unicon 19.10

Unicon Connection Library

Unicon is a framework for developing device control libraries for routers, switches and servers and the likes. It is developed purely in Python, and aims to reduce the amount of boiler-plate coding required to handle device connections in Expect-like progamming. Unicon is designed to integrate as the default device connection class in Cisco pyATS, and as well can be used stand-alone if required.

Unicon is initially developed internally in Cisco, and is now available to the general public starting late 2017 through Cisco DevNet.

As a framework, Unicon provides a set of classes and settings which can be further sub-classed to create platform specific implementations.

One of the main design goals of unicon is DRY (Do Not Repeat Yourself). Hence the base classes handle all the common stuff which are applicable to all the platforms. This makes it very easy for a developer to implement connection library (via plugins) for new platforms, as they only ends up writing the differential code.

Requirements

Unicon currently supports Python 3.4+ on Linux & Mac systems. Windows platforms are not yet supported.

Quick Start

$ pip install --upgrade unicon

For more information on setting up your Python development environment, such as creating virtual environment and installing pip on your system, please refer to Virtual Environment and Packages in Python tutorials.

Examples

See example of a Unicon connection usage with Cisco IOS devices at:

https://github.com/CiscoDevNet/pyats-ios-sample

In addition, there is a sample plugin package you can follow to develop Unicon plugins for new platforms on top of Unicon:

https://github.com/CiscoDevNet/pyats-plugin-examples/tree/master/unicon_plugin_example

Support

Join us at our DevNet community for support:

https://communities.cisco.com/community/developer/pyats