f5networks.f5_modules.bigip_ucs_fetch module – Fetches a UCS file from remote nodes

Note

This module is part of the f5networks.f5_modules collection (version 1.31.0).

You might already have this collection installed if you are using the ansible package. It is not included in ansible-core. To check whether it is installed, run ansible-galaxy collection list.

To install it, use: ansible-galaxy collection install f5networks.f5_modules.

To use it in a playbook, specify: f5networks.f5_modules.bigip_ucs_fetch.

New in f5networks.f5_modules 1.0.0

Synopsis

  • This module is used for fetching UCS files from remote machines and storing them locally in a file tree, organized by hostname. This module was written to create and transfer UCS files that might not be present, it does not require UCS file to be pre-created. So a missing remote UCS is not an error unless fail_on_missing is set to ‘yes’.

Parameters

Parameter

Comments

async_timeout

integer

Parameter used when creating new UCS file on a device.

The number of seconds to wait for the API async interface to complete its task.

The accepted value range is between 150 and 1800 seconds.

Default: 150

attributes

aliases: attr

string

The attributes the resulting filesystem object should have.

To get supported flags look at the man page for chattr on the target system.

This string should contain the attributes in the same order as the one displayed by lsattr.

The = operator is assumed as default, otherwise + or - operators need to be included in the string.

backup

boolean

Creates a backup file including the timestamp information so you can get the original file back if you overwrote it incorrectly.

Choices:

  • false ← (default)

  • true

create_on_missing

boolean

Creates the UCS based on the value of src, if the file does not already exist on the remote system.

When set to false, with fail_on_missing set to false the module will return no change if the ucs file is missing on device.

Choices:

  • false

  • true ← (default)

dest

path

A directory to save the UCS file into.

This option is mandatory when only_create_file is set to false.

encryption_password

string

Password to use to encrypt the UCS file if desired.

fail_on_missing

boolean

Make the module fail if the UCS file on the remote system is missing.

This option always takes precedence over create_on_missing, hence when set to true, the module will always fail if the UCS is missing, even if create_on_missing option is set to true.

When set to false, with create_on_missing set to false the module will return no change if the ucs file is missing on device.

Choices:

  • false ← (default)

  • true

force

boolean

If false, the file is only transferred if the destination does not exist.

Choices:

  • false

  • true ← (default)

group

string

Name of the group that should own the filesystem object, as would be fed to chown.

When left unspecified, it uses the current group of the current user unless you are root, in which case it can preserve the previous ownership.

mode

any

The permissions the resulting filesystem object should have.

For those used to /usr/bin/chmod remember that modes are actually octal numbers. You must give Ansible enough information to parse them correctly. For consistent results, quote octal numbers (for example, '644' or '1777') so Ansible receives a string and can do its own conversion from string into number. Adding a leading zero (for example, 0755) works sometimes, but can fail in loops and some other circumstances.

Giving Ansible a number without following either of these rules will end up with a decimal number which will have unexpected results.

As of Ansible 1.8, the mode may be specified as a symbolic mode (for example, u+rwx or u=rw,g=r,o=r).

If mode is not specified and the destination filesystem object does not exist, the default umask on the system will be used when setting the mode for the newly created filesystem object.

If mode is not specified and the destination filesystem object does exist, the mode of the existing filesystem object will be used.

Specifying mode is the best way to ensure filesystem objects are created with the correct permissions. See CVE-2020-1736 for further details.

only_create_file

boolean

added in f5networks.f5_modules 1.12.0

If true, the file is created on the device and not downloaded. If the UCS archive exists on the device, no change is made and the file is not downloaded.

To recreate UCS files left on the device, remove them with the bigip_ucs module before running this module with only_create_file set to true.

Choices:

  • false ← (default)

  • true

owner

string

Name of the user that should own the filesystem object, as would be fed to chown.

When left unspecified, it uses the current user unless you are root, in which case it can preserve the previous ownership.

Specifying a numeric username will be assumed to be a user ID and not a username. Avoid numeric usernames to avoid this confusion.

provider

dictionary

added in f5networks.f5_modules 1.0.0

A dict object containing connection details.

auth_provider

string

Configures the auth provider for to obtain authentication tokens from the remote device.

This option is really used when working with BIG-IQ devices.

no_f5_teem

boolean

If yes, TEEM telemetry data is not sent to F5.

You may omit this option by setting the environment variable F5_TELEMETRY_OFF.

Previously used variable F5_TEEM is deprecated as its name was confusing.

Choices:

  • false ← (default)

  • true

password

aliases: pass, pwd

string / required

The password for the user account used to connect to the BIG-IP or the BIG-IQ.

You may omit this option by setting the environment variable F5_PASSWORD.

server

string / required

The BIG-IP host or the BIG-IQ host.

You may omit this option by setting the environment variable F5_SERVER.

server_port

integer

The BIG-IP server port.

You may omit this option by setting the environment variable F5_SERVER_PORT.

Default: 443

timeout

integer

Specifies the timeout in seconds for communicating with the network device for either connecting or sending commands. If the timeout is exceeded before the operation is completed, the module will error.

transport

string

Configures the transport connection to use when connecting to the remote device.

Choices:

  • "rest" ← (default)

user

string / required

The username to connect to the BIG-IP or the BIG-IQ. This user must have administrative privileges on the device.

