iControl is the first open API that enables applications to work in concert with the underlying network based on true software integration. Utilizing SOAP/XML to ensure open communications between dissimilar systems, iControl helps F5 customers, leading independent software vendors (ISVs), and Solution Providers realize new levels of automation and configuration management efficiency. Whether monitoring network-level traffic statistics, automating network configuration and management, or facilitating next generation service-oriented architectures, iControl gives organizations the power and flexibility to ensure that applications and the network work together for increased reliability, security, and performance. Further, iControl has proven itself as a valuable technology that can help reduce the cost of managing complex environments.

[table][tr][th]Module[/th][th]Description[/th][/tr]

[tr][td]{} ASM[/td][td]The ASM module contains the Application Security Manager interfaces that enable you to get information on and work with the components, attributes, and security policies associated with the ASM module.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]{} Classification[/td][td]The Classification module contains the interfaces that enable you to get information on and work with the components, attributes, and devices associated with classification.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]{} Common[/td][td]The Common module contains the common set of aliases, structs, and exceptions in the iApp environment.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]{} GlobalLB[/td][td]The GlobalLB module contains the Global Load Balancing interfaces that enable you to work with the components of a global load balancer system, such as data centers, servers, virtual servers, wide IPs, pools .... You can also use the interfaces in this module to work with topology attributes and global variables.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]{} LTConfig[/td][td]The LTConfig module contains interfaces necessary to access configuration items that are managed by the loosely-typed configuration system. Such items include configuration parameters that historically were managed by hand access to files in the file system, or were manageable through iControl by having it access the filesystem. The LTConfig module allows you to use iControl to access a centralized database of information in a generic and regular way. The system updates daemons and other dependent agents that are affected by changed configuration parameters automatically (e.g., after a "set_values" method call).[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]{} LocalLB[/td][td]The LocalLB module contains the Local Load Balancing interfaces that enable you to get information on and work with the components, attributes, and devices associated with a local load balancer.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]{} Log[/td][td]The Log module contains the Logging interfaces that enable you to manage logging on the system, including setting up destinations, filtering logs, and managing destinations.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]{} Management[/td][td]The Management module contains all the interfaces necessary to manage the system.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]{} Networking[/td][td]The Networking module contains the L2/L3 interfaces that enable you to get information on, and work with the components, attributes, and objects of Layer 2/3.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]{} PEM[/td][td]The PEM (Policy Enforcement Manager) module contains the interfaces that enable you to get information on and work with the components, attributes, and devices associated with PEM.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]{} Security[/td][td]The Security module contains interfaces that enable you to set up a firewall and security policies on your BIG-IP system.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]{} System[/td][td]The System module contains interfaces that enable you to work with system-level services.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]{} WebAccelerator[/td][td]WebAccelerator offers some limited iControl APIs, primarily for system, not end user, use.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]{} iCall[/td][td]The iCall module contains interfaces permitting you to work with the iCall feature. Different places in the system are able to notify the iCall engine of events that happen on the system. Events come with contextual information describing the objects that are changing state and other details relevant to the event. You can define handlers that register interest in particular sets of events and that filter on context details associated with the incoming events. For example, you might define an event that triggers when a certain iStats value, like the number of connections on a particular virtual address, exceeds a given threshold. The contexts on the event would give information about the name of the virtual address, as well as the threshold that was exceeded. Then, a handler interested in events meeting that description would be triggered, launching a Tcl script to perform additional actions (e.g. adding a new pool member).[/td][/tr][/table]

Edited November 6, 201510 yr by Guest

I'm learning but so far this is what I learned

To run the f5 API's you need to load a library up of the F5 commands and to do that you need to know what language you plan on using to communicate with the F5 (Perl, Python, Ruby, Java, etc) and what is the host OS

In this example I chose to try Python (even though they are all a learning experience since I'm familar with none of them) and the host is an Ubuntu server

F5 has two different ways using Python

1. Uses pycontrol (python + iControl)

2. Uses bigsuds newest version also based on suds

pycontrol on Ubuntu

First I need to install the pre-reqs on Ubuntu

1. Python 32bit version (it comes on Ubuntu by default but if not you can download and install it), validate you have it installed and what version it is

# python --version
Python 2.7.6

2.Python Setup Tools (sudo apt-get install python-setuptools)

3.Python SUDS Library (sudo apt-get install python-setuptools)

4.Painful part is install the pyControl v2

-- Download it

-- tar xvfz pycontrol-2.0a.tar.gz

-- cd trunk

-- sudo python setup.py install

5.Verify pyControl is installed and working

python
import suds
import pycontrol.pycontrol as pc
suds.__version__
suds.__build__
pc.__version__
pc.__build__

Note:No errors means you are ready to go with pycontrol

Let's Start out easy

if you are in python disregard, otherwise type python and press enter and you should see your prompt change to >>>

import suds

import pycontrol.pycontrol as pc

Now your suds library is loaded, let's log into the f5 box

b = pc.BIGIP(hostname = '10.40.63.11', username = 'user1', password = 'mysecret',fromurl = True, wsdls = ['System.SystemInfo'])

bigsuds on Ubuntu

First install the Pre-Reqs

sudo pip install bigsuds

To use it start by loading the bigsuds library

import bigsuds

Then you may want to log into the f5

b = bigsuds.BIGIP(hostname = '10.40.63.11',username = 'user1',password = 'mysecret')

Than go ahead and make a call on one of the many API's that f5 offers for there products (for example the below will get a list of all zones on the GTM)

b.LocalLB.DNSExpress.get_list()

Check the status of a zone like zahsystems.com

b.LocalLB.DNSExpress.get_object_status(['zahsystems.com'])