Schedule Models

Overview

The Schedule models provide a structured way to manage time-based schedules in Palo Alto Networks' Strata Cloud Manager. These models support defining recurring schedules (weekly or daily) and non-recurring schedules. Schedules are used to specify time periods when security policies should be active, and can be defined in folders, snippets, or devices. The models handle validation of inputs and outputs when interacting with the SCM API, including format validation for time ranges and date-time specifications.

Model Hierarchy

The Schedule models use a hierarchical structure to represent different schedule types:

1. Base Models:
2. ScheduleBaseModel: Common fields for all schedule objects
3. ScheduleCreateModel: For creating new schedules
4. ScheduleUpdateModel: For updating existing schedules

5. ScheduleResponseModel: For API responses

6. Schedule Type Models:

7. ScheduleTypeModel: Container for either recurring or non-recurring schedules
8. RecurringScheduleModel: Container for either weekly or daily schedules
9. WeeklyScheduleModel: Weekly time ranges for each day of the week
10. DailyScheduleModel: Daily time ranges
11. NonRecurringScheduleModel: One-time schedules with date-time ranges

Attributes

Schedule Base Model Attributes

Attribute	Type	Required	Default	Description
name	str	Yes	None	Name of the schedule. Max length: 31 chars. Pattern: ^[ a-zA-Z\d._-]+$
schedule_type	ScheduleTypeModel	Yes	None	The type of schedule (recurring or non-recurring)
folder	str	No*	None	Folder where schedule is defined. Max length: 64 chars
snippet	str	No*	None	Snippet where schedule is defined. Max length: 64 chars
device	str	No*	None	Device where schedule is defined. Max length: 64 chars
id	UUID	Yes**	None	UUID of the schedule (required only for update and response models)

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

Schedule Type Model Attributes

Model	Attributes	Format
WeeklyScheduleModel	sunday, monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday, saturday	List of time ranges ("hh:mm-hh:mm")
DailyScheduleModel	daily	List of time ranges ("hh:mm-hh:mm")
NonRecurringScheduleModel	non_recurring	List of datetime ranges ("YYYY/MM/DD@hh:mm-YYYY/MM/DD@hh:mm")

Exceptions

The Schedule models can raise the following exceptions during validation:

• ValueError: Raised in several scenarios:
  • When multiple container types (folder/snippet/device) are specified
  • When no container type is specified for create operations
  • When multiple schedule types (recurring/non-recurring) are specified
  • When multiple recurring types (weekly/daily) are specified
  • When time range format validation fails
  • When datetime range format validation fails
  • When name pattern validation fails
  • When container field pattern validation fails
  • When field length limits are exceeded

Model Validators

Container Type Validation

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

# Using dictionaryfrom scm.config.objects import Schedule
# Error: multiple containers specifiedtry:
schedule_dict = {
"name": "invalid-schedule",
"folder": "Shared",
"device": "fw01", # Can't specify both folder and device
"schedule_type": {
"recurring": {
"weekly": {
"monday": ["09:00-17:00"]
}
}
}
}
schedule = Schedule(api_client)
response = schedule.create(schedule_dict)
except ValueError as e:
print(e) # "Exactly one of 'folder', 'snippet', or 'device' must be provided."
# Using model directlyfrom scm.models.objects import ScheduleCreateModel

try:
schedule = ScheduleCreateModel(
name="invalid-schedule",
folder="Shared",
device="fw01",
schedule_type={
"recurring": {
"weekly": {
"monday": ["09:00-17:00"]
}
}
}
)
except ValueError as e:
print(e) # "Exactly one of 'folder', 'snippet', or 'device' must be provided."