You may omit this option by setting the environment variable F5_USER.

validate_certs

boolean

If no, SSL certificates are not validated. Use this only on personally controlled sites using self-signed certificates.

You may omit this option by setting the environment variable F5_VALIDATE_CERTS.

Choices:

  • false

  • true ← (default)

selevel

string

The level part of the SELinux filesystem object context.

This is the MLS/MCS attribute, sometimes known as the range.

When set to _default, it will use the level portion of the policy if available.

serole

string

The role part of the SELinux filesystem object context.

When set to _default, it will use the role portion of the policy if available.

setype

string

The type part of the SELinux filesystem object context.

When set to _default, it will use the type portion of the policy if available.

seuser

string

The user part of the SELinux filesystem object context.

By default it uses the system policy, where applicable.

When set to _default, it will use the user portion of the policy if available.

src

string

The name of the UCS file to create on the remote server for downloading.

The file is retrieved or created in /var/local/ucs/.

This option is mandatory when only_create_file is set to true.

unsafe_writes

boolean

Influence when to use atomic operation to prevent data corruption or inconsistent reads from the target filesystem object.

By default this module uses atomic operations to prevent data corruption or inconsistent reads from the target filesystem objects, but sometimes systems are configured or just broken in ways that prevent this. One example is docker mounted filesystem objects, which cannot be updated atomically from inside the container and can only be written in an unsafe manner.

This option allows Ansible to fall back to unsafe methods of updating filesystem objects when atomic operations fail (however, it doesn’t force Ansible to perform unsafe writes).

IMPORTANT! Unsafe writes are subject to race conditions and can lead to data corruption.

Choices:

  • false ← (default)

  • true

Notes

Note

  • BIG-IP provides no way to get a checksum of the UCS files on the system via any interface with the possible exception of logging in directly to the box (which would not support appliance mode). Therefore, the best this module can do is check for the existence of the file on disk; no check-summing.

  • If you are using this module with either Ansible Tower or Ansible AWX, you should be aware of how these Ansible products execute jobs in restricted environments. More information can be found here https://clouddocs.f5.com/products/orchestration/ansible/devel/usage/module-usage-with-tower.html

  • Some longer running tasks might cause the REST interface on BIG-IP to time out, to avoid this adjust the timers as per this KB article https://support.f5.com/csp/article/K94602685

  • For more information on using Ansible to manage F5 Networks devices see https://www.ansible.com/integrations/networks/f5.

  • Requires BIG-IP software version >= 12.

  • The F5 modules only manipulate the running configuration of the F5 product. To ensure that BIG-IP specific configuration persists to disk, be sure to include at least one task that uses the f5networks.f5_modules.bigip_config module to save the running configuration. Refer to the module’s documentation for the correct usage of the module to save your running configuration.

Examples

- name: Download a new UCS
  bigip_ucs_fetch:
    src: cs_backup.ucs
    dest: /tmp/cs_backup.ucs
    provider:
      server: lb.mydomain.com
      user: admin
      password: secret
  delegate_to: localhost

- name: Only create new UCS, no download
  bigip_ucs_fetch:
    src: cs_backup.ucs
    only_create_file: true
    provider:
      server: lb.mydomain.com
      user: admin
      password: secret
  delegate_to: localhost

- name: Recreate UCS file left on device - remove file first
  bigip_ucs:
    ucs: cs_backup.ucs
    state: absent
    provider:
      server: lb.mydomain.com
      user: admin
      password: secret
  delegate_to: localhost

- name: Recreate UCS file left on device - create new file
  bigip_ucs_fetch:
    src: cs_backup.ucs
    only_create_file: true
    provider:
      server: lb.mydomain.com
      user: admin
      password: secret
  delegate_to: localhost

Return Values

Common return values are documented here, the following are the fields unique to this module:

Key

Description

backup_file

string

Name of the backup file.

Returned: changed and if backup=yes

Sample: "/path/to/file.txt.2015-02-12@22:09~"

checksum

string

The SHA1 checksum of the downloaded file.

Returned: success or changed

Sample: "7b46bbe4f8ebfee64761b5313855618f64c64109"

dest

string

Location on the Ansible host the UCS was saved to.

Returned: success

Sample: "/path/to/file.txt"

gid

integer

Group ID of the UCS file, after execution.

Returned: success

Sample: 100

group

string

Group of the UCS file, after execution.

Returned: success

Sample: "httpd"

md5sum

string

The MD5 checksum of the downloaded file.

Returned: changed or success

Sample: "96cacab4c259c4598727d7cf2ceb3b45"

mode

string

Permissions of the target UCS, after execution.

Returned: success

Sample: "420"

owner

string

Owner of the UCS file, after execution.

Returned: success

Sample: "httpd"

size

integer

Size of the target UCS, after execution.

Returned: success

Sample: 1220

src

string

Name of the UCS file on the remote BIG-IP to download. If not specified, this is a randomly generated filename.

Returned: changed

Sample: "cs_backup.ucs"

uid

integer

Owner ID of the UCS file, after execution.

Returned: success

Sample: 100

Authors

  • Tim Rupp (@caphrim007)

  • Wojciech Wypior (@wojtek0806)