mcp-network-jcd 0.3.1

MCP server for network device queries (Palo Alto, Cisco IOS via SSH; F5 BIG-IP via iControl REST)

MCP Network JCD

MCP server for querying network devices via SSH. Supports Palo Alto firewalls and Cisco IOS devices.

Installation

pip install mcp-network-jcd

Or from source:

python3.12 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e .

Configuration

Set environment variables for credentials:

# Palo Alto
export PALOALTO_USERNAME="readonly_user"
export PALOALTO_PASSWORD="your_password"

# Cisco IOS
export CISCO_USERNAME="readonly_user"
export CISCO_PASSWORD="your_password"
export CISCO_ENABLE_PASSWORD="enable_secret"  # Optional

Claude Desktop

Add to ~/.config/claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-network-jcd": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "mcp_network_jcd.server"],
      "env": {
        "PALOALTO_USERNAME": "readonly_user",
        "PALOALTO_PASSWORD": "your_password",
        "CISCO_USERNAME": "cisco_user",
        "CISCO_PASSWORD": "cisco_password",
        "CISCO_ENABLE_PASSWORD": "enable_secret"
      }
    }
  }
}

Tools

paloalto_query

Query Palo Alto firewall via SSH.

Input: host*, commands* (1-10), port (22), timeout (30s)

Output: {success, device, results[], total_duration_ms, timestamp}

Usage Tips

Use filtered commands to avoid large outputs:

# Good
show routing route | match 10.14
test security-policy-match from ZONE1 to ZONE2 source IP destination IP protocol 6 destination-port 443
show interface logical
show system info

# Avoid (output too large)
show running security-policy
show session all
show routing route  # without filter

cisco_ios_query

Query Cisco IOS devices via SSH.

Input: host*, commands* (1-10), port (22), timeout (30s)

Output: {success, device, results[], total_duration_ms, timestamp}

Usage Tips

Use filtered commands to avoid large outputs:

# Good
show version
show ip interface brief
show ip route | include 10.0
show running-config | section interface
show interfaces status

# Avoid (output too large)
show running-config  # full config
show ip route  # without filter on large routing tables
show tech-support

Enable Mode

If CISCO_ENABLE_PASSWORD is set, the tool automatically enters privileged EXEC mode before running commands.

Error Codes

Both tools return structured error responses:

Code	Description
CONFIG_ERROR	Missing credentials in environment
AUTH_FAILED	Invalid username/password or enable password
CONNECTION_TIMEOUT	Device unreachable
CONNECTION_REFUSED	SSH connection rejected
UNKNOWN_ERROR	Unexpected error

Development

# Install dev dependencies
pip install -e ".[dev]"

# Run tests
pytest

# Lint
ruff check .

License

MIT