this will remove all the VLANs immediately. Can then make the port an untagged member of a single VLAN.
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