Cloud Networks and CLIs: neutron

To interact with Cloud Networks at the command line, you can use Rackspace CLI (rack), tools created specifically for the purpose of interacting with OpenStack based clouds (nova and neutron), or general-purpose tools (cURL).

Because Cloud Servers and Cloud Networks work so closely together, the command-line tools that work well with Cloud Servers also work well with Cloud Networks.

You can read about these as a group at Cloud Servers and CLIs: rack, nova, and supernova or you can go directly to the tool that interests you:

• rack

• nova CLI

• supernova CLI

• cURL CLI

If you choose to use tools created specifically for interacting with Openstack based clouds, use neutron CLI, focused on Cloud Networks.

In working with Cloud Networks, you might find that you need to use nova for some functions and neutron for others. You should install them both. You can see an example of using nova and neutron together in the multistep Configure host routes with neutron example:

• neutron net-create establishes a new network

• neutron subnet-create establishes a new subnet

• nova boot initializes a new server with the new subnet

• nova list verifies the new server’s IP address

Alternatively, Rackspace CLI works with most functions without having to switch clients.

Before you can use one of these tools, you must install a local (client) copy. The installation procedure varies for each tool and is documented with the tool.

The commands that you can send are the the same as the requests you can send to the API endpoint, but they are wrapped in the syntax of the client. The Cloud Networks API Reference lists those requests for Cloud Networks.

The Getting Started Guide for the Cloud Networks API includes detailed, parallel examples that show how you to use either cURL or neutron to perform the same functions. If you compare the matching cURL and neutron examples, you can see how these tools differ and why you might prefer to work with one or the other. For example, if you compare Create a network (neutron client), and Create a network (cURL), you can see that:

• neutron users send a short command, reusing details provided when the neutron client was configured:

  neutron net-create Rackernet
  

• cURL users send a long command or series of commands, specifying details required to perform the API request:

  curl -s https://dfw.networks.api.rackspacecloud.com/v2.0/networks \
  -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "User-Agent: python-novaclient" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -H "X-Auth-Token: $token" \
  -d '{"network": {"name": "Rackernet"}}' | python -m json.tool