ixgen

ixgen

Ixgen is yet another open-source, multi-platform generator for peering configurations on IXs incorporating the global peering DB API. It can also spin up its own "compatible" server for faster results. Ixgen is configured by an INI- or JSON-style format, producing custom template-driven or fixed JSON-style configurations that can be printed on the terminal, to a file, or served by HTTP. Direct access to routers REST-APIs and ssh/scp-upload is planned.

Ixgen is shipped with cross-compiled executables for Darwin, Linux, and Windows. Only Linux and Darwin currently support the prefix filter generator.

ixgen on docker

Run ixgen from docker with your peering configuration as volume parameter:

docker run -v /Users/joerg/peering.ini:/ixgen/release/configuration/peering.ini joerg/ixgen:latest

how it works

Ixgen works by querying the peering DB-API or its local API service for peering members and specific network configurations and populating learned things with a custom router template.

ini-style configuration

Ixgen is configured by configuration/peering.ini, which contains a list of Internet Exchanges and peering as numbers that the user wants to configure on his router.

peeringdb client and server

Ixgen has a peering DB client module and can start a limited fast peering DB-lookalike server, which can also be queried from the network. By default, it creates an embedded HTTP API server for its usage.

apiserver

Also, you can start up a standalone version called apiserver. Apiserver can answer limited peering DB-API-queries but also generate router configuration via HTTP-POST.

flavor / templating

Ixgen can use different templates for generating router configurations; by default, Extreme and Juniper style command line syntax is shipped. The flavor is given on the command line or in the HTTP query with the -style argument; else, it's always Brocade MLXE (Netiron) by default. You can create your templates in the templates-directory. Please see the section Default output and templates for more information.

Quickstart

Populating the cache

Before the first usage, you may want to download the peering DB start files; else, we won't benefit from the fast local cache. To populate the store, you need to start up ixgen with the -buildcache parameter, please also specify your API-Key since 2022/08.

ixgen -buildcache -apikey "$YOUR_PEERING_DB_API_KEY"

peering.ini

The peering.ini is a straightforward configuration file, that uses sectors and lists.

For every Internet Exchange that needs to be configured, a section head combined with the original record name of the Exchange and a possible network name, that can be both found on the peering DB database or website has to be specified.

Several subsections with general options for the Exchange configuration or the peering list can be added.

Example configuration

If you need to connect to the DE-CIX in Frankfurt, you will add the "DE-CIX Frankfurt" name and the network name [Main or Jumbo] separated with a || as a section head in squared brackets.

[DE-CIX Frankfurt||Main]

Now you can add a subsection for available options or the peering list.

[DE-CIX Frankfurt||Main]
[peers]
[options]

Add peer to list

If you want to peer with the AS196922-routers (hint: that is me!) on DE-CIX, you need to add the right numbers on a new line after the [peers]-section.

[DE-CIX Frankfurt||Main]
[peers]
196922
[options]

Run ixgen

Starting ixgen with default options will now print out the peering BGP configuration for DE-CIX with the wished neighbor statements for all ipv4 and ipv6 routers.

./ixgen.mac 

The call will print out my DECIX-configuration for Frankfurt:

router bgp
neighbor 80.81.194.25 remote-as 196922
neighbor 80.81.194.25 peer-group decix-peer
address-family ipv4 unicast
neighbor 80.81.194.25 maximum-prefix 64
no neighbor 80.81.194.25 shutdown
exit-address-family
address-family ipv6 unicast
neighbor 2001:7f8::3:13a:0:1 remote-as  196922
neighbor 2001:7f8::3:13a:0:1 peer-group decix-peer6
neighbor 2001:7f8::3:13a:0:1 maximum-prefix 10
no neighbor 2001:7f8::3:13a:0:1 shutdown
exit-address-family

Or a call to output the native format in JSON:

 ./ixgen -style native/json_pretty
 {
   "additionalconfig": null,
   "ixname": "DE-CIX Frankfurt||Main",
   "options": {},
   "peeringgroups": {},
   "peers_configured": {
      "DE-CIX Frankfurt||Main": {
         "196922": [
            {
               "active": true,
               "asn": "196922",
               "group": "",
               "group6": "",
               "groupenabled": true,
               "group6_enabled": true,
               "infoprefixes4": 0,
               "infoprefixes6": 0,
               "ipv4addr": "",
               "ipv6addr": "",
               "ipv4enabled": true,
               "ipv6enabled": true,
               "irrasset": "",
               "isrs": false,
               "isrsper": false,
               "localpreference": 0,
               "prefixfilter": false
            }
         ]
      }
   },
   "peersready": [
      {
         "active": true,
         "asn": "196922",
         "group": "",
         "group6": "",
         "groupenabled": false,
         "group6_enabled": false,
         "infoprefixes4": 64,
         "infoprefixes6": 10,
         "ipv4addr": "80.81.194.25",
         "ipv6addr": "2001:7f8::3:13a:0:1",
         "ipv4enabled": true,
         "ipv6enabled": true,
         "irrasset": "AS-HOFMEIR",
         "isrs": false,
         "isrsper": false,
         "localpreference": 0,
         "prefixfilter": false
      }
   ],
   "routeserverready": null
 }

Default output and templates

By default, IXgen will output on the standard output channel. The output can be also redirected to a file with the _ -output_ parameter. Be aware that peers' ASN always sorts the result.

Default syntax and more info for Extreme Netiron

The default output syntax is Netiron command line syntax because this is my home box :D. If you are on Netiron platforms (MLX, CER, MLXE), you can also use my tool mlxsh ( https://github.com/ipcjk/mlxsh) to automatically upload the configuration into your router, such as with an extra cronjob.

REST-APIs

Newer routers like the Brocade SLX or JunOS 16.X support a configuration with REST, and I will keep it as soon as I get my hands on it.

Incorporate your templates

To use your router, you need to create or use one of the provided templates in the templates-folder and set the _ -style_ parameter to your flavor, e.g., -juniper/set for Junos set exchange format.

Particular output like Juniper JSON is integrated into code.

templates for router snippets

The templates directory is straightforward structured and has a separate layer for vendors and devices:

• native

  • json
  • json_pretty

• extreme

  • netiron

• juniper

  • set
  • json (fixed in code, no template)

• cisco

  • (currently almost an one-to-one-copy from the Extreme-template)

  The last layer always has a router.tt-, an optional header.tt- and footer.tt-file.

  router.tt is the main file, the peergenerator-module supplies that. The header.tt-file is a custom file that will be injected before the peering-code, the footer.tt file after. If you need to initialize peering groups or set any other significant value, then header.tt is the right place to be.

Exported structures to the template engine

Exported to the template is the type "IX", which is a struct of the member variables:

• AdditionalConfig (array of strings)
• IxName (name of the IX)
• Options (hash map of IX-options from the ini-file)
• PeeringGroups (used peering groups for that IX, generated from the INI)
• PeersINI (Peers as read from the INI-file [dont use this!])
• PeersReady (Peers that have processed and are ready for the templating)
• RouteServerReady (Routeserver records that have been processed and are ready)

INI-Configuration

exchange configuration parameters

When adding an exchange, there are several options and parameters you can add each on a separate line in the [options]-subsection. Please avoid special characters or whitespaces/tabs inside strings.

ixid

• some Ixes change their names too frequently; with the ixid= option, you can pin it to the peering-DB id

ipv4

• routeserver_group=$rs_group (group used for peering with $rs_group )
• peer_group=$peer_group (group used for peering with neighbors for the [peers]-list)
• routeserver_prefixes=$number ($number is used to overwrite the maximum prefix limit from peeringdb)

ipv6

• routeserver_group6=$rs_group6 (group used for ipv6-peering with $rs_group6 )
• peer_group6=$peer_group6 (group used for ipv6-peering with neighbors for the [peers]-list)
• routeserver_prefixes6=$number ($number is used to overwrite the maximum prefix limit from peeringdb)

iv6 | ipv4

• routeserver=(0=disable, 1=auto-detect and configure neighbor statements for route-servers)
• rsn_asn=$rsn_asn (explicit set the as number value of the expected remote routeserver , this can protect you from rogue route-servers type from peeringdb )

wildcard

• wildcard= (0=disable [default], 1=enable, 2=enableAll)

Setting wildcard to enable will configure all possible neighbors of the Exchange that have an open peering policy.

