Python Script Examples

Plain Python scripts that automate NetApp storage workflows over REST using the requests library. Each script is self-contained and designed to be copied and adapted for your environment.

For REST API conventions used by these examples (endpoints, auth, headers, async jobs), see the Platform API patterns guide. To compare this approach with Ansible or Terraform, see Choosing an approach.

Catalog: catalog.yaml lists every Python example with prerequisites, inputs, and outputs. Sections below follow the same format.

Note: These scripts are runnable illustrations. Unit tests live in Unit_tests/ and can be run with pytest Unit_tests/. CI validates lint and formatting via Ruff in addition to running the test suite.

Prerequisites

Python 3.11+
Network access to an ONTAP cluster management LIF (HTTPS)
Cluster admin credentials (or appropriate RBAC user)

Setup

cd python
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

Configuration

All scripts read connection details from environment variables.

Important: The values below are placeholders for illustration only. Replace ONTAP_HOST, ONTAP_USER, and ONTAP_PASS with your actual cluster details before running any script.

export ONTAP_HOST=10.0.0.1       # cluster management LIF
export ONTAP_USER=admin           # default: admin
export ONTAP_PASS=your_password
export ONTAP_TIMEOUT=30          # optional: request timeout in seconds (default: 90)

Or use an env file and pass it to scripts that support --env-file:

# cluster.env
ONTAP_HOST=10.0.0.1
ONTAP_USER=admin
ONTAP_PASS=your_password

# Linux / macOS
set -a && source cluster.env && set +a

# Windows PowerShell
Get-Content cluster.env | ForEach-Object {
    if ($_ -match '^([^#][^=]*)=(.*)$') { [System.Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable($Matches[1].Trim(), $Matches[2].Trim()) }
}

Scripts that accept --env-file (e.g. cluster_setup_basic.py) can also load the file directly:

python cluster_setup_basic.py --env-file cluster.env

SSL verification is disabled by default to support environments that use self-signed certificates. We recommend setting ONTAP_VERIFY_SSL=true once CA-signed certificates are in place.

SSL / CA-bundle configuration

Knob	Description
Default	`verify_ssl=False` — SSL certificate errors are suppressed so scripts work out-of-the-box with self-signed certs.
`ONTAP_VERIFY_SSL=true`	Enable full certificate verification (recommended for production).
`REQUESTS_CA_BUNDLE`	Path to a custom CA bundle PEM file when your cluster uses an internal/private CA.

To enable verification with a custom CA bundle:

export ONTAP_VERIFY_SSL=true
export REQUESTS_CA_BUNDLE=/path/to/your/ca-bundle.pem
python cluster_info.py

For more details and common SSL errors, see the SSL / TLS errors section in the troubleshooting guide.

Examples

Cluster Info

Use case: cluster-info | Status: verified | ONTAP: 9.8+

Retrieve the cluster version and list all nodes with serial numbers.

Prerequisites: Python 3.11+, pip install -r requirements.txt, ONTAP_HOST / ONTAP_PASS / ONTAP_USER

Usage:

python cluster_info.py

Input	Required	Default	Description
(none)

Output	Description
cluster_version	Full ONTAP version string (stdout)
nodes	Node names and serial numbers (stdout)

NFS Volume Provisioning

Use case: nfs-provision | Status: verified | ONTAP: 9.8+

Create a FlexVol volume, set up an NFS export policy with a client rule, and assign the policy to the volume.

Prerequisites: Python 3.11+, pip install -r requirements.txt, ONTAP_HOST / ONTAP_PASS / ONTAP_USER

Usage:

python nfs_provision.py \
    --svm vs0 \
    --volume vol_nfs_test_01 \
    --size 100MB \
    --aggregate aggr1 \
    --client-match 10.0.0.0/8

Input	Required	Default	Description
svm	yes	—	Target SVM name
volume	yes	—	FlexVol name
size	yes	—	Volume size (e.g. `100MB`)
aggregate	yes	—	Target aggregate
client_match	yes	—	NFS export client CIDR

Output	Description
volume_name	Created volume name (stdout)
mount_path	NAS junction path (stdout)
export_policy	Dedicated export policy name (stdout)

All flags can also be set via environment variables (SVM_NAME, VOLUME_NAME, VOLUME_SIZE, AGGR_NAME, CLIENT_MATCH).

CIFS Share Provisioning

Use case: cifs-provision | Status: verified | ONTAP: 9.8+

Create a FlexVol volume with NTFS security style, a CIFS share, and share ACL.

