Base Configuration Object

Table of Contents

1. Overview
2. Core Methods
3. Base Object Attributes
4. Exceptions
5. Basic Configuration
6. Usage Examples
   • Creating Objects
   • Retrieving Objects
   • Updating Objects
   • Listing Objects
   • Deleting Objects
7. Managing Configuration Changes
   • Performing Commits
   • Monitoring Jobs
8. Error Handling
9. Best Practices
10. Full Script Examples
11. Related Models

Overview

The BaseObject class serves as the foundation for all configuration objects in Palo Alto Networks' Strata Cloud Manager. This class provides standardized CRUD operations (Create, Read, Update, Delete) and job management functionality that is inherited by all configuration object types.

Core Methods

Method	Description	Parameters	Return Type
create()	Creates new object	data: Dict[str, Any]	Dict[str, Any]
get()	Retrieves object by ID	object_id: str	Dict[str, Any]
update()	Updates existing object	data: Dict[str, Any]	Dict[str, Any]
delete()	Deletes object	object_id: str	None
list()	Lists objects with filtering	**filters	List[Dict[str, Any]]
list_jobs()	Lists jobs with pagination	limit: int, offset: int, parent_id: str	JobListResponse
get_job_status()	Gets job status	job_id: str	JobStatusResponse
commit()	Commits configuration changes	folders: List[str], description: str, **kwargs	CandidatePushResponse

Base Object Attributes

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
ENDPOINT	str	Yes	API endpoint path for object operations
api_client	Scm	Yes	Instance of SCM API client

Exceptions

Exception	HTTP Code	Description
InvalidObjectError	400	Invalid object data or format
MissingQueryParameterError	400	Missing required parameters
NotFoundError	404	Object not found
AuthenticationError	401	Authentication failed
AuthorizationError	403	Permission denied
ConflictError	409	Object conflict
ServerError	500	Internal server error

Basic Configuration

The BaseObject service can be accessed using either the unified client interface (recommended) or the traditional service instantiation.

Unified Client Interface (Recommended)

from scm.client import ScmClient
# Initialize clientclient = ScmClient(
client_id="your_client_id",
client_secret="your_client_secret",
tsg_id="your_tsg_id"
)
# Most objects can be accessed directly through the client# Example: client.address, client.service_group, client.security_rule, etc.

Traditional Service Instantiation (Legacy)

from scm.client import Scm
from scm.config.objects import BaseObject
# Initialize clientclient = Scm(
client_id="your_client_id",
client_secret="your_client_secret",
tsg_id="your_tsg_id"
)
# For custom or extended objects, you can use the BaseObject approachclass CustomObject(BaseObject):
ENDPOINT = "/config/objects/v1/custom"
# Initialize custom objectcustom_obj = CustomObject(client)

Note

While both approaches work, the unified client interface is recommended for new development as it provides a more streamlined developer experience and ensures proper token refresh handling across all services.

Usage Examples

Creating Objects

from scm.client import ScmClient
from scm.config.objects import BaseObject
from scm.exceptions import InvalidObjectError
# Initialize clientclient = ScmClient(
client_id="your_client_id",
client_secret="your_client_secret",
tsg_id="your_tsg_id"
)
# Create custom object classclass CustomObject(BaseObject):
ENDPOINT = "/config/objects/v1/custom"
# Initialize custom objectcustom_obj = CustomObject(client)
# Prepare object dataobject_data = {
"name": "test-object",
"description": "Test object creation",
"folder": "Texas"
}
# Create new objecttry:
new_object = custom_obj.create(object_data)
print(f"Created object with ID: {new_object['id']}")
except InvalidObjectError as e:
print(f"Invalid object data: {e.message}")

Retrieving Objects

# Get object by IDtry:
object_id = "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426655440000"
retrieved_object = custom_obj.get(object_id)
print(f"Retrieved object: {retrieved_object['name']}")
except NotFoundError as e:
print(f"Object not found: {e.message}")

Updating Objects

# Update object dataupdate_data = {
"id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426655440000",
"name": "updated-object",
"description": "Updated description",
"folder": "Texas"
}
# Perform updatetry:
updated_object = custom_obj.update(update_data)
print(f"Updated object: {updated_object['name']}")
except InvalidObjectError as e:
print(f"Invalid update data: {e.message}")

Listing Objects

# Define filter parameterslist_params = {
"folder": "Texas",
"limit": 100,
"offset": 0
}
# List objects with filterstry:
objects = custom_obj.list(**list_params)
for obj in objects:
print(f"Name: {obj['name']}")
except InvalidObjectError as e:
print(f"Invalid filter parameters: {e.message}")

Filtering Responses

The list() method supports additional parameters to refine your query results even further. Alongside basic filters, you can leverage the exact_match, exclude_folders, exclude_snippets, and exclude_devices parameters to control which objects are included or excluded after the initial API response is fetched.

