BGP Address Family Profile Configuration Object

Overview

The BgpAddressFamilyProfile class manages BGP address family profile objects in Palo Alto Networks' Strata Cloud Manager. It extends from BaseObject and offers methods to create, retrieve, update, list, fetch, and delete BGP address family profiles. These profiles define IPv4 unicast and multicast settings for BGP peer groups, including add-path, allowas-in, maximum prefix limits, next-hop behavior, remove-private-AS, send-community, and ORF configuration.

Core Methods

Method	Description	Parameters	Return Type
`create()`	Creates a new BGP address family profile	`data: Dict[str, Any]`	`BgpAddressFamilyProfileResponseModel`
`get()`	Retrieves a BGP address family profile by its unique ID	`object_id: str`	`BgpAddressFamilyProfileResponseModel`
`update()`	Updates an existing BGP address family profile	`profile: BgpAddressFamilyProfileUpdateModel`	`BgpAddressFamilyProfileResponseModel`
`list()`	Lists BGP address family profiles with optional filtering	`folder: Optional[str]`, `snippet: Optional[str]`, `device: Optional[str]`, `exact_match: bool = False`, plus additional filters	`List[BgpAddressFamilyProfileResponseModel]`
`fetch()`	Fetches a single BGP address family profile by name within a container	`name: str`, `folder: Optional[str]`, `snippet: Optional[str]`, `device: Optional[str]`	`BgpAddressFamilyProfileResponseModel`
`delete()`	Deletes a BGP address family profile by its ID	`object_id: str`	`None`

BGP Address Family Profile Model Attributes

Attribute	Type	Required	Default	Description
`name`	str	Yes	None	Profile name
`id`	UUID	Yes*	None	Unique identifier (*response/update only)
`ipv4`	BgpAddressFamilyProfileIpv4UnicastMulticast	No	None	IPv4 address family configuration
`folder`	str	No**	None	Folder location. Max 64 chars
`snippet`	str	No**	None	Snippet location. Max 64 chars
`device`	str	No**	None	Device location. Max 64 chars

* Only required for update and response models ** Exactly one container (folder/snippet/device) must be provided for create operations

IPv4 Unicast/Multicast Configuration

The ipv4 attribute wraps unicast and multicast address family settings. Both unicast and multicast share the same BgpAddressFamily model structure.

BgpAddressFamilyProfileIpv4UnicastMulticast

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
`unicast`	BgpAddressFamily	No	Unicast address family
`multicast`	BgpAddressFamily	No	Multicast address family

BgpAddressFamily

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
`enable`	bool	No	Enable address family
`soft_reconfig_with_stored_info`	bool	No	Soft reconfiguration with stored routes
`add_path`	BgpAddressFamilyAddPath	No	Add-path configuration
`as_override`	bool	No	Override ASNs in outbound updates
`route_reflector_client`	bool	No	Route reflector client
`default_originate`	bool	No	Originate default route
`default_originate_map`	str	No	Default originate route map
`allowas_in`	BgpAddressFamilyAllowasIn	No	Allow-AS-in configuration
`maximum_prefix`	BgpAddressFamilyMaximumPrefix	No	Maximum prefix configuration
`next_hop`	BgpAddressFamilyNextHop	No	Next-hop configuration
`remove_private_AS`	BgpAddressFamilyRemovePrivateAS	No	Remove private AS configuration
`send_community`	BgpAddressFamilySendCommunity	No	Send community configuration
`orf`	BgpAddressFamilyOrf	No	ORF configuration

BgpAddressFamilyAddPath

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
`tx_all_paths`	bool	No	Advertise all paths to peer
`tx_bestpath_per_AS`	bool	No	Advertise bestpath per neighboring AS

BgpAddressFamilyAllowasIn (oneOf)

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
`origin`	dict	No	Allow origin AS in path (mutually exclusive with occurrence)
`occurrence`	int	No	Number of times own AS can appear (1-10, mutually exclusive with origin)

BgpAddressFamilyMaximumPrefix

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
`num_prefixes`	int	No	Maximum number of prefixes (1-4294967295)
`threshold`	int	No	Threshold percentage (1-100)
`action`	BgpAddressFamilyMaximumPrefixAction	No	Action on limit

BgpAddressFamilyNextHop (oneOf)

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
`self`	dict	No	Set next-hop to self (mutually exclusive with self_force)
`self_force`	dict	No	Force next-hop to self (mutually exclusive with self)

BgpAddressFamilySendCommunity (oneOf)

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
`all`	dict	No	Send all communities
`both`	dict	No	Send both standard and extended
`extended`	dict	No	Send extended communities
`large`	dict	No	Send large communities
`standard`	dict	No	Send standard communities

Only one send community type may be set at a time.

