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We currently use Ansible playbooks to add or delete network devices to our various NMS tools. I want to add Forward Networks to this job so newly added devices or old devices being removed are part of this automation. When FN discovers a device it appears to use sysName for the “Name” of the device. The API however requires me to provide the name value. Is there anyway to just use the management IP to add it to FN and have FN set the name like it does during its own discovery?

I have a requirement to look for an IP anywhere in the configurations files that pertain to devices with a specific name.  I tried to use the built in NQE under Forward Library>Device>Config Search, but when I enter the IP in the bottom box of the Parameters section, “Config_Pattern”, the results come back blank.  Yet when I look at the device config, the IP I copied and pasted appears in the actual configuration.  Also, the built in NQE seems picky...as in it wont pick of tacacs+ or acl, will pickup tacacs...and case sensitive as well apparently. For now, im looking for help with the IP search, I just wanted to not other issues with it.

Helper Functions are readily available queries in the Forward Library that you can use to streamline NQEs and save valuable coding time. These pre-built utilities empower users to accomplish intricate tasks without needing to reinvent the wheel.What Are Helper Functions?Helper functions simplify common networking queries. They reduce the need to manually generate code, enabling users to:Extract data with greater ease, including IP addresses and VLAN associations. Identify device types, configurations, or compliance based on standards. Handle complex calculations and data parsing. Combine multiple functions for advanced queries.

When I first started working with Network Query Engine (NQE), I didn’t have a traditional software engineering background and was learning Python and NQE at the same time. I needed to create a custom solution for handling certificate expiration dates across different network devices. The Python part of my brain was hoping to find a traditional for loop capability, and was a bit lost when that didn’t exist. As you may know, you can solve any given problem 10 different ways with NQE. I wanted to write a solution that would be clean, readable, easy to maintain, and share with others without having to provide too much explanation .That’s where the WHEN statement came into play.What is a WHEN Statement?Within the NQE Data Model, there are some data types that have a fixed list of options.The WHEN statement in NQE

How can i get the config register value for cisco devices ?

After spending the last 8 weeks as an intern, I’ve learned a lot about network digital twins and how they enhance visibility, maintenance, and security. You can read more about my experience in this post. Over the last few weeks, I’ve created powerful scripts to answer common security and compliance questions that years ago would have taken hours trying to answer in the CLI. The query I created below identifies Arista devices that have a security vulnerability in their configuration.Benefit of this NQEThis query solves similar issues to those I encountered at previous network admin jobs. This query drastically cut the time I would have otherwise spent investigating issues on individual devices. With a little effort in creating this query, I can now answer these questions in seconds with each

In the early days of my Air Force career, the tech control facility was filled with the aroma of coffee and the buzz of technology. Each morning, my role was clear: brew the perfect cup for my boss and run countless validation checks through the CLI, ensuring each day started on the right note. Does this sound familiar? Maybe not the coffee but certainly hunched over the keyboard staring at a CRT screen using the CLI to search across hundreds of devices. These were monotonous tasks, logging in to each device one after the next, looking for significant events and up/down statuses, then documenting that information to provide an update to the division chief. It made me wonder if there was a way to automate this drudgery.  It has been 20 years since then and I am now an intern with Forward. It has been a fantastic opportunity to advance my skills in Linux, Python, and deepen my understanding of the role of DevOps in technology organizations.  Key takeaways I have

Hi all, I am new to NQE and trying to find out a way to list up all the devices with the EOL/S status.Here is the script which the first phase./*** @intent End-of-life data for operating systems** @description If  EoL data is known for the OS of a device,* then that device shows the respected dates, if not EoS related columns shows null.** Data exists for devices running any of these OSes:* ARISTA_EOS, IOS, IOS_XE, IOS_XR, JUNOS, NXOS, and PAN_OS. */ foreach device in network.deviceslet platform = device.platformlet osSupport = platform.osSupport/* where isPresent(osSupport) */select {  Device: device.name,  Vendor: platform.vendor,  Model: platform.model,  OS: platform.os,  "OS Version": platform.osVersion,  "End of OS maintenance": osSupport?.lastMaintenanceDate,  "End o

can Forward Network application (itself) integrate with Grafana, or Sysdig for monitoring the system health (i.e. cpu, memory, logfile, processes, filesystem) attributes. would like to send to dashboard tier team monitoring

Hello!    We are trying to write a NQE referencing the State File OSPF PEERS, but we cant find anything related to code or the CommandType, or any data really, in the NQE data model.  Can someone please point me in the right direction.

You can use NQE to examine the firewall rules in all firewalls in a network. However, you will need to use a different approach depending on what you want to audit in your security rules.Forward Enterprise collects and parses the ACLs and security rules from all devices: firewalls, routers, switches, and so on. The data is then parsed and normalized. This data is stored in a database in a custom format that allows the Forward application to perform path analysis.The following NQE query uses the Forward Enterprise aclEntry object to provide consistent output from any vendor Firewall. Note that the scope of device types in the output is limited by using the where statement and filtering to DeviceType.FIREWALL.This query will work for every ACL/security rule on any Firewall in the network. However, because the query is working on normalized data, each security rule in a firewall may be broken

If you’re interested in other ways to identify non-compliant devices, check out this article I wrote: The Hardware and Software Compliance Checker is a powerful script designed to ensure all network devices are authorized and operating on approved OS versions. By providing a detailed view of the network inventory, this query identifies devices that either lack approval to be on the network or are running outdated or incorrect software. With its comprehensive approach, this NQE empowers network administrators to maintain compliance, enhance security, and streamline operational workflows.Benefits of Using the Hardware and Software Compliance Checker:Enhanced Compliance: Ensures all devices on the network are authorized and running approved OS ve