Parameters:

• exact_match (bool): When True, only objects defined exactly in the specified container (folder, snippet, or device) are returned. Inherited or propagated objects are filtered out.
• exclude_folders (List[str]): Provide a list of folder names that you do not want included in the results.
• exclude_snippets (List[str]): Provide a list of snippet values to exclude from the results.
• exclude_devices (List[str]): Provide a list of device values to exclude from the results.

Examples:

# Only return objects defined exactly in 'Texas'exact_objects = custom_obj.list(
folder='Texas',
exact_match=True
)

for obj in exact_objects:
print(f"Exact match: {obj['name']} in {obj['folder']}")
# Exclude all objects from the 'All' folderno_all_objects = custom_obj.list(
folder='Texas',
exclude_folders=['All']
)

for obj in no_all_objects:
assert obj['folder'] != 'All'
print(f"Filtered out 'All': {obj['name']}")

Controlling Pagination with max_limit

The SDK supports pagination through the max_limit parameter, which defines how many objects are retrieved per API call. By default, max_limit is set to 2500. The API itself imposes a maximum allowed value of 5000. If you set max_limit higher than 5000, it will be capped to the API's maximum. The list() method will continue to iterate through all objects until all results have been retrieved. Adjusting max_limit can help manage retrieval performance and memory usage when working with large datasets.

# Initialize a custom object with a specified max_limitcustom_obj = CustomObject(client, max_limit=4321)
# List all objects, which will paginate in chunks of 4321all_objects = custom_obj.list(folder='Texas')

Deleting Objects

# Delete object by IDtry:
object_id = "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426655440000"
custom_obj.delete(object_id)
print("Object deleted successfully")
except NotFoundError as e:
print(f"Object not found: {e.message}")

Managing Configuration Changes

Performing Commits

# Prepare commit parameterscommit_params = {
"folders": ["Texas"],
"description": "Configuration update",
"sync": True,
"timeout": 300 # 5 minute timeout
}
# Commit changes directly on the clienttry:
result = client.commit(**commit_params)
print(f"Commit job ID: {result.job_id}")
except InvalidObjectError as e:
print(f"Invalid commit parameters: {e.message}")

Monitoring Jobs

# Get status of specific job directly from the clientjob_status = client.get_job_status(result.job_id)
print(f"Job status: {job_status.data[0].status_str}")
# List recent jobs directly from the clientrecent_jobs = client.list_jobs(limit=10)
for job in recent_jobs.data:
print(f"Job {job.id}: {job.type_str} - {job.status_str}")

Error Handling

from scm.client import ScmClient
from scm.config.objects import BaseObject
from scm.exceptions import (
InvalidObjectError,
NotFoundError,
AuthenticationError,
ServerError
)
# Initialize client and custom objectclient = ScmClient(
client_id="your_client_id",
client_secret="your_client_secret",
tsg_id="your_tsg_id"
)
custom_obj = CustomObject(client)

try:
# Attempt operation
result = custom_obj.create({
"name": "test-object",
"folder": "Texas"
})

# Commit changes
commit_result = client.commit(
folders=["Texas"],
description="Added test object",
sync=True
)

# Check job status
status = client.get_job_status(commit_result.job_id)

except InvalidObjectError as e:
print(f"Invalid object data: {e.message}")
except NotFoundError as e:
print(f"Object not found: {e.message}")
except AuthenticationError as e:
print(f"Authentication failed: {e.message}")
except ServerError as e:
print(f"Server error: {e.message}")

Best Practices

1. Client Usage
2. Prefer the unified client interface (client.object_name) for standard objects
3. Only use the BaseObject approach for custom extensions or advanced use cases
4. Perform commits directly on the client (client.commit())
5. Monitor jobs using client methods (client.get_job_status(), client.list_jobs())

6. Initialize the client once and reuse across different object types

7. Object Initialization (when using BaseObject directly)

8. Define ENDPOINT in all subclasses
9. Validate api_client type
10. Use proper error handling

11. Initialize logging appropriately

12. CRUD Operations

13. Validate input data before operations
14. Handle response data consistently
15. Implement proper error handling

16. Use appropriate timeouts

17. Job Management

18. Monitor commit job status
19. Handle job failures appropriately
20. Use sync mode judiciously

21. Implement proper timeout handling

22. Error Handling

23. Catch specific exceptions first
24. Log error details
25. Provide meaningful error messages

26. Implement proper retry logic

27. Performance

28. Reuse object instances
29. Configure appropriate pagination limits during client initialization
30. Batch operations when possible
31. Cache frequently accessed data

Full Script Examples

Refer to the examples directory.

Related Models

• JobStatusResponse
• JobListResponse
• CandidatePushResponseModel