Flock Routing Suite Client flockc

flockc is the client provided to query the current state of flockd. By design flockc can be run by a user with no special privileges. flockc connects to a Read-Only connection on flockd. flockd state can be viewed but cannot be changed. All output is in JSON format, making it suitable for consumption by humans or machines.

flockc connects to a REST API on flockd. This REST API will talk to any HTTP based client. This means any HTTP based client can be used to monitor flockd. Just connect the client to the same URL that flockc uses. Use the flockc --show-url option to display the URL associated with the flockc command.

For example:

$ flockc system --show-url
http://127.0.0.1:8000/system/sort/json-lines

See here for more information on using the REST API.

Local Connectivity

flockc uses the REST API via the local IP Looback address to retrieve state information from the local flockd.

This command shows all the IPv4 Prefixes in the RIB of the local flocknet1 router.

flock@flocknet1:~$ flockc ribv4 --prefix
{"ip_net":"0.0.0.0/0","origin":"Ospfv2","next_hops":[{"intf_id":2,  "ip_addr":"10.0.1.168"},{"intf_id":3,"ip_addr":"10.0.2.203"}]}
{"ip_net":"10.0.1.0/24","origin":"Kernel","next_hops":[{"intf_id":2}]}
{"ip_net":"10.0.2.0/24","origin":"Kernel","next_hops":[{"intf_id":3}]}
...

Remote Connectivity

flockc can connect and retrieve the same state information from a remote router. Just add the --host option to any command. The host parameter can be a hostname or an IP Address.

This command shows all the IPv4 Prefixes in the RIB of the remote flocknet2 router.

flock@flocknet1:~$ flockc ribv4 --prefix --host flocknet2
{"ip_net":"0.0.0.0/0","origin":"Ospfv2","next_hops":[{"intf_id":2,  "ip_addr":"10.0.11.168"},{"intf_id":3,"ip_addr":"10.0.22.203"}]}
{"ip_net":"10.0.11.0/24","origin":"Kernel","next_hops":[{"intf_id":2}]}
{"ip_net":"10.0.22.0/24","origin":"Kernel","next_hops":[{"intf_id":3}]}
...

flockc is available on its own. Install this package if you want to remotely manage your network from a host.

# dpkg -i flockc_20.3.x_amd64.deb

General Command Flags

General Flags can be included in any flockc command.

-d, --detail
-h, --help
-J, --json           Output in JSON
-j, --json-pretty    Output in Pretty Print JSON
-u, --unsorted       Output in unsorted order

Changing the output format

By default the output is in JSON Lines format, which is JSON with newlines added to aid reading by a human. The output can also be changed to JSON Pretty or vanilla JSON.

JSON Lines format

flock@flocknet:~$ flockc ospfv2 --neigh 10.0.100.3
{"ospf_area_id":"0.0.0.0"}
{"ospf_intf":"enp1s0"}
{"id":"10.0.100.3","ip":"10.0.5.225","state":"Full","dr":"10.0.5.225","bdr":"10.0.5.204"}

JSON Pretty format

Using the -j, --json-pretty flag the output is pretty printed JSON.

flock@flocknet:~$ flockc ospfv2 --neigh 10.0.100.3 -j
[
  {
    "ospf_area_id": "0.0.0.0",
    "ospf_intfs": [
      {
        "ospf_intf": "enp1s0",
        "ospf_neighs": [
          {
            "id": "10.0.100.3",
            "ip": "10.0.5.225",
            "state": "Full",
            "dr": "10.0.5.225",
            "bdr": "10.0.5.204"
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
]

JSON format

Using the -J, --json flag the output is JSON. This is the flag to use when talking to another application which wants to deserialize the JSON string into its own representation.

flock@flocknet:~$ flockc ospfv2 --neigh 10.0.100.3 -J
[{"ospf_area_id":"0.0.0.0","ospf_intfs":[{"ospf_intf":"enp1s0","ospf_neighs":[{"id":"10.0.100.3","ip":"10.0.5.225","state":"Full","dr":"10.0.5.225","bdr":"10.0.5.204"}]}]}]