QoS Rule Configuration Object

Table of Contents

1. Overview
2. Core Methods
3. QoS Rule Model Attributes
4. Exceptions
5. Basic Configuration
6. Usage Examples
   • Creating QoS Rules
   • Retrieving QoS Rules
   • Updating QoS Rules
   • Listing QoS Rules
   • Filtering Responses
   • Controlling Pagination with max_limit
   • Moving QoS Rules
   • Deleting QoS Rules
7. Managing Configuration Changes
   • Performing Commits
   • Monitoring Jobs
8. Error Handling
9. Best Practices
10. Related Models

Overview

The QosRule class manages QoS policy rule objects in Palo Alto Networks' Strata Cloud Manager. It extends from BaseObject and offers methods to create, retrieve, update, list, fetch, delete, and move QoS policy rules. These rules define how traffic is classified and assigned to QoS classes, enabling traffic prioritization through DSCP/TOS markings and schedule-based application.

Core Methods

Method	Description	Parameters	Return Type
create()	Creates a new QoS rule	data: Dict[str, Any]	QosRuleResponseModel
get()	Retrieves a QoS rule by its unique ID	object_id: str	QosRuleResponseModel
update()	Updates an existing QoS rule	rule: QosRuleUpdateModel	QosRuleResponseModel
list()	Lists QoS rules with optional filtering	folder: Optional[str], snippet: Optional[str], device: Optional[str], exact_match: bool = False, plus additional filters	List[QosRuleResponseModel]
fetch()	Fetches a single QoS rule by name within a container	name: str, folder: Optional[str], snippet: Optional[str], device: Optional[str]	QosRuleResponseModel
delete()	Deletes a QoS rule by its ID	object_id: str	None
move()	Moves a QoS rule to a new position within the rulebase	rule_id: UUID, data: Dict[str, Any]	None

QoS Rule Model Attributes

Attribute	Type	Required	Default	Description
name	str	Yes	None	Rule name
id	UUID	Yes*	None	Unique identifier (*response/update only)
description	str	No	None	Description of the QoS rule
action	Dict[str, Any]	No	None	QoS action configuration with 'class' field referencing a profile
schedule	str	No	None	Schedule for the QoS rule
dscp_tos	Dict[str, Any]	No	None	DSCP/TOS codepoint settings
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

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	Rule name already exists
ObjectNotPresentError	404	Rule not found
ReferenceNotZeroError	409	Rule still referenced by other objects
AuthenticationError	401	Authentication failed
ServerError	500	Internal server error

Basic Configuration

The QoS Rule 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 QoS Rule service directly through the client
qos_rules = client.qos_rule

Traditional Service Instantiation (Legacy)

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

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

# Initialize QosRule object explicitly
qos_rules = QosRule(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 QoS Rules

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 QoS rule with action and DSCP settings
rule_data = {
   "name": "voip-priority",
   "description": "Prioritize VoIP traffic",
   "action": {
      "class": "class1"
   },
   "dscp_tos": {
      "codepoints": [
         {"name": "ef", "type": {"af": {"codepoint": "ef"}}}
      ]
   },
   "folder": "Texas"
}

new_rule = client.qos_rule.create(rule_data)
print(f"Created QoS rule with ID: {new_rule.id}")

# Create a scheduled QoS rule
scheduled_rule = {
   "name": "business-hours-qos",
   "description": "Business hours bandwidth management",
   "action": {
      "class": "class2"
   },
   "schedule": "business-hours",
   "folder": "Texas"
}

sched_rule = client.qos_rule.create(scheduled_rule)
print(f"Created scheduled QoS rule with ID: {sched_rule.id}")

Retrieving QoS Rules

# Fetch by name and folder
rule = client.qos_rule.fetch(
   name="voip-priority",
   folder="Texas"
)
print(f"Found rule: {rule.name}")

# Get by ID
rule_by_id = client.qos_rule.get(rule.id)
print(f"Retrieved rule: {rule_by_id.name}")

Updating QoS Rules

# Fetch existing rule
existing_rule = client.qos_rule.fetch(
   name="voip-priority",
   folder="Texas"
)

# Modify the description and action
existing_rule.description = "Updated VoIP priority rule"
existing_rule.action = {
   "class": "class1"
}

