Syslog Server Profiles Information Object

Table of Contents

• Syslog Server Profiles Information Object
• Table of Contents
• Overview
• Core Methods
• Syslog Server Profile Info Parameters
  • Provider Dictionary
• Exceptions
• Basic Configuration
• Usage Examples
  • Retrieving a Specific Syslog Server Profile
  • Listing Syslog Server Profiles
  • Filtering Syslog Server Profiles
  • Advanced Filtering with Ansible
• Managing Configuration Changes
  • Return Values
• Error Handling
• Best Practices
  • Efficient Filtering
  • Container Management
  • Result Handling
  • Performance Optimization
  • Integration with Other Modules
  • Automation and Inventory
• Related Modules
• Author

Overview

The syslog_server_profiles_info module provides functionality to retrieve information about syslog server profile objects in Palo Alto Networks' Strata Cloud Manager (SCM). This module allows you to fetch details about a specific syslog server profile by name or list multiple profiles with various filtering options. It's a read-only module that helps with inventory management, auditing configurations, and collecting information needed for other operations.

Core Methods

Method	Description	Parameters	Return Type
fetch()	Gets a specific syslog server profile	name: str, container: str	SyslogServerProfileResponseModel
list()	Lists syslog server profiles with filtering	folder: str, **filters	List[SyslogServerProfileResponseModel]

Syslog Server Profile Info Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
name	str	No	The name of a specific syslog server profile to retrieve
gather_subset	list	No	Determines which information to gather (default: ['config'])
folder	str	One container*	Filter syslog server profiles by folder container
snippet	str	One container*	Filter syslog server profiles by snippet container
device	str	One container*	Filter syslog server profiles by device container
exact_match	bool	No	Only return objects defined exactly in the specified 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
transport	list	No	Filter by transport protocol used (UDP, TCP)

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

Provider Dictionary

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
client_id	str	Yes	Client ID for SCM authentication
client_secret	str	Yes	Client secret for SCM authentication
tsg_id	str	Yes	Tenant Service Group ID
log_level	str	No	Log level for the SDK (default: "INFO")

Exceptions

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

Basic Configuration

The Syslog Server Profiles Info module requires proper authentication credentials to access the Strata Cloud Manager API.

- name: Basic Syslog Server Profiles 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 syslog server profiles
      cdot65.scm.syslog_server_profiles_info:
        provider: "{{ provider }}"
        folder: "Texas"
      register: profiles_result

    - name: Display profiles
      debug:
        var: profiles_result.syslog_server_profiles

Usage Examples

Retrieving a Specific Syslog Server Profile

This example retrieves information about a specific syslog server profile by name.

- name: Get information about a specific syslog server profile
  cdot65.scm.syslog_server_profiles_info:
    provider: "{{ provider }}"
    name: "test-syslog-profile"
    folder: "Texas"
  register: profile_info

- name: Display profile details
  debug:
    var: profile_info.syslog_server_profile

- name: Check server transport protocol
  debug:
    msg: "The profile uses {{ profile_info.syslog_server_profile.servers.transport }} transport"
  when: profile_info.syslog_server_profile is defined

Listing Syslog Server Profiles

This example lists all syslog server profiles in a specific folder.

- name: List all syslog server profiles in a folder
  cdot65.scm.syslog_server_profiles_info:
    provider: "{{ provider }}"
    folder: "Texas"
  register: all_profiles

- name: Display all profiles
  debug:
    var: all_profiles.syslog_server_profiles

- name: Count number of profiles
  debug:
    msg: "Found {{ all_profiles.syslog_server_profiles | length }} syslog server profiles"

Filtering Syslog Server Profiles

This example demonstrates filtering profiles by transport protocol and other criteria.

- name: List only UDP profiles
  cdot65.scm.syslog_server_profiles_info:
    provider: "{{ provider }}"
    folder: "Texas"
    transport: ["UDP"]
  register: udp_profiles

- name: Display UDP profiles count
  debug:
    msg: "Found {{ udp_profiles.syslog_server_profiles | length }} UDP syslog server profiles"

- name: List profiles with exact match and exclusions
  cdot65.scm.syslog_server_profiles_info:
    provider: "{{ provider }}"
    folder: "Texas"
    exact_match: true
    exclude_folders: ["All"]
    exclude_snippets: ["default"]
  register: filtered_profiles

- name: Process filtered profiles
  debug:
    msg: "Profile {{ item.name }} is in folder {{ item.folder }}"
  loop: "{{ filtered_profiles.syslog_server_profiles }}"

Advanced Filtering with Ansible

This example shows how to use Ansible's filters to further process results.