Prerequisites: Python 3.11+, pip install -r requirements.txt, ONTAP_HOST / ONTAP_PASS / ONTAP_USER, CIFS enabled on the SVM

Usage:

python cifs_provision.py

Input	Required	Default	Description
svm	yes	—	Target SVM name
volume	yes	—	FlexVol name
size	yes	—	Volume size
aggregate	yes	—	Target aggregate
share_name	yes	—	CIFS share name
acl_user	no	Everyone	ACL user or group
acl_permission	no	full_control	ACL permission level

Output	Description
volume_name	Created volume name (stdout)
share_name	CIFS share name (stdout)
mount_path	NAS junction path (stdout)

Configure via CLI flags, environment variables, or --env-file — see script docstring.

Cluster Setup

Use case: cluster-setup | Status: verified | ONTAP: 9.8+

Create a storage cluster from two pre-cluster nodes.

Prerequisites: Python 3.11+, pip install -r requirements.txt, pre-cluster node management IP and cluster network details

Usage:

export ONTAP_HOST=10.x.x.x ONTAP_USER=admin ONTAP_PASS=
export CLUSTER_NAME=mycluster CLUSTER_PASS=secret
export CLUSTER_MGMT_IP=10.x.x.x CLUSTER_NETMASK=255.255.192.0
export CLUSTER_GATEWAY=10.x.x.1 PARTNER_MGMT_IP=10.x.x.y
python cluster_setup_basic.py

Input	Required	Default	Description
cluster_name	yes	—	New cluster name
cluster_pass	yes	—	Cluster admin password
cluster_mgmt_ip	yes	—	Cluster management LIF IP
cluster_netmask	yes	—	Management subnet mask
cluster_gateway	yes	—	Default gateway
partner_mgmt_ip	yes	—	Partner node management IP

Output	Description
cluster_name	Created cluster name (stdout)
job_status	Cluster-create job result (stdout)

SnapMirror Provision (Source-Managed)

Use case: snapmirror-provision-src | Status: verified | ONTAP: 9.8+

Provision a SnapMirror relationship from the source-managed view (API calls run on the destination cluster).

Prerequisites: Python 3.11+, pip install -r requirements.txt, cluster/SVM peering, source RW volume, SnapMirror license on both clusters

Usage:

export SOURCE_HOST=10.x.x.x SOURCE_USER=admin SOURCE_PASS=secret
export SOURCE_SVM=vs0 SOURCE_VOLUME=vol_rw_01
export DEST_HOST=10.y.y.y DEST_USER=admin DEST_PASS=secret DEST_SVM=vs1
python snapmirror_provision_src_managed.py

Input	Required	Default	Description
source_svm	yes	—	Source SVM name
source_volume	yes	—	Source RW volume name
dest_svm	yes	—	Destination SVM name
sm_policy	no	Asynchronous	SnapMirror policy name

Output	Description
relationship_uuid	SnapMirror relationship UUID (stdout)
relationship_state	Final relationship state (stdout)
relationship_healthy	Health status (stdout)

SnapMirror Provision (Destination-Managed)

Use case: snapmirror-provision-dest | Status: verified | ONTAP: 9.8+

Provision a SnapMirror relationship with all API calls driven from the destination cluster.

Prerequisites: Python 3.11+, pip install -r requirements.txt, cluster/SVM peering, source RW volume, SnapMirror license on both clusters

Usage:

export SOURCE_HOST=10.x.x.x SOURCE_USER=admin SOURCE_PASS=secret
export SOURCE_SVM=vs0 SOURCE_VOLUME=vol_rw_01
export DEST_HOST=10.y.y.y DEST_USER=admin DEST_PASS=secret DEST_SVM=vs1
python snapmirror_provision_dest_managed.py

Input	Required	Default	Description
source_svm	yes	—	Source SVM name
source_volume	yes	—	Source RW volume name
dest_svm	yes	—	Destination SVM name
sm_policy	no	Asynchronous	SnapMirror policy name

Output	Description
relationship_uuid	SnapMirror relationship UUID (stdout)
relationship_state	Final relationship state (stdout)
relationship_healthy	Health status (stdout)

SnapMirror Test Failover

Use case: snapmirror-test-failover | Status: verified | ONTAP: 9.8+

Create a writable FlexClone of a SnapMirror destination volume for test failover.

