Python for system administrators

Making system administration easier (and more fun)

James Knowlton September 07, 2007

(First published September 04, 2007)

Adopt Python to manage UNIX® systems while incorporating concepts of good program
design. Python is an easy-to-learn, open source scripting language that lets system
administrators do their job more quickly. It can also make tasks more fun.

Introduction
As a system administrator, you run across numerous challenges and problems. Managing users,
disk space, processes, devices, and backups can cause many system administrators to lose their
hair, good humor, or sanity. Shell scripts can help, but they often have frustrating limitations. This is
where a full-featured scripting language, such as Python, can turn a tedious task into an easy and,
dare I say it, fun one.

The examples in this article demonstrate different Python features that you can put to practical
use. If you work through them, you'll be well on your way to understanding the power of Python.

About modules
A module is an important Python concept. Basically, a module is a resource you import in order to
use it. This process is comparable to taking a piece of paper out of a file cabinet and putting it on
your desk, ready for use. You import modules using the import command, which appears at the
top of each of the example programs. Modules are available for database connectivity, network
programming, operating system services, and hundreds of other useful areas.

Put Python to work

Why Python?
Python has many features to recommend it:

• It's free, being open source.

• It's easy to learn. Many users find its syntax much more English-like than other
scripting languages.

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• It's mature. Python has been around a long time, which means its code is stable, lots
of modules add functionality, and robust documentation is available on the Web.

Python is a full-featured, robust programming language and, as such, it has tons of features.
Learning it could be a task of epic proportions. However, remember that many Python features,
such as the GUI toolkits, are of limited value to system administrators. That's why this article uses
specific examples: They demonstrate the skills you need to effectively write Python scripts to
manage systems.

Notes on the examples

• Each example includes a try: and an except: with a surrounding block of code. This is an
implementation of rudimentary error handling. Python has extensive support for handling all
types of exceptions but, for the purposes of these example programs, I've kept it simple.
• These examples were run on Python 2.5 running on a Linux® box, but they should work on
any UNIX®/Linux machine.
• You'll undoubtedly think of ways these scripts can be improved. This is good! The nature
of Python scripts is that they can be easily modified and customized without needing to
recompile code.
Example 1: Search for files and show permissions in a friendly format
The first example program (see Listing 1) searches for files that match a pattern (based on user
input) and displays the results to the screen, along with the permissions assigned to the particular
files. At first, you might think this program doesn't do much more than execute a find command;
however, it displays results in a customized way, and your options for displaying this enhanced find
are limitless. The example shows you how to take a system command and make it better (or at
least more customized).

The script basically performs three tasks:

1. Get the search pattern from the user.

2. Perform the search.
3. Present the results to the user.
In writing the script, constantly ask yourself this question, "Which task is this code supporting?"
Asking yourself this question can increase the focus of your work and efficiency.

Listing 1. Search for files and list results with file permissions
import stat, sys, os, string, commands

#Getting search pattern from user and assigning it to a list

try:
#run a 'find' command and assign results to a variable
pattern = raw_input("Enter the file pattern to search for:\n")
commandString = "find " + pattern
commandOutput = commands.getoutput(commandString)
findResults = string.split(commandOutput, "\n")

#output find results, along with permissions

print "Files:"
print commandOutput

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print "================================"
for file in findResults:
mode=stat.S_IMODE(os.lstat(file)[stat.ST_MODE])
print "\nPermissions for file ", file, ":"
for level in "USR", "GRP", "OTH":
for perm in "R", "W", "X":
if mode & getattr(stat,"S_I"+perm+level):
print level, " has ", perm, " permission"
else:
print level, " does NOT have ", perm, " permission"
except:
print "There was a problem - check the message above"

The program follows these steps:

1. Ask the user for a search pattern (lines 7-9).

2. Print a listing of files found (lines 12-14).
3. Using the stat module, get permissions for each file found and display them to the screen
(lines 15-23).

When the program is run, the output looks like that shown in Listing 2.