Setting wildcard to enableAll will configure all neighbors from the Exchange, not respecting the peering policy. This is good for configuration testing, benchmarking, and history ...! Be sure to set the -myasn parameter on start, so that neighbor statements for your network will be omitted.

additional configuration

You can use this code to generate peer-group configuration or anything else you want to add before the single peer configurations. It is possible to add custom lines that are not interpreted by adding the subsection [additionalConfig]. The generator will print out these lines before the peering configuration. It is also possible to add things to header.tt, see templating above.

peer configuration parameters

When adding a peer ASN to a [peers]-section, there are several options and parameters you can count on the same line. Whitespaces or tabs delimit all options or parameters. The future reader will be improved.

- ipv4=0 (0 = disable neighbor commands with ipv4 addresses, 1 = enable [default])
- ipv6=0 (0 = disable neighbor commands with ipv6 addresses, 1 = enable [default])
- active=0 (0 = ignore the ASN for configuration)
- group4=0 (0 = dont generate peer-group-statement inside IPv4 template, 1=create [default] )
- group6=0 (0 = dont generate peer-group-statement inside IPv6 template, 1=create [default] )
- peer_group=$string (if group4 is enabled, don't take the peer-group-name from the exchange options, instead take $string)
- peer_group6=$string (if group6 is enabled, don't take the peer-group-name from the exchange options, instead take $string)
- infoprefixes4 = number (number of prefixes for ipv4, only usage is to overwrite the limit from peeringdb, because sometimes the values from peering are not reflecting current values)
- infoprefixes6 = number (number of prefixes for ipv6 , only usage is to overwrite the limit from peeringdb, because sometimes the values from peering are not reflecting current values)
- irrasset = (overwrite AS-Macro to use for prefix-filter builder/bgpq3)
- prefix_filter=(1=build prefix filter, 0=generate prefix-statement with prefix_list from prefix_list or prefix_list6 if enabled )
- prefixfilter_aggregate=(1=bgpq3-parameter -A: aggregate as much as possible prefix filter)
- prefix_list=$name (listname for 1) generate or for 2) include statement (external generated)
- prefix_list6=$name (listname for statement with prefixname)
- ipv4_addr=$addr (not implemented yet: only generate peering configuration for the specified neighbor address => fixed peering)
- ipv6_addr=$addr (not implemented yet: only generate peering configuration for the specified neighbor address => fixed peering)
- local_pref (not implemented yet: generate route-map setting local-preference values)
- import (not implemented yet: juniper import-policy for single peer)
- export (not implemented yet: juniper export-policy for single peer)

Overview of the command line options

ixgen:
-api string
   use a differnt server as sources instead local/api-service. (default "https://www.peeringdb.com/api") 
-apikey string
  Peering DB API-Key
-buildcache
   download json files for caching from peeringdb
-cacheDir string
   cache directory for json files from peeringdb (default "./cache")
-config string
   Path to peering configuration ini-file (default "./configuration/peering.ini")
-exchange string
   only generate configuration for given Exchange, default: print all
-exit
   exit after generator run,  before printing result (performance run)
-listenapi string
   listenAddr for local api service (default "localhost:0")
-myasn int
   exclude your asn from the generator
-noapiservice
   do NOT create a local thread for the http api server that uses the json file as sources instead peeringdb.com/api-service.
-output string
   if set, will output the configuration to a file, else STDOUT
-prefixfactor float
   factor for maximum-prefix numbers (default 1.2)
-style string
   Style for routing-config by template, e.g. extreme, juniper, cisco. Also possible: native/json or native/json_pretty for outputting the inside structures (default "extreme/netiron")
-templates string
   directory for templates (default "./templates")
-version
   prints version and exit

exit status 2

Apiserver

Ixgen has a second standalone executable, called apiserver. Apiserver can run as a daemon or background thread and serve a few peering DB-like mandatory requests for using the ixgen client from the command line. Also, Apiserver can generate your routing configurations if you can post the INI-file in text or JSON format into the HTTP request. That makes it easy to create the configuration on the router itself (e.g., SLX with Ubuntu KVM-management).