BgpAddressFamilyOrf

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
`orf_prefix_list`	str	No	ORF prefix list mode (none, both, receive, send)

Exceptions

Exception	HTTP Code	Description
`InvalidObjectError`	400	Thrown when provided data or parameters are invalid
`MissingQueryParameterError`	400	Thrown when required query parameters (e.g., `name` or `folder`) are missing
`NameNotUniqueError`	409	Profile name already exists
`ObjectNotPresentError`	404	Profile not found
`ReferenceNotZeroError`	409	Profile still referenced
`AuthenticationError`	401	Authentication failed
`ServerError`	500	Internal server error

Basic Configuration

The BGP Address Family Profile 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 client
client = ScmClient(
   client_id="your_client_id",
   client_secret="your_client_secret",
   tsg_id="your_tsg_id"
)

# Access the BGP Address Family Profile service directly through the client
bgp_af_profiles = client.bgp_address_family_profile

Traditional Service Instantiation (Legacy)

from scm.client import Scm
from scm.config.network import BgpAddressFamilyProfile

# Initialize client
client = Scm(
   client_id="your_client_id",
   client_secret="your_client_secret",
   tsg_id="your_tsg_id"
)

# Initialize BgpAddressFamilyProfile object explicitly
bgp_af_profiles = BgpAddressFamilyProfile(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 BGP Address Family Profiles

from scm.client import ScmClient

# Initialize client
client = ScmClient(
   client_id="your_client_id",
   client_secret="your_client_secret",
   tsg_id="your_tsg_id"
)

# Create a basic unicast profile with send-community
profile_data = {
   "name": "unicast-basic",
   "ipv4": {
      "unicast": {
         "enable": True,
         "send_community": {
            "all": {}
         },
         "next_hop": {
            "self": {}
         }
      }
   },
   "folder": "Texas"
}

new_profile = client.bgp_address_family_profile.create(profile_data)
print(f"Created profile with ID: {new_profile.id}")

# Create a profile with maximum prefix and allowas-in
advanced_profile_data = {
   "name": "unicast-advanced",
   "ipv4": {
      "unicast": {
         "enable": True,
         "maximum_prefix": {
            "num_prefixes": 10000,
            "threshold": 80,
            "action": {
               "restart": {
                  "interval": 120
               }
            }
         },
         "allowas_in": {
            "occurrence": 3
         },
         "remove_private_AS": {
            "all": {}
         },
         "soft_reconfig_with_stored_info": True
      }
   },
   "folder": "Texas"
}

advanced_profile = client.bgp_address_family_profile.create(advanced_profile_data)
print(f"Created advanced profile with ID: {advanced_profile.id}")

# Create a profile with both unicast and multicast
dual_profile_data = {
   "name": "dual-af-profile",
   "ipv4": {
      "unicast": {
         "enable": True,
         "send_community": {
            "standard": {}
         }
      },
      "multicast": {
         "enable": True,
         "default_originate": True
      }
   },
   "folder": "Texas"
}

dual_profile = client.bgp_address_family_profile.create(dual_profile_data)
print(f"Created dual AF profile with ID: {dual_profile.id}")

Retrieving BGP Address Family Profiles

# Fetch by name and folder
profile = client.bgp_address_family_profile.fetch(
   name="unicast-basic",
   folder="Texas"
)
print(f"Found profile: {profile.name}")

# Get by ID
profile_by_id = client.bgp_address_family_profile.get(profile.id)
print(f"Retrieved profile: {profile_by_id.name}")

Updating BGP Address Family Profiles

# Fetch existing profile
existing_profile = client.bgp_address_family_profile.fetch(
   name="unicast-basic",
   folder="Texas"
)

