External Dynamic Lists Information Object

Table of Contents

• External Dynamic Lists Information Object
• Table of Contents
• Overview
• Core Methods
• External Dynamic List Info Model Attributes
  • Provider Dictionary Attributes
• Exceptions
• Basic Configuration
• Usage Examples
  • Getting Information about a Specific External Dynamic List
  • Listing All External Dynamic Lists in a Folder
  • Filtering by EDL Types
  • Using Advanced Filtering Options
  • Combining Multiple Filters
• Processing Retrieved Information
• Error Handling
• Best Practices
  • Efficient Querying
  • Result Processing
  • Filter Usage
  • Information Analysis
  • Security Considerations
  • Integration with Other Modules
• Related Modules

Overview

The external_dynamic_lists_info Ansible module provides functionality to gather information about External Dynamic List (EDL) objects in Palo Alto Networks' Strata Cloud Manager (SCM). This is an info module that allows fetching details about specific EDLs or listing EDLs with various filtering options, including by type (IP, domain, URL, IMSI, IMEI).

Core Methods

Method	Description	Parameters	Return Type
fetch()	Gets a specific EDL by name	name: str, container: str	ExternalDynamicListResponseModel
list()	Lists EDLs with filtering	folder: str, **filters	List[ExternalDynamicListResponseModel]

External Dynamic List Info Model Attributes

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
name	str	No	Name of a specific EDL to retrieve
gather_subset	list	No	Determines which information to gather (default: config)
folder	str	No*	Filter EDLs by folder container
snippet	str	No*	Filter EDLs by snippet container
device	str	No*	Filter EDLs by device container
exact_match	bool	No	When True, only return objects defined exactly in container
exclude_folders	list	No	List of folder names to exclude from results
exclude_snippets	list	No	List of snippet values to exclude from results
exclude_devices	list	No	List of device values to exclude from results
types	list	No	Filter by EDL types (ip, domain, url, imsi, imei, etc.)

*One container parameter is required when name is not specified.

Provider Dictionary Attributes

Attribute	Type	Required	Default	Description
client_id	str	Yes		Client ID for authentication
client_secret	str	Yes		Client secret for authentication
tsg_id	str	Yes		Tenant Service Group ID
log_level	str	No	"INFO"	Log level for the SDK

Exceptions

Exception	Description
InvalidObjectError	Invalid request data or format
MissingQueryParameterError	Missing required parameters
ObjectNotPresentError	EDL not found
AuthenticationError	Authentication failed
ServerError	Internal server error

Basic Configuration

The External Dynamic Lists Info module requires proper authentication credentials to access the Strata Cloud Manager API.

- name: Basic External Dynamic Lists Info Configuration
  hosts: localhost
  gather_facts: false
  vars:
    provider:
      client_id: "your_client_id"
      client_secret: "your_client_secret"
      tsg_id: "your_tsg_id"
      log_level: "INFO"
  tasks:
    - name: Get information about external dynamic lists
      cdot65.scm.external_dynamic_lists_info:
        provider: "{{ provider }}"
        folder: "Texas"
      register: edls_result

    - name: Display retrieved external dynamic lists
      debug:
        var: edls_result

Usage Examples

Getting Information about a Specific External Dynamic List

Retrieve details about a specific external dynamic list by name and container.

- name: Get information about a specific external dynamic list
  cdot65.scm.external_dynamic_lists_info:
    provider: "{{ provider }}"
    name: "malicious-ips"
    folder: "Texas"
  register: edl_info

- name: Display external dynamic list information
  debug:
    var: edl_info.external_dynamic_list

- name: Check EDL type and URL
  debug:
    msg: "EDL type: {{ edl_info.external_dynamic_list.type | dict2items | first | json_query('key') }}, URL: {{ edl_info.external_dynamic_list.type[edl_info.external_dynamic_list.type | dict2items | first | json_query('key')].url }}"

Listing All External Dynamic Lists in a Folder

List all external dynamic lists in a specific folder.

- name: List all external dynamic lists in a folder
  cdot65.scm.external_dynamic_lists_info:
    provider: "{{ provider }}"
    folder: "Texas"
  register: all_edls

- name: Display all external dynamic lists
  debug:
    var: all_edls.external_dynamic_lists

- name: Display count of external dynamic lists
  debug:
    msg: "Found {{ all_edls.external_dynamic_lists | length }} external dynamic lists"

- name: List names of all external dynamic lists
  debug:
    msg: "{{ all_edls.external_dynamic_lists | map(attribute='name') | list }}"

Filtering by EDL Types

Filter external dynamic lists by their types.

- name: List only IP-based external dynamic lists
  cdot65.scm.external_dynamic_lists_info:
    provider: "{{ provider }}"
    folder: "Texas"
    types: ["ip"]
  register: ip_edls

- name: Process type filtered external dynamic lists
  debug:
    msg: "IP-based EDL: {{ item.name }}"
  loop: "{{ ip_edls.external_dynamic_lists }}"

- name: List domain and URL-based external dynamic lists
  cdot65.scm.external_dynamic_lists_info:
    provider: "{{ provider }}"
    folder: "Texas"
    types: ["domain", "url"]
  register: domain_url_edls

Using Advanced Filtering Options

Use advanced filtering options to refine your query results.