Schedule Type Validation

Exactly one schedule type (recurring or non-recurring) must be specified:

# Using dictionarytry:
schedule_dict = {
"name": "invalid-schedule",
"folder": "Shared",
"schedule_type": {
"recurring": {
"weekly": {
"monday": ["09:00-17:00"]
}
},
"non_recurring": [
"2025/01/01@09:00-2025/01/01@17:00"
]
}
}
response = schedule.create(schedule_dict)
except ValueError as e:
print(e) # "Exactly one of 'recurring' or 'non_recurring' must be provided."
# Using model directlytry:
from scm.models.objects.schedules import ScheduleTypeModel

schedule_type = ScheduleTypeModel(
recurring={
"weekly": {
"monday": ["09:00-17:00"]
}
},
non_recurring=["2025/01/01@09:00-2025/01/01@17:00"]
)
except ValueError as e:
print(e) # "Exactly one of 'recurring' or 'non_recurring' must be provided."

Recurring Type Validation

For recurring schedules, exactly one recurring type (weekly or daily) must be specified:

# Using dictionarytry:
schedule_dict = {
"name": "invalid-schedule",
"folder": "Shared",
"schedule_type": {
"recurring": {
"weekly": {
"monday": ["09:00-17:00"]
},
"daily": ["09:00-17:00"]
}
}
}
response = schedule.create(schedule_dict)
except ValueError as e:
print(e) # "Exactly one of 'weekly' or 'daily' must be provided."
# Using model directlytry:
from scm.models.objects.schedules import RecurringScheduleModel

recurring_schedule = RecurringScheduleModel(
weekly={
"monday": ["09:00-17:00"]
},
daily=["09:00-17:00"]
)
except ValueError as e:
print(e) # "Exactly one of 'weekly' or 'daily' must be provided."

Time Range Format Validation

Time ranges must follow the format "hh:mm-hh:mm":

# Using dictionarytry:
schedule_dict = {
"name": "invalid-schedule",
"folder": "Shared",
"schedule_type": {
"recurring": {
"weekly": {
"monday": ["9:00-17:00"] # Missing leading zero
}
}
}
}
response = schedule.create(schedule_dict)
except ValueError as e:
print(e) # "Time range must be in format hh:mm-hh:mm and be exactly 11 characters"
# Using model directlytry:
from scm.models.objects.schedules import WeeklyScheduleModel

weekly_schedule = WeeklyScheduleModel(
monday=["9:00-17:00"] # Missing leading zero
)
except ValueError as e:
print(e) # "Time range must be in format hh:mm-hh:mm and be exactly 11 characters"

DateTime Range Format Validation

DateTime ranges for non-recurring schedules must follow the format "YYYY/MM/DD@hh:mm-YYYY/MM/DD@hh:mm":

# Using dictionarytry:
schedule_dict = {
"name": "invalid-schedule",
"folder": "Shared",
"schedule_type": {
"non_recurring": [
"2025/1/1@09:00-2025/01/01@17:00" # Missing leading zeros in month and day
]
}
}
response = schedule.create(schedule_dict)
except ValueError as e:
print(e) # "Datetime range must be in format YYYY/MM/DD@hh:mm-YYYY/MM/DD@hh:mm and be exactly 33 characters"
# Using model directlytry:
from scm.models.objects.schedules import NonRecurringScheduleModel

non_recurring_schedule = NonRecurringScheduleModel(
non_recurring=["2025/1/1@09:00-2025/01/01@17:00"] # Missing leading zeros
)
except ValueError as e:
print(e) # "Datetime range must be in format YYYY/MM/DD@hh:mm-YYYY/MM/DD@hh:mm and be exactly 33 characters"

Usage Examples

Creating a Weekly Schedule

# Using dictionaryweekly_schedule_dict = {
"name": "BusinessHours",
"folder": "Shared",
"schedule_type": {
"recurring": {
"weekly": {
"monday": ["09:00-17:00"],
"tuesday": ["09:00-17:00"],
"wednesday": ["09:00-17:00"],
"thursday": ["09:00-17:00"],
"friday": ["09:00-17:00"]
}
}
}
}

schedule = Schedule(api_client)
response = schedule.create(weekly_schedule_dict)
# Using model directlyfrom scm.models.objects import ScheduleCreateModel
from scm.models.objects.schedules import WeeklyScheduleModel

weekly_schedule = ScheduleCreateModel(
name="BusinessHours",
folder="Shared",
schedule_type={
"recurring": {
"weekly": {
"monday": ["09:00-17:00"],
"tuesday": ["09:00-17:00"],
"wednesday": ["09:00-17:00"],
"thursday": ["09:00-17:00"],
"friday": ["09:00-17:00"]
}
}
}
)

payload = weekly_schedule.model_dump(exclude_unset=True)
response = schedule.create(payload)

