NAME

RAS::HiPerARC.pm - PERL Interface to 3Com/USR Total Control HiPerARC

Version 1.01, December 20, 1999

Gregor Mosheh (stigmata@blackangel.net)

SYNOPSIS

RAS::HiPerARC is a PERL 5 module for interfacing with a 3Com/USR Total Control HiPerARC remote access server. Using this module, one can very easily construct programs to find a particular user in a bank of ARCs, disconnect users, get usage statistics, or execute arbitrary commands on a ARC.

PREREQUISITES AND INSTALLATION

This module uses Jay Rogers' Net::Telnet module. If you don't have Net::Telnet, get it from CPAN or this module won't do much for you.

Installation is easy, thanks to MakeMaker:

1. "perl Makefile.PL && make && make test"

2. If the tests worked all right, "make install"

3. Check out the examples in this documentation.

DESCRIPTION

At this time, the following methods are implemented:

creating an object with new

Call the new method while supplying the "hostname", "login", and "password" hash, and you'll get an object reference returned.

Example:
   use RAS::HiPerARC;
   $foo = new RAS::HiPerARC(
      hostname => 'dialup1.example.com',
      login => '!root',
      password => 'mysecret'
   );

printenv

This is for debugging only. It prints to STDOUT a list of its configuration hash, e.g. the hostname, login, and password. The printenv method does not return a value.

Example:
   $foo->printenv;

run_command

This takes a list of commands to be executed on the ARC, connects to the ARC and executes the commands, and returns a list of references to arrays containg the text of each command's output.

Repeat: It doesn't return an array, it returns an array of references to arrays. Each array contains the text output of each command. Think of it as an array-enhanced version of PERL's `backtick` operator.

Example:
   # Execute a command and print the output
   $command = 'list conn';
   ($x) = $foo->run_command($command);
   print "Output of command \'$command\':\n", @$x ;

Example:
   # Execute a string of commands
   # and show the output from one of them
   (@output) = $foo->run_command('list interface','list con');
   print "Modems:\n@$output[0]\n\n";;
   print "Current connections:\n@$output[1]\n\n";;

usergrep

Supply a username as an argument, and usergrep will return an array of ports on which that user was found. Internally, this does a run_command("list connections") and parses the output.

Example:
   @ports = $foo->usergrep('gregor');
   print "User gregor was found on ports @ports\n";

userkill

This does a usergrep, but with a twist: it disconnects the user by resetting the modem on which they're connected. Like usergrep, it returns an array of ports to which the user was connected before they were reset. This is safe to use if the specified user is not logged in.

Examples:
   @foo = $foo->userkill('gregor');
   print "Gregor was on ports @foo - HA HA!\n" if @ports ;

   @duh = $foo->userkill('-');
   print "There were ", scalar(@duh), " ports open.\n";

portusage

This returns an array consisting of 2 items: The 1st element is the number of ports. The rest is a list of users who are currently online.

Examples:
   ($ports,@people) = $foo->portusage;
   print "There are $ports total ports.\n";
   print "There are ", scalar(@people), "people online.\n";
   print "They are: @people\n";

   ($ports,@people) = $foo->portusage;
   print "Ports free: ", $ports - scalar(@people), "\n";
   print "Ports used: ", scalar(@people), "\n";
   print "Ports total: ", $ports, "\n";

EXAMPLE PROGRAMS

portusage.pl - Prints a summary of port usage on a bank of modems

use RAS::HiPerARC; $used = $total = 0; foreach ('arc1.example.com','arc2.example.com','arc3.example.com') { $foo = new RAS::HiPerARC( hostname => $_, login => '!root', password => 'mysecret' );

local($ports,@ports) = $foo->portusage;
$total += $ports;
$used += scalar(@ports);
}

print "$used out of $total ports are in use.\n";

###

usergrep.pl - Finds a user on a bank of modems

($username) = @ARGV; die "Usage: $0 <username>\nFinds the specified user.\n" unless $username ;

use RAS::HiPerARC; foreach ('arc1.example.com','arc2.example.com','arc3.example.com') { $foo = new RAS::HiPerARC( hostname => $_, login => '!root', password => 'mysecret' );

@ports = $foo->usergrep($username);
(@ports) && print "Found user $username on $_ ports @ports\n";
}

###

userkill.pl - Kick a user off a bank of modems. Makes a great cron job. ;)

($username) = @ARGV; die "Usage: $0 <username>\nDisconnects the specified user.\n" unless $username ;

use RAS::HiPerARC; foreach ('arc1.example.com','arc2.example.com','arc3.example.com') { $foo = new RAS::HiPerARC( hostname => $_, login => '!root', password => 'mysecret' );

@ports = $foo->userkill($username);
(@ports) && print "$_ : Killed ports @ports\n";
}

CHANGES IN THIS VERSION

1.01 Added a test suite. Corrected some errors in the documentation. Improved error handling a bit.

BUGS

Since we use this for port usage monitoring, new functions will be added slowly on an as-needed basis. If you need some specific functionality let me know and I'll see what I can do. If you write an addition for this, please send it in and I'll incororate it and give credit.

I make some assumptions about router prompts based on what I have on hand for experimentation. If I make an assumption that doesn't apply to you (e.g. all prompts are /^[a-zA-Z0-9]+\>\s+$/) then it can cause two problems: pattern match timed out or a hang when any functions are used. A pattern match timeout can occur because of a bad password or a bad prompt. A hang is likely caused by a bad prompt. Check the regexps in the loop within run_command, and make sure your prompt fits this regex. If not, either fix the regex and/or (even better) PLEASE send me some details on your prompt and what commands you used to set your prompt. If you have several routers with the same login/password, make sure you're pointing to the right one. A Livingston PM, for example, has a different prompt than a HiPerARC - if you accidentally point to a ARC using RAS::PortMaster, you'll likely be able to log in, but run_command will never exit, resulting in a hang.

LICENSE AND WARRANTY

Where would we be if Larry Wall were tight-fisted with PERL itself? For God's sake, it's PERL code. It's free!

This software is hereby released into the Public Domain, where it may be freely distributed, modified, plagiarized, used, abused, and deleted without regard for the original author.

Bug reports and feature requests will be handled ASAP, but without guarantee. The warranty is the same as for most freeware: It Works For Me, Your Mileage May Vary.

cpanm RAS::HiPerARC

perl -MCPAN -e shell
install RAS::HiPerARC