- name: Get all syslog profiles for further filtering
  cdot65.scm.syslog_server_profiles_info:
    provider: "{{ provider }}"
    folder: "Texas"
  register: all_profiles_for_filtering

# Filter profiles by name pattern in memory
- name: Filter profiles for names starting with "log-"
  set_fact:
    log_profiles: 
      syslog_server_profiles: "{{ all_profiles_for_filtering.syslog_server_profiles | selectattr('name', 'match', '^log-.*') | list }}"

# Work with the filtered results
- name: Display filtered profiles
  debug:
    var: log_profiles

Managing Configuration Changes

As an info module, syslog_server_profiles_info does not make any configuration changes. However, you can use the information it retrieves to make decisions about other configuration operations.

- name: Use syslog server profile information for log forwarding configuration
  block:
    - name: Get available syslog server profiles
      cdot65.scm.syslog_server_profiles_info:
        provider: "{{ provider }}"
        folder: "Texas"
      register: syslog_profiles

    - name: Create log forwarding profile using existing syslog profiles
      cdot65.scm.log_forwarding_profile:
        provider: "{{ provider }}"
        name: "system-logs-forwarding"
        folder: "Texas"
        match_list:
          - name: "System-Logs"
            log_type: "system"
            filter: "All Logs"
            send_to_syslog: "{{ syslog_profiles.syslog_server_profiles[0].name }}"
        state: "present"
      when: syslog_profiles.syslog_server_profiles | length > 0

    - name: Commit changes if log forwarding profile was created
      cdot65.scm.commit:
        provider: "{{ provider }}"
        folders: ["Texas"]
        description: "Created log forwarding profile using existing syslog server profiles"
      when: syslog_profiles.syslog_server_profiles | length > 0

Return Values

Name	Description	Type	Returned	Sample
syslog_server_profile	Information about the requested syslog server profile	dict	when name is specified and found	{"id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426655440000", "name": "test-syslog-profile", "servers": {"name": "primary-syslog", "server": "10.0.0.1", "transport": "UDP"}}
syslog_server_profiles	List of syslog server profile objects matching the filter criteria	list	when name is not specified	[{"id": "123...", "name": "profile1", ...}, {"id": "456...", "name": "profile2", ...}]

Error Handling

Common errors you might encounter when using this module:

Error	Description	Resolution
Syslog server profile not found	Attempt to retrieve a profile that doesn't exist	Verify the profile name and container location
Missing query parameter	Required parameter not provided for filtering	Ensure required container parameters are specified
Invalid filter parameters	Invalid filter values provided	Check filter values for proper format and supported options

- name: Handle potential errors with block/rescue
  block:
    - name: Attempt to retrieve syslog server profile
      cdot65.scm.syslog_server_profiles_info:
        provider: "{{ provider }}"
        name: "test-syslog-profile"
        folder: "Texas"
      register: result
  rescue:
    - name: Handle profile not found error
      debug:
        msg: "Syslog server profile not found or invalid input provided"
    - name: Continue with other tasks
      # Additional recovery tasks

Best Practices

Efficient Filtering

• Use specific filters to reduce the number of results
• Utilize the transport filter to find profiles with specific server types
• Combine multiple filters for precise results
• Use exact_match parameter for exact container filtering
• Filter at the API level rather than client side when possible for better performance

Container Management

• Only specify one container type (folder, snippet, or device) at a time
• Use the same container type consistently across operations
• Document container hierarchy for better organization
• Create consistent naming conventions for containers
• Include container paths in reports and documentation

Result Handling

• Check if results are empty before processing
• Handle potential errors with try/except or block/rescue
• Register results for further processing
• Use conditional logic based on returned data
• Process large result sets in batches for better performance

Performance Optimization

• Use exact_match for faster, more specific queries
• Include exclusion filters to eliminate unwanted results
• Fetch specific profiles by name when possible instead of filtering large lists
• Minimize the number of API calls by retrieving all needed information at once
• Only request the gather_subset data that you need

Integration with Other Modules

• Use the info module to verify existence before creating or updating profiles
• Chain tasks to create conditional workflows based on query results
• Use returned data as input for other tasks
• Combine with log_forwarding_profile for complete logging configuration
• Create documentation from retrieved information

Automation and Inventory

• Use this module for automated documentation generation
• Build inventory reports of syslog configurations
• Create validation tasks to ensure correct syslog configuration
• Implement regular configuration checks and audits
• Develop configuration baseline templates from existing profiles

Related Modules

• syslog_server_profiles - Manage syslog server profiles (create, update, delete)
• log_forwarding_profile - Manage log forwarding profiles that use syslog server profiles
• log_forwarding_profile_info - Retrieve information about log forwarding profiles
• security_rule - Configure security policies that might reference log forwarding profiles
• security_rule_info - Retrieve information about security rules

Author

• Calvin Remsburg (@cdot65)