Address Configuration Object

Table of Contents

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

Overview

The Address class provides functionality to manage address objects in Palo Alto Networks' Strata Cloud Manager. This class inherits from BaseObject and provides methods for creating, retrieving, updating, and deleting address objects of various types including IP/Netmask, IP Range, IP Wildcard, and FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name).

Core Methods

Method	Description	Parameters	Return Type
create()	Creates a new address object	data: Dict[str, Any]	AddressResponseModel
get()	Retrieves an address by ID	object_id: str	AddressResponseModel
update()	Updates an existing address	address: AddressUpdateModel	AddressResponseModel
delete()	Deletes an address	object_id: str	None
list()	Lists addresses with filtering	folder: str, **filters	List[AddressResponseModel]
fetch()	Gets address by name and container	name: str, folder: str	AddressResponseModel

Address Model Attributes

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
name	str	Yes	Name of address object (max 63 chars)
id	UUID	Yes*	Unique identifier (*response only)
ip_netmask	str	One Required	IP address with CIDR notation
ip_range	str	One Required	IP address range format
ip_wildcard	str	One Required	IP wildcard mask format
fqdn	str	One Required	Fully qualified domain name
description	str	No	Object description (max 1023 chars)
tag	List[str]	No	List of tags (max 64 chars each)
folder	str	Yes**	Folder location (**one container required)
snippet	str	Yes**	Snippet location (**one container required)
device	str	Yes**	Device location (**one container required)

Exceptions

Exception	HTTP Code	Description
InvalidObjectError	400	Invalid address data or format
MissingQueryParameterError	400	Missing required parameters
NameNotUniqueError	409	Address name already exists
ObjectNotPresentError	404	Address not found
ReferenceNotZeroError	409	Address still referenced
AuthenticationError	401	Authentication failed
ServerError	500	Internal server error

Basic Configuration

The Address 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 Address service directly through the client
# No need to create a separate Address instance
addresses = client.address

Traditional Service Instantiation (Legacy)

from scm.client import Scm
from scm.config.objects import Address

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

# Initialize Address object explicitly
addresses = Address(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 Address Objects

from scm.client import ScmClient

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

# Prepare IP/Netmask address configuration
netmask_config = {
   "name": "internal_network",
   "ip_netmask": "192.168.1.0/24",
   "description": "Internal network segment",
   "folder": "Texas",
   "tag": ["Python", "Automation"]
}

# Create the address object using the unified client interface
netmask_address = client.address.create(netmask_config)

# Prepare FQDN address configuration
fqdn_config = {
   "name": "example_site",
   "fqdn": "example.com",
   "folder": "Texas",
   "description": "Example website"
}

# Create the FQDN address object
fqdn_address = client.address.create(fqdn_config)

# Prepare IP Range address configuration
range_config = {
   "name": "dhcp_pool",
   "ip_range": "192.168.1.100-192.168.1.200",
   "folder": "Texas",
   "description": "DHCP address pool"
}

# Create the IP Range address object
range_address = client.address.create(range_config)

Retrieving Addresses

# Fetch by name and folder
address = client.address.fetch(name="internal_network", folder="Texas")
print(f"Found address: {address.name}")

# Get by ID
address_by_id = client.address.get(address.id)
print(f"Retrieved address: {address_by_id.name}")

Updating Addresses

# Fetch existing address
existing_address = client.address.fetch(name="internal_network", folder="Texas")

# Update specific attributes
existing_address.description = "Updated network segment"
existing_address.tag = ["Network", "Internal", "Updated"]

# Perform update
updated_address = client.address.update(existing_address)

Listing Addresses

# Pass filters directly into the list method
filtered_addresses = client.address.list(
     folder='Texas',
     types=['fqdn'],
     tags=['Automation']
)

# Process results
for addr in filtered_addresses:
   print(f"Name: {addr.name}, Value: {addr.fqdn}")

# Define filter parameters as a dictionary
list_params = {
   "folder": "Texas",
   "types": ["netmask"],
   "tags": ["Production"]
}

# List addresses with filters as kwargs
filtered_addresses = client.address.list(**list_params)

# Process results
for addr in filtered_addresses:
   print(f"Name: {addr.name}, Value: {addr.ip_netmask}")

Filtering Responses

The list() method supports additional parameters to refine your query results even further. Alongside basic filters (like types, values, and tags), 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 addresses defined exactly in 'Texas'
exact_addresses = client.address.list(
   folder='Texas',
   exact_match=True
)

for addr in exact_addresses:
   print(f"Exact match: {addr.name} in {addr.folder}")

# Exclude all addresses from the 'All' folder
no_all_addresses = client.address.list(
   folder='Texas',
   exclude_folders=['All']
)

for addr in no_all_addresses:
   assert addr.folder != 'All'
   print(f"Filtered out 'All': {addr.name}")

# Exclude addresses that come from 'default' snippet
   no_default_snippet = client.address.list(
   folder='Texas',
   exclude_snippets=['default']
)

for addr in no_default_snippet:
   assert addr.snippet != 'default'
   print(f"Filtered out 'default' snippet: {addr.name}")

# Exclude addresses associated with 'DeviceA'
no_deviceA = client.address.list(
   folder='Texas',
   exclude_devices=['DeviceA']
)

for addr in no_deviceA:
   assert addr.device != 'DeviceA'
   print(f"Filtered out 'DeviceA': {addr.name}")

# Combine exact_match with multiple exclusions
combined_filters = client.address.list(
   folder='Texas',
   exact_match=True,
   exclude_folders=['All'],
   exclude_snippets=['default'],
   exclude_devices=['DeviceA']
)

for addr in combined_filters:
   print(f"Combined filters result: {addr.name} in {addr.folder}")

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
from scm.config.objects import Address

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

# Two options for setting max_limit:

# Option 1: Use the unified client interface but create a custom Address instance with max_limit
address_service = Address(client, max_limit=4321)
all_addresses1 = address_service.list(folder='Texas')

# Option 2: Use the unified client interface directly
# This will use the default max_limit (2500)
all_addresses2 = client.address.list(folder='Texas')

# Both options will auto-paginate through all available objects.
# The addresses are fetched in chunks according to the max_limit.

Deleting Addresses

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

Managing Configuration Changes

Performing Commits

# Prepare commit parameters
commit_params = {
   "folders": ["Texas"],
   "description": "Added new network addresses",
   "sync": True,
   "timeout": 300  # 5 minute timeout
}

# Commit the changes
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
)

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

try:
   # Create address configuration
   address_config = {
      "name": "test_address",
      "ip_netmask": "192.168.1.0/24",
      "folder": "Texas",
      "description": "Test network segment",
      "tag": ["Test"]
   }

   # Create the address using the unified client interface
   new_address = client.address.create(address_config)

   # Commit changes directly from the client
   result = client.commit(
      folders=["Texas"],
      description="Added test address",
      sync=True
   )

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

except InvalidObjectError as e:
   print(f"Invalid address data: {e.message}")
except NameNotUniqueError as e:
   print(f"Address name already exists: {e.message}")
except ObjectNotPresentError as e:
   print(f"Address not found: {e.message}")
except MissingQueryParameterError as e:
   print(f"Missing parameter: {e.message}")

Best Practices

1. Client Usage

   • Use the unified client interface (client.address) for streamlined code
   • Create a single client instance and reuse it across your application
   • Perform commit operations directly on the client object (client.commit())
   • For custom max_limit settings, create a dedicated service instance if needed

2. Container Management

   • Always specify exactly one container (folder, snippet, or device)
   • Use consistent container names across operations
   • Validate container existence before operations

3. 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

4. Address Types

   • Specify exactly one address type per object
   • Use appropriate address format for each type
   • Validate address formats before creation
   • Consider FQDN resolution time in automation scripts

5. Performance

   • Reuse client instances
   • Use appropriate pagination for list operations
   • Implement proper retry mechanisms
   • Cache frequently accessed objects

6. Security

   • Follow the least privilege principle
   • Validate input data
   • Use secure connection settings
   • Implement proper authentication handling

Full Script Examples

Refer to the address.py example.

Related Models

• AddressCreateModel
• AddressUpdateModel
• AddressResponseModel