If you’re interested in other ways to identify non-compliant devices, check out this article I wrote:The End-of-Life (EOL) and End-of-Sale (EOS) Checker is a streamlined tool that identifies network devices nearing or past their vendor support lifecycle. By cross-referencing inventory data with a list of outdated devices sourced from vendor sites, such as Cisco’s EOL/EOS database, the query ensures administrators are aware of devices that may pose operational risks. This proactive approach enables organizations to plan replacements, reduce downtime, and ensure ongoing compliance with industry standards.Benefits of Using this NQE:Proactive Replacement Planning: Identifies aging devices before they become liabilities, reducing unplanned downtime. Streamlin

 🌟 Revolutionize Your Multicast Network Management with Forward Enterprise 🌟Managing multicast networks can be a daunting task, but Forward Enterprise makes it seamless with its advanced visibility, analysis, and troubleshooting. This demo showcases how the platform simplifies complex operations, offering unparalleled control and insights into your multicast network infrastructure.  Forward Enterprise - Multicast BenefitsSimplified Multicast Management: With an intuitive interface and dynamic topology maps, Forward Enterprise makes it easy for both novices and experts to manage and analyze complex multicast networks efficiently. Comprehensive and Actionable Insights: The platform provides a

 Recently, two critical vulnerabilities (CVE-2024-0012 and CVE-2024-9474) were discovered in Palo Alto Networks' PanOS operating system. CVE-2024-0012 lets an attacker gain admin access and exploit other vulnerabilities like 2024-9474. These vulnerabilities allow attackers to gain admin privileges and plant malicious code, potentially giving them deeper access to company networks. The highlights are available below. Watch the video for the full story.Here’s how you can address these threats: Understand the Threat: The vulnerabilities enable unauthorized access, risking the security of your firewalls and networks.

I am trying to find the specific commandType for the information in the device ‘nat v4’ result. For Cisco devices, it looks like a result of ‘show ip nat statistics’ but I cannot find the specific commandType in the data model documentation. Is there somewhere that can be searched?  

Keeping your network source of truth accurate is critical in cloud environments that evolve rapidly. Forward Networks’ cloud modeling capabilities make it easier to understand your network state, but manual snapshot collections for every change can be time-consuming. To solve this, I recently built an automated workflow using AWS EventBridge to trigger Forward Networks’ cloud snapshot collections for relevant AWS network changes. In this post, I’ll share how to set up this integration, including tips to limit the number of collections and keep costs within the AWS Free Tier. The Challenge AWS environments experience frequent changes, such as:• Creating or deleting VPCs.• Modifying route tables or DirectConnect links.• Updating Elastic Load Balancers. Manually capturing snapshots for every change isn’t practical, and triggering collections for every event

Some output from commands has a comma immediately after the output number: nat-limit statistics: max entry: max allowed 0, used 0, missed 0 I can parse the result as a string, but want to grab the data as a number so I can do other operations (math/comparison/etc). I can remove the comma with a replacement function (thanks ​@GaryB )cleanComma(s) = replaceMatches(s, ",", ""); however the output, even while being a number (0) is still considered a string. Looking at toNumber, the documentation gives the warning it is for IPv4 addresses only. Is there a way to convert a string into a number variable type?

How can i add AVI LB on FWN , TO use port https ,443 .?

I am using the NQE query to retrieve Fortinet Firewall NTP details. However, I am also receiving details for VDOM (Virtual Context ) or virtual contexts, which I do not want. Could you please assist me in refining the NQE query to exclude these VDOM details?   

Hi Team,I need to obtain a list of devices that have syslog enabled as well as those that do not. I have checked the Forward Library and the community but could not find any relevant queries for this purpose. Could you please assist me in generating the list of devices with syslog enabled and those without it? Thank you!

NQE Query for F5 NTP Server details from config, Please help us to collect this data.

Your Regex Toolkit is Here!Starting with Release 24.10, NQE supports regular expressions (or “regex”), one of the most requested features from our community. Regular expressions are an essential toolkit for working with textual data, and networking often requires us to handle plenty of it. Whether you’re parsing the output of commands like show interfaces brief or making sense of complex device naming conventions, regex in NQE can make these tasks faster and more efficient. Why Regular Expressions Matter in NetworkingRegular expressions provide a powerful way to:Identify patterns within strings, such as determining if a device name follows a specific naming convention or verifyi

Do patterns need to be standardized or will blockMatches match when lines are missing? pattern=```line one {main:string}    sub-line1 may or may not be consistently present    sub-line2 may or may not be consistently present    sub-line3 {value1:string} is target and sub-line3 will always be there    sub-line4 may or may not be consistently present    sub-line5 may or may not be consistently present    sub-line6 may or may not be consistently present    sub-line7 may or may not be consistently present    sub-line8 {value2:string} is target and sub-line8 will always be there         sub-sub-line9 {value3:string} is target and sub-sub-line9 will always be there        sub-line10 may or may not be consistently present    sub-line11 may or may not be consistently present    sub-line12 {value4:string} is target and may or may not be present         sub-sub-line13 {value5:string} is target

I have created a synthetic node inside a workspace to run down the various connections for a complex multibranch setup with multiple MPLS vpns and Internet VPNs. Is there a way to move or download the synthetic nodes so I can recreate them inside the parent network now that I have confirmed the accuracy inside the workspace? Note that I am trying to move it from a workspace back to the parent network - otherwise I would just recreate the workspace from the parent and include the synthetic.