Creating a Daily Schedule

# Using dictionarydaily_schedule_dict = {
"name": "DailyBackup",
"folder": "Shared",
"schedule_type": {
"recurring": {
"daily": ["01:00-03:00"]
}
}
}

schedule = Schedule(api_client)
response = schedule.create(daily_schedule_dict)
# Using model directlyfrom scm.models.objects import ScheduleCreateModel

daily_schedule = ScheduleCreateModel(
name="DailyBackup",
folder="Shared",
schedule_type={
"recurring": {
"daily": ["01:00-03:00"]
}
}
)

payload = daily_schedule.model_dump(exclude_unset=True)
response = schedule.create(payload)

Creating a Non-Recurring Schedule

# Using dictionarynon_recurring_schedule_dict = {
"name": "MaintenanceWindow",
"folder": "Shared",
"schedule_type": {
"non_recurring": [
"2025/06/15@01:00-2025/06/15@05:00"
]
}
}

schedule = Schedule(api_client)
response = schedule.create(non_recurring_schedule_dict)
# Using model directlyfrom scm.models.objects import ScheduleCreateModel

non_recurring_schedule = ScheduleCreateModel(
name="MaintenanceWindow",
folder="Shared",
schedule_type={
"non_recurring": [
"2025/06/15@01:00-2025/06/15@05:00"
]
}
)

payload = non_recurring_schedule.model_dump(exclude_unset=True)
response = schedule.create(payload)

Updating a Schedule

# Using dictionaryupdate_dict = {
"id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426655440000",
"name": "BusinessHours-Extended",
"folder": "Shared",
"schedule_type": {
"recurring": {
"weekly": {
"monday": ["08:00-18:00"],
"tuesday": ["08:00-18:00"],
"wednesday": ["08:00-18:00"],
"thursday": ["08:00-18:00"],
"friday": ["08:00-18:00"],
"saturday": ["10:00-14:00"]
}
}
}
}

response = schedule.update(update_dict)
# Using model directlyfrom scm.models.objects import ScheduleUpdateModel

update_schedule = ScheduleUpdateModel(
id="123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426655440000",
name="BusinessHours-Extended",
folder="Shared",
schedule_type={
"recurring": {
"weekly": {
"monday": ["08:00-18:00"],
"tuesday": ["08:00-18:00"],
"wednesday": ["08:00-18:00"],
"thursday": ["08:00-18:00"],
"friday": ["08:00-18:00"],
"saturday": ["10:00-14:00"]
}
}
}
)

response = schedule.update(update_schedule)

Best Practices

1. Time Formatting
2. Always use the correct format for time ranges ("hh:mm-hh:mm")
3. Always use the correct format for datetime ranges ("YYYY/MM/DD@hh:mm-YYYY/MM/DD@hh:mm")
4. Include leading zeros for hours, minutes, months, and days

5. Validate time ranges before submission

6. Schedule Types

7. Use weekly schedules for time patterns that vary by day of the week
8. Use daily schedules for consistent daily time patterns

9. Use non-recurring schedules for one-time events

10. Naming Conventions

11. Use descriptive names that indicate the schedule's purpose
12. Consider including time or frequency information in the name
13. Use consistent naming patterns
14. Avoid special characters

15. Document naming standards

16. Multiple Time Ranges

17. For complex time patterns (like split shifts), use multiple time ranges within a day
18. Order time ranges chronologically
19. Avoid overlapping time ranges
20. Consider using separate schedules for very different patterns