# Enable add-path
existing_profile.ipv4.unicast.add_path = {
   "tx_all_paths": True
}

# Perform update
updated_profile = client.bgp_address_family_profile.update(existing_profile)

Listing BGP Address Family Profiles

# List all profiles in a folder
profiles = client.bgp_address_family_profile.list(
   folder="Texas"
)

# Process results
for profile in profiles:
   print(f"Name: {profile.name}")
   if profile.ipv4 and profile.ipv4.unicast:
      print(f"  Unicast enabled: {profile.ipv4.unicast.enable}")

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 profiles defined exactly in 'Texas'
exact_profiles = client.bgp_address_family_profile.list(
   folder='Texas',
   exact_match=True
)

for profile in exact_profiles:
   print(f"Exact match: {profile.name} in {profile.folder}")

# Exclude all profiles from the 'All' folder
no_all_profiles = client.bgp_address_family_profile.list(
   folder='Texas',
   exclude_folders=['All']
)

for profile in no_all_profiles:
   assert profile.folder != 'All'
   print(f"Filtered out 'All': {profile.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.

Example:

from scm.client import ScmClient

# Initialize client
client = ScmClient(
   client_id="your_client_id",
   client_secret="your_client_secret",
   tsg_id="your_tsg_id"
)

# Configure max_limit using the property setter
client.bgp_address_family_profile.max_limit = 4000

# List all profiles - auto-paginates through results
all_profiles = client.bgp_address_family_profile.list(folder='Texas')

Deleting BGP Address Family Profiles

# Delete by ID
profile_id = "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426655440000"
client.bgp_address_family_profile.delete(profile_id)

Managing Configuration Changes

Performing Commits

# Prepare commit parameters
commit_params = {
   "folders": ["Texas"],
   "description": "Updated BGP address family profile configurations",
   "sync": True,
   "timeout": 300  # 5 minute timeout
}

# Commit the changes directly on the client
result = client.commit(**commit_params)

print(f"Commit job ID: {result.job_id}")

Monitoring Jobs

# Get status of specific job directly from the client
job_status = client.get_job_status(result.job_id)
print(f"Job status: {job_status.data[0].status_str}")

# List recent jobs directly from the client
recent_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.exceptions import (
   InvalidObjectError,
   MissingQueryParameterError,
   NameNotUniqueError,
   ObjectNotPresentError,
   ReferenceNotZeroError
)

# Initialize client
client = ScmClient(
   client_id="your_client_id",
   client_secret="your_client_secret",
   tsg_id="your_tsg_id"
)

try:
   # Create BGP address family profile
   profile_config = {
      "name": "test-af-profile",
      "ipv4": {
         "unicast": {
            "enable": True
         }
      },
      "folder": "Texas"
   }

   new_profile = client.bgp_address_family_profile.create(profile_config)

   # Commit changes
   result = client.commit(
      folders=["Texas"],
      description="Added BGP address family profile",
      sync=True
   )

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

except InvalidObjectError as e:
   print(f"Invalid profile data: {e.message}")
except NameNotUniqueError as e:
   print(f"Profile name already exists: {e.message}")
except ObjectNotPresentError as e:
   print(f"Profile not found: {e.message}")
except ReferenceNotZeroError as e:
   print(f"Profile still in use: {e.message}")
except MissingQueryParameterError as e:
   print(f"Missing parameter: {e.message}")

Best Practices

Client Usage
Use the unified client interface (client.bgp_address_family_profile) for streamlined code
Create a single client instance and reuse it across your application
Perform commit operations directly on the client object (client.commit())
Address Family Configuration
Enable only the address families (unicast/multicast) that are needed for your deployment
Configure maximum prefix limits to protect against route table overflow
Use soft_reconfig_with_stored_info to allow policy changes without resetting BGP sessions
Set appropriate send_community types based on your community usage
Route Control
Use allowas_in carefully and only when required for hub-and-spoke topologies
Configure remove_private_AS when advertising routes to external peers
Use next_hop self when acting as a route reflector or in iBGP scenarios
Set as_override only when necessary for overlapping AS environments
Container Management
Always specify exactly one container (folder, snippet, or device)
Use consistent container names across operations
Validate container existence before operations
Error Handling
Implement comprehensive error handling for all operations
Check job status after commits
Handle specific exceptions before generic ones
Log error details for troubleshooting
Performance
Use appropriate pagination for list operations
Cache frequently accessed profile configurations
Implement proper retry mechanisms