- name: List external dynamic lists with exact match parameter
  cdot65.scm.external_dynamic_lists_info:
    provider: "{{ provider }}"
    folder: "Texas"
    exact_match: true
  register: exact_match_edls

- name: List external dynamic lists excluding specific folders
  cdot65.scm.external_dynamic_lists_info:
    provider: "{{ provider }}"
    folder: "Texas"
    exclude_folders: ["All", "Shared"]
  register: filtered_edls

Combining Multiple Filters

Combine multiple filtering options for precise queries.

- name: List external dynamic lists with combined filtering
  cdot65.scm.external_dynamic_lists_info:
    provider: "{{ provider }}"
    folder: "Texas"
    exact_match: true
    types: ["ip", "domain"]
    exclude_folders: ["All"]
    exclude_snippets: ["default"]
  register: combined_filters

- name: Process combined filter results
  debug:
    msg: "Name: {{ item.name }}, Type: {{ item.type | dict2items | first | json_query('key') }}"
  loop: "{{ combined_filters.external_dynamic_lists }}"
  loop_control:
    label: "{{ item.name }}"

Processing Retrieved Information

Example of processing and utilizing the retrieved external dynamic list information.

- name: Analyze external dynamic list information
  hosts: localhost
  gather_facts: false
  vars:
    provider:
      client_id: "{{ client_id }}"
      client_secret: "{{ client_secret }}"
      tsg_id: "{{ tsg_id }}"
      log_level: "INFO"
  tasks:
    - name: Get all external dynamic lists
      cdot65.scm.external_dynamic_lists_info:
        provider: "{{ provider }}"
        folder: "Texas"
      register: edls_info

    - name: Group EDLs by type
      set_fact:
        edl_types: "{{ edl_types | default({}) | combine({item: types_list[item] | map(attribute='name') | list}) }}"
      loop: "{{ types_list.keys() | list }}"
      vars:
        all_edls: "{{ edls_info.external_dynamic_lists | default([]) }}"
        types_list: >-
          {% set result = {'ip': [], 'domain': [], 'url': [], 'imsi': [], 'imei': []} %}
          {% for edl in all_edls %}
            {% set edl_type = edl.type | dict2items | first | json_query('key') %}
            {% if edl_type in result %}
              {% set _ = result[edl_type].append(edl) %}
            {% endif %}
          {% endfor %}
          {{ result }}

    - name: Display EDLs grouped by type
      debug:
        var: edl_types

    - name: Find EDLs with five-minute update interval
      set_fact:
        frequent_edls: "{{ edls_info.external_dynamic_lists | selectattr('type.' + (item.type | dict2items | first | json_query('key')) + '.recurring.five_minute', 'defined') | list }}"
      with_items: "{{ edls_info.external_dynamic_lists }}"

    - name: Display EDLs with frequent updates
      debug:
        msg: "EDLs with five-minute updates: {{ frequent_edls | map(attribute='name') | list }}"

Error Handling

It's important to handle potential errors when retrieving information about external dynamic lists.

- name: Get information about external dynamic lists with error handling
  block:
    - name: Try to retrieve information about an external dynamic list
      cdot65.scm.external_dynamic_lists_info:
        provider: "{{ provider }}"
        name: "malicious-ips"
        folder: "Texas"
      register: info_result

    - name: Display external dynamic list information
      debug:
        var: info_result.external_dynamic_list

  rescue:
    - name: Handle errors
      debug:
        msg: "Failed to retrieve external dynamic list information: {{ ansible_failed_result.msg }}"

    - name: Check if it's a 'not found' error
      debug:
        msg: "The specified external dynamic list does not exist, creating it..."
      when: "'not found' in ansible_failed_result.msg"

Best Practices

Efficient Querying

• Use specific filters to reduce API load and improve performance
• When looking for a specific EDL, use the name parameter instead of filtering results
• Use container parameters consistently across queries
• Filter by EDL types when you need to find EDLs of specific varieties

Result Processing

• Always register the module output to a variable for later use
• Check if the expected data is present before processing it
• Use appropriate Ansible filters and tests when processing complex nested structures
• Use dict2items and json_query to extract EDL type information effectively

Filter Usage

• Use exact_match when you only want EDLs defined directly in the specified container
• Use exclusion filters to refine results without overcomplicating queries
• Filter by EDL types to find specific types of lists
• Combine multiple filters for precise results

Information Analysis

• Group EDLs by type for better organization
• Analyze update intervals to understand refresh patterns
• Check URL sources to verify list provenance
• Look for exceptions to understand what's being excluded

Security Considerations

• Regularly audit EDLs to ensure they're still needed
• Verify that EDL sources are still valid and secure
• Check for duplicate or overlapping EDLs that may cause confusion
• Understand how EDLs are being used in security policies

Integration with Other Modules

• Use the info module to check for existing EDLs before creating new ones
• Combine with the external_dynamic_lists module for complete EDL management
• Use the retrieved information to make decisions in your playbooks
• Integrate with security rule modules to verify EDL utilization

Related Modules

• external_dynamic_lists - Create, update, and delete external dynamic lists
• security_rule_info - Retrieve information about security rules that use external dynamic lists
• security_profiles_group_info - Retrieve information about security profile groups
• tag_info - Retrieve information about tags that might be used to organize external dynamic lists