Prerequisites: Python 3.11+, pip install -r requirements.txt, healthy SnapMirror relationship in snapmirrored state

Usage:

export CLUSTER_A=10.x.x.x CLUSTER_B=10.y.y.y
export DEST_USER=admin DEST_PASS=secret
export SOURCE_VOLUME=*
python snapmirror_test_failover.py

Input	Required	Default	Description
source_volume	no	`*`	Source volume name, or `*` to auto-detect

Output	Description
clone_volume	Writable FlexClone volume name (stdout)
relationship_uuid	SnapMirror relationship UUID (stdout)
relationship_state	Post-failover relationship state (stdout)

SnapMirror Cleanup Test Failover

Use case: snapmirror-cleanup-failover | Status: verified | ONTAP: 9.8+

Delete the FlexClone created by snapmirror_test_failover.py.

Prerequisites: Python 3.11+, pip install -r requirements.txt, test failover clone must exist

Usage:

export CLUSTER_A=10.x.x.x CLUSTER_B=10.y.y.y
export DEST_USER=admin DEST_PASS=secret
export SOURCE_VOLUME=vol_rw_01 SOURCE_SVM=vs0
python snapmirror_cleanup_test_failover.py

Input	Required	Default	Description
source_volume	yes	—	Source volume name used to locate the clone
source_svm	yes	vs0	Source SVM name

Output	Description
clone_deleted	Confirmation that the tagged clone was removed (stdout)

File Overview

File	Purpose
`ontap_client.py`	Reusable ONTAP REST client (session management, auth, polling, error handling)
`cluster_info.py`	Get cluster version + node list
`cluster_setup_basic.py`	Create a new ONTAP cluster from two pre-cluster nodes
`nfs_provision.py`	Create NFS volume with export policy
`cifs_provision.py`	Create CIFS/SMB share (optionally create CIFS server)
`snapmirror_provision_src_managed.py`	Provision a SnapMirror relationship from the source cluster
`snapmirror_provision_dest_managed.py`	Provision a SnapMirror relationship from the destination cluster
`snapmirror_test_failover.py`	Create a FlexClone of the SnapMirror destination for test failover
`snapmirror_cleanup_test_failover.py`	Delete the FlexClone created by a test failover
`requirements.txt`	Python dependencies

Code Patterns

These scripts demonstrate several patterns you can reuse:

OntapClient.from_env() - builds a configured client from environment variables so credentials never appear in code
client.poll_job(uuid) - polls an async ONTAP job until completion; accepts keyword args interval (seconds between polls, default 5) and timeout (max seconds to wait, default 300); raises RuntimeError on job failure and TimeoutError on timeout
client.wait_snapmirrored(rel_uuid) - polls a SnapMirror relationship until its state reaches snapmirrored; accepts interval and max_wait
client.update_auth(username, password) - replaces session credentials mid-workflow (used by cluster_setup_basic.py after cluster creation)
Context manager - with OntapClient.from_env() as client: ensures the HTTP session is properly closed
Structured logging - all output goes through logging, not print(), so you can control verbosity and format

Adapting for Your Environment

These scripts illustrate workflows using simple API call sequences. When adapting them, consider adding the following based on your requirements:

Idempotency - check whether a resource exists before creating it (e.g. GET /storage/volumes?name=vol01&svm.name=vs0 before calling POST /storage/volumes). Ansible modules handle this natively; Python and Terraform scripts require explicit checks or state tracking.
Retry and backoff - handle transient network or API errors gracefully
Partial failure recovery - clean up or resume when a multi-step workflow fails midway
Dry-run mode - log intended actions without executing them
Input validation - enforce constraints on volume sizes, naming conventions, or CIDR ranges before calling the API

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Python Script Examples

Prerequisites

Setup

Configuration

SSL / CA-bundle configuration

Examples

Cluster Info

NFS Volume Provisioning

CIFS Share Provisioning

Cluster Setup

SnapMirror Provision (Source-Managed)

SnapMirror Provision (Destination-Managed)

SnapMirror Test Failover

SnapMirror Cleanup Test Failover

File Overview

Code Patterns

Adapting for Your Environment

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Python Script Examples

Prerequisites

Setup

Configuration

SSL / CA-bundle configuration

Examples

Cluster Info

NFS Volume Provisioning

CIFS Share Provisioning

Cluster Setup

SnapMirror Provision (Source-Managed)

SnapMirror Provision (Destination-Managed)

SnapMirror Test Failover

SnapMirror Cleanup Test Failover

File Overview

Code Patterns

Adapting for Your Environment