Application Group Configuration Object

Table of Contents

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

Overview

The ApplicationGroup class provides functionality to manage application groups in Palo Alto Networks' Strata Cloud Manager. This class inherits from BaseObject and provides methods for creating, retrieving, updating, and deleting application groups that organize collections of applications for use in security policies.

Core Methods

Method	Description	Parameters	Return Type
create()	Creates a new app group	data: Dict[str, Any]	ApplicationGroupResponseModel
get()	Retrieves a group by ID	object_id: str	ApplicationGroupResponseModel
update()	Updates an existing group	app_group: ApplicationGroupUpdateModel	ApplicationGroupResponseModel
delete()	Deletes a group	object_id: str	None
list()	Lists groups with filtering	folder: str, **filters	List[ApplicationGroupResponseModel]
fetch()	Gets group by name and folder	name: str, folder: str	ApplicationGroupResponseModel

Application Group Model Attributes

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
name	str	Yes	Name of group (max 63 chars)
id	UUID	Yes*	Unique identifier (*response only)
members	List[str]	Yes	List of application names
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 group data or format
MissingQueryParameterError	400	Missing required parameters
NameNotUniqueError	409	Group name already exists
ObjectNotPresentError	404	Group not found
ReferenceNotZeroError	409	Group still referenced by policies
AuthenticationError	401	Authentication failed
ServerError	500	Internal server error

Basic Configuration

    from scm.client import ScmClient

    # Initialize client using the unified client approach
    client = ScmClient(
        client_id="your_client_id",
        client_secret="your_client_secret",
        tsg_id="your_tsg_id"
    )

    # Access the application_group module directly through the client
    # client.application_group is automatically initialized for you

You can also use the traditional approach if preferred:

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

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

    # Initialize ApplicationGroup object
    application_groups = ApplicationGroup(client)

Usage Examples

Creating Application Groups

    # Basic application group configuration
    basic_group = {
        "name": "web-apps",
        "members": ["ssl", "web-browsing"],
        "folder": "Texas"
    }

    # Create basic group
    basic_group_obj = client.application_group.create(basic_group)

    # Microsoft 365 application group
    ms365_group = {
        "name": "microsoft-365",
        "members": [
            "ms-office365",
            "ms-exchange-online",
            "ms-sharepoint-online"
        ],
        "folder": "Texas"
    }

    # Create Microsoft 365 group
    ms365_group_obj = client.application_group.create(ms365_group)

Retrieving Application Groups

    # Fetch by name and folder
    group = client.application_group.fetch(name="web-apps", folder="Texas")
    print(f"Found group: {group.name}")

    # Get by ID
    group_by_id = client.application_group.get(group.id)
    print(f"Retrieved group: {group_by_id.name}")
    print(f"Members: {', '.join(group_by_id.members)}")

Updating Application Groups

    # Fetch existing group
    existing_group = client.application_group.fetch(name="web-apps", folder="Texas")

    # Update members
    existing_group.members = ["ssl", "web-browsing", "dns"]

    # Perform update
    updated_group = client.application_group.update(existing_group)

Listing Application Groups

    # List with direct filter parameters
    filtered_groups = client.application_group.list(
        folder='Texas',
        members=['ssl']
    )

    # Process results
    for group in filtered_groups:
        print(f"Name: {group.name}")
        print(f"Members: {', '.join(group.members)}")

    # Define filter parameters as dictionary
    list_params = {
        "folder": "Texas",
        "members": ["ms-office365"]
    }

    # List with filters as kwargs
    filtered_groups = client.application_group.list(**list_params)

Filtering Responses

    # Only return application groups defined exactly in 'Texas'
    exact_application_groups = client.application_group.list(
      folder='Texas',
      exact_match=True
    )

    for app in exact_application_groups:
        print(f"Exact match: {app.name} in {app.folder}")

    # Exclude all application groups from the 'All' folder
    no_all_application_groups = client.application_group.list(
      folder='Texas',
      exclude_folders=['All']
    )

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

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

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

    # Exclude application groups associated with 'DeviceA'
    no_deviceA = client.application_group.list(
      folder='Texas',
      exclude_devices=['DeviceA']
    )

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

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

    for app in combined_filters:
        print(f"Combined filters result: {app.name} in {app.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.

    # Initialize the ScmClient with a custom max_limit for application groups
    # This will retrieve up to 4321 objects per API call, up to the API limit of 5000.
    client = ScmClient(
        client_id="your_client_id",
        client_secret="your_client_secret",
        tsg_id="your_tsg_id",
        application_group_max_limit=4321
    )

    # Now when we call list(), it will use the specified max_limit for each request
    # while auto-paginating through all available objects.
    all_groups = client.application_group.list(folder='Texas')

    # 'all_groups' contains all objects from 'Texas', fetched in chunks of up to 4321 at a time.

Deleting Application Groups

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

Managing Configuration Changes

Performing Commits

    # Prepare commit parameters
    commit_params = {
        "folders": ["Texas"],
        "description": "Updated application groups",
        "sync": True,
        "timeout": 300  # 5 minute timeout
    }

    # Commit the changes directly on the client
    # Note: All commit operations should be performed on the client directly
    result = client.commit(**commit_params)

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

Monitoring Jobs

    # Get status of specific job directly on 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 on 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 group configuration
        group_config = {
            "name": "test_group",
            "members": ["ssl", "web-browsing"],
            "folder": "Texas"
        }

        # Create the group using the unified client
        new_group = client.application_group.create(group_config)

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

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

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

Best Practices

1. Client Usage

   • Use the unified ScmClient approach for simpler code
   • Access application group operations via client.application_group property
   • Perform commit operations directly on the client
   • Monitor jobs directly on the client
   • Set appropriate max_limit parameters for large datasets using application_group_max_limit

2. Group Management

   • Use descriptive group names
   • Organize related applications together
   • Keep member lists current
   • Document group purposes
   • Review group memberships regularly

3. Container Management

   • Always specify exactly one container (folder, snippet, or device)
   • Use consistent container names
   • Validate container existence
   • Group related configurations

4. Error Handling

   • Implement comprehensive error handling
   • Check job status after commits
   • Handle specific exceptions
   • Log error details
   • Monitor commit status

5. Performance

   • Use appropriate pagination
   • Cache frequently accessed groups
   • Implement proper retry logic
   • Batch related changes

6. Security

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

Full Script Examples

Refer to the application_group.py example.

Related Models

• ApplicationGroupCreateModel
• ApplicationGroupUpdateModel
• ApplicationGroupResponseModel