# Perform update
updated_rule = client.qos_rule.update(existing_rule)

Listing QoS Rules

# List all QoS rules in a folder
rules = client.qos_rule.list(
   folder="Texas"
)

# Process results
for rule in rules:
   print(f"Name: {rule.name}, Description: {rule.description}")

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 rules defined exactly in 'Texas'
exact_rules = client.qos_rule.list(
   folder='Texas',
   exact_match=True
)

for rule in exact_rules:
   print(f"Exact match: {rule.name} in {rule.folder}")

# Exclude all rules from the 'All' folder
no_all_rules = client.qos_rule.list(
   folder='Texas',
   exclude_folders=['All']
)

for rule in no_all_rules:
   assert rule.folder != 'All'
   print(f"Filtered out 'All': {rule.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.qos_rule.max_limit = 4000

# List all rules - auto-paginates through results
all_rules = client.qos_rule.list(folder='Texas')

Moving QoS Rules

The move() method allows you to reposition QoS rules within the rulebase. Rules can be moved to the top, bottom, or relative to another rule (before/after). You must also specify whether the rule belongs to the pre or post rulebase.

Parameters for move data:

• destination (str): Where to move the rule. Valid values: "top", "bottom", "before", "after"
• rulebase (str): Which rulebase to use. Valid values: "pre", "post"
• destination_rule (UUID): The UUID of the reference rule (required when destination is "before" or "after")

Examples:

from uuid import UUID

# Move a rule to the top of the pre-rulebase
client.qos_rule.move(
   rule_id=UUID("123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426655440000"),
   data={
      "destination": "top",
      "rulebase": "pre"
   }
)

# Move a rule to the bottom of the post-rulebase
client.qos_rule.move(
   rule_id=UUID("123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426655440000"),
   data={
      "destination": "bottom",
      "rulebase": "post"
   }
)

# Move a rule before another rule
client.qos_rule.move(
   rule_id=UUID("123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426655440000"),
   data={
      "destination": "before",
      "rulebase": "pre",
      "destination_rule": "987fcdeb-51a2-43e7-b890-123456789abc"
   }
)

# Move a rule after another rule
client.qos_rule.move(
   rule_id=UUID("123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426655440000"),
   data={
      "destination": "after",
      "rulebase": "pre",
      "destination_rule": "987fcdeb-51a2-43e7-b890-123456789abc"
   }
)

Note

When using "before" or "after" as the destination, you must provide the destination_rule parameter with the UUID of the reference rule. Omitting destination_rule for these destinations will raise a ValueError. Conversely, providing destination_rule when using "top" or "bottom" will also raise a ValueError.

Deleting QoS Rules

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

Managing Configuration Changes

Performing Commits

# Prepare commit parameters
commit_params = {
   "folders": ["Texas"],
   "description": "Updated QoS rule 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 QoS rule
   rule_config = {
      "name": "test-qos-rule",
      "description": "Test QoS rule",
      "action": {
         "class": "class1"
      },
      "folder": "Texas"
   }

   new_rule = client.qos_rule.create(rule_config)

   # Commit changes
   result = client.commit(
      folders=["Texas"],
      description="Added QoS rule",
      sync=True
   )

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

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

Best Practices

1. Client Usage
2. Use the unified client interface (client.qos_rule) for streamlined code
3. Create a single client instance and reuse it across your application

4. Perform commit operations directly on the client object (client.commit())

5. Rule Configuration

6. Assign descriptive names and descriptions to QoS rules for clarity
7. Use DSCP/TOS codepoints to mark traffic consistently across your network
8. Leverage schedules to apply different QoS policies during business vs. off-peak hours

9. Group related rules together and use the move() method to maintain proper ordering

10. Rule Ordering

11. QoS rules are evaluated in order; place more specific rules before general ones
12. Use the move() method to position rules precisely within the rulebase
13. Choose pre or post rulebase based on your policy hierarchy requirements

14. After moving rules, always commit the changes for them to take effect

15. Container Management

16. Always specify exactly one container (folder, snippet, or device)
17. Use consistent container names across operations

18. Validate container existence before operations

19. Error Handling

20. Implement comprehensive error handling for all operations
21. Check job status after commits
22. Handle specific exceptions before generic ones

23. Log error details for troubleshooting

24. Performance

25. Use appropriate pagination for list operations
26. Cache frequently accessed rule configurations
27. Implement proper retry mechanisms

Related Models

• QosRuleBaseModel
• QosRuleCreateModel
• QosRuleUpdateModel
• QosRuleResponseModel
• QosRuleMoveModel
• QosMoveDestination
• QosRulebase