Start an apiserver thread

 ixapiserver -listenAPI localhost:8563

Apiserver is now listening on a localhost socket and port 8563. Apiserver runs a fraction of the original peering DB-API, so in a sample query, we can ask for the DE-CIX Frankfurt exchange:

 curl http://localhost:8563/api/ix?name=DE-CIX%20Frankfurt
 {"data":[{"id":31,"city":"Frankfurt","country":"DE","created":"2010-07-29T00:00:00Z",
 "fac_set":null,"ixlan_set":null,"media":"Ethernet","name":"DE-CIX Frankfurt",
 "name_long":"Deutscher Commercial Internet Exchange","notes":"","org":{"id":0,
 "address1":"","address2":"","city":"","country":"","created":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
 "name":"","notes":"","state":"","status":"","updated":"0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
 "website":"","zipcode":"0"},"org_id":1187,"policy_email":"sales@de-cix.net",
 "policy_phone":"+49 69 1730 902 12","proto_ipv6":true,"proto_multicast":true,
 "proto_unicast":true,"region_continent":"Europe","status":"ok","tech_email":
 "support@de-cix.net","tech_phone":"+49 69 1730 902 11","updated":"2016-10-12T12:18:05Z",
 "url_stats":"https://www.de-cix.net/locations/germany/frankfurt/statistics","website":
 "https://www.de-cix.net/locations/germany/frankfurt"}],"meta":{}}

POST-API of ixgen

Things become more attractive when you want to generate configurations over the network. In the following example, we use an INI-style configuration file from the localhost and post it to the apiserver.

Contents of peering.ini:

  [DE-CIX Frankfurt||Main]
  [options]
  [peers]
  714 ipv6=0

Let's post it to apiserver and request an Extreme SLX-configuration:

$ curl -X POST --data-binary @peering.ini http://localhost:8563/ixgen/extreme/slx
router bgp
neighbor 80.81.193.223 remote-as 714
address-family ipv4 unicast
neighbor 80.81.193.223 maximum-prefix 10000
no neighbor 80.81.193.223 shutdown
exit-address-family
....

Also, you can post the peering.ini in JSON. The JSON-format is called internal native/json and can be generated by setting the ixgen -style-parameter to native/json or native/json_pretty. Be sure to set the HTTP content-type to "application/json".

 $ cat peering.json
 [{"additionalconfig":null,"ixname":"DE-CIX Frankfurt||Main","options":{"DE-CIX Frankfurt||Main":{"wildcard":"0"}},
 "peeringgroups":{},"peers_configured":{"DE-CIX Frankfurt||Main":{"714":[{"active":true,"asn":"714","group":"",
 "group6":"","groupenabled":true,"group6_enabled":true,"infoprefixes4":0,"infoprefixes6":0,"ipv4addr":"",
 "ipv6addr":"","ipv4enabled":true,"ipv6enabled":false,"irrasset":"","isrs":false,"isrsper":false,"localpreference":0,
 "prefixfilter":false}]}}}]
 
$ curl -X POST --data-binary @peering.json http://localhost:8563/ixgen/extreme/netiron -H "Content-type: application/json"
router bgp
neighbor 80.81.193.223 remote-as 714
address-family ipv4 unicast
neighbor 80.81.193.223 maximum-prefix 10000
no neighbor 80.81.193.223 shutdown
exit-address-family
....

Generate router configuration

The URI for posting configurations is formed out of: "/ixgen/vendor/style/myasn"

Vendor and style has the same meaning as the -style-parameter on the ixgen command line. The argument myasn is an optional argument to omit to generate a configuration for that as-number.

As an example, if you want to print out a Juniper set configuration and wish to omit 196922, you would call the apiserver with:

   $ curl -X POST --data-binary @peering.json http://localhost:8563/ixgen/juniper/set/196922 

Apiserver command line help

 -cacheDir string
       cache directory for json files from peeringdb (default "./cache")
 -listenAPI string
       listenAddr for the api service (default "localhost:8443")
 -templates string
       directory for templates (default "./templates")