Application Models

Overview

The Application models provide a structured way to manage custom applications in Palo Alto Networks' Strata Cloud Manager. These models support defining application characteristics like category, risk level, and behavioral attributes. Applications can be defined in folders or snippets. The models handle validation of inputs and outputs when interacting with the SCM API.

Models

Model	Purpose
ApplicationBaseModel	Base model with common fields for all operations
ApplicationCreateModel	Model for creating new applications
ApplicationUpdateModel	Model for updating existing applications
ApplicationResponseModel	Model for API responses

The Base, Create, and Update models use extra="forbid" configuration, which rejects any fields not explicitly defined. The Response model uses extra="allow" to handle undocumented API fields (SaaS attributes, compliance flags, etc.).

Attributes

Attribute	Type	Required	Default	Description
name	str	Yes	None	Name of the application. Max length: 63 chars. Must match pattern: ^[a-zA-Z0-9_ .-]+$
category	str	Yes	None	High-level category. Max length: 50 chars
subcategory	str	Yes	None	Specific sub-category. Max length: 50 chars
technology	str	Yes	None	Underlying technology. Max length: 50 chars
risk	int	Yes	None	Risk level associated with the application
description	str	No	None	Description of the application. Max length: 1023 chars
ports	List[str]	No	None	List of TCP/UDP ports
tag	List[str]	No	None	Tags associated with the application
folder	str	No*	None	Folder where application is defined. Max length: 64 chars
snippet	str	No*	None	Snippet where application is defined. Max length: 64 chars
evasive	bool	No	False	Uses evasive techniques
pervasive	bool	No	False	Widely used
excessive_bandwidth_use	bool	No	False	Uses excessive bandwidth
used_by_malware	bool	No	False	Commonly used by malware
transfers_files	bool	No	False	Transfers files
has_known_vulnerabilities	bool	No	False	Has known vulnerabilities
tunnels_other_apps	bool	No	False	Tunnels other applications
prone_to_misuse	bool	No	False	Prone to misuse
no_certifications	bool	No	False	Lacks certifications
id	UUID	Yes**	None	UUID of the application (response only)

* Exactly one container type (folder/snippet) must be provided ** Only required for response model

Exceptions

The Application models can raise the following exceptions during validation:

• ValueError: Raised in several scenarios:
  • When multiple container types (folder/snippet) are specified for create operations
  • When no container type is specified for create operations
  • When name pattern validation fails
  • When field length validations fail
  • When required fields are missing

Model Validators

Container Type Validation

For create operations, exactly one container type must be specified:

# Using dictionary
from scm.config.objects import Application

# Error: multiple containers specified
try:
    app_dict = {
        "name": "invalid-app",
        "category": "business-systems",
        "subcategory": "database",
        "technology": "client-server",
        "risk": 3,
        "folder": "Texas",
        "snippet": "Config"  # Can't specify both folder and snippet
    }
    app = Application(api_client)
    response = app.create(app_dict)
except ValueError as e:
    print(e)  # "Exactly one of 'folder' or 'snippet' must be provided."

# Using model directly
from scm.models.objects import ApplicationCreateModel

# Error: no container specified
try:
    app = ApplicationCreateModel(
        name="invalid-app",
        category="business-systems",
        subcategory="database",
        technology="client-server",
        risk=3
    )
except ValueError as e:
    print(e)  # "Exactly one of 'folder' or 'snippet' must be provided."

Usage Examples

Creating a Basic Application

from scm.client import ScmClient

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

# Using dictionary
app_dict = {
    "name": "custom-db",
    "category": "business-systems",
    "subcategory": "database",
    "technology": "client-server",
    "risk": 3,
    "folder": "Texas",
    "ports": ["tcp/1433"]
}

response = client.application.create(app_dict)

Creating an Application with Behavioral Attributes

# Using dictionary
app_dict = {
    "name": "file-share",
    "category": "collaboration",
    "subcategory": "file-sharing",
    "technology": "peer-to-peer",
    "risk": 4,
    "folder": "Texas",
    "description": "Custom file sharing application",
    "ports": ["tcp/6346", "tcp/6347"],
    "evasive": True,
    "transfers_files": True,
    "excessive_bandwidth_use": True,
    "prone_to_misuse": True
}

response = client.application.create(app_dict)

Updating an Application

# Fetch existing application
existing = client.application.fetch(name="custom-db", folder="Texas")

# Modify attributes using dot notation
existing.risk = 4
existing.description = "Updated database application"
existing.has_known_vulnerabilities = True

# Pass modified object to update()
updated = client.application.update(existing)