Listing 2. Output of the first example

$ python example1.py
Enter the file pattern to search for:
j*.py

FILES FOUND FOR PATTERN j*.py :

jim.py
jim2.py
================================

Permissions for file jim.py :

USR R
USR W
USR X
GRP -
GRP -
GRP -
OTH -
OTH -
OTH -

Permissions for file jim2.py :

USR R
USR W
USR X
GRP R
GRP -
GRP X
OTH R
OTH -
OTH X

Example 2: Perform operations on a tar archive that is based on menu

selection
The previous example prompted the user for a search pattern to use. Another way to get
information from the user is through a command-line argument. The program in Listing 3 shows

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how to do that in Python: The code takes a tar filename as a command-line argument and then
prompts the user with several options.

This example also shows a new way to attack the problem. The first example used the command
module to run the find command and capture the output. This approach can be clumsy and isn't
very "Pythonic." This example uses the tarfile module to open a tar file, which has the advantage of
allowing you to use Python attributes and methods as you manipulate the file. With many modules
provided by Python, you can do things that can't be done through the command line.

This is a good example of implementing a menu system in Python. The program performs different
actions based on your selection:

• If you press 1, the program prompts you for the file name in the archive to extract the current
directory to and then extracts the file.
• If you press 2, the program prompts you for the file name and then displays the file
information.
• If you press 3, the program lists all the files in the archive.

Listing 3. Perform actions on a tar archive based on your menu selection

import tarfile, sys

try:
#open tarfile
tar = tarfile.open(sys.argv[1], "r:tar")

#present menu and get selection

selection = raw_input("Enter\n\
1 to extract a file\n\
2 to display information on a file in the archive\n\
3 to list all the files in the archive\n\n")

#perform actions based on selection above

if selection == "1":
filename = raw_input("enter the filename to extract: ")
tar.extract(filename)
elif selection == "2":
filename = raw_input("enter the filename to inspect: ")
for tarinfo in tar:
if tarinfo.name == filename:
print "\n\
Filename:\t\t", tarinfo.name, "\n\
Size:\t\t", tarinfo.size, "bytes\n\
elif selection == "3":
print tar.list(verbose=True)
except:
print "There was a problem running the program"

The program follows these steps:

1. Open the tar file (line 5).

2. Present the menu and get the user selection (lines 8-11).
3. If you press 1 (lines 14-16), extract a file from the archive.
4. If you press 2 (lines 17-23), present information about a selected file.
5. If you press 3 (lines 24-25), present information about all the files in the archive.

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The output is shown in Listing 4.

Listing 4. User menu for second example

$ python example2.py jimstar.tar
Enter
1 to extract a file
2 to display information on a file in the archive
3 to list all the files in the archive

Example 3: Check for a running process and show information in a friendly

format
One of the most important duties of a system administrator is checking on running processes. The
script in Listing 5 gives you some ideas. The program takes advantage of UNIX's ability to run a
grep command on output generated by a command, which lets you automatically narrow the data
Python has to parse.

This program also uses the string module. Get to know this module—you'll use it often.

Listing 5. Display information on a running process in a friendly format

import commands, os, string

program = raw_input("Enter the name of the program to check: ")

try:
#perform a ps command and assign results to a list
output = commands.getoutput("ps -f|grep " + program)
proginfo = string.split(output)

#display results
print "\n\
Full path:\t\t", proginfo[5], "\n\
Owner:\t\t\t", proginfo[0], "\n\
Process ID:\t\t", proginfo[1], "\n\
Parent process ID:\t", proginfo[2], "\n\
Time started:\t\t", proginfo[4]
except:
print "There was a problem with the program."

The program follows these steps:

1. Get the name of a process to check and assign it to a variable (line 3).
2. Run the ps command and assign the results to a list (lines 7-8).
3. Display detailed information about the process with English terms (lines 11-16).
The output is shown in Listing 6.

Listing 6. Output of the third example

$ python example3.py
Enter the name of the program to check: xterm

Full path: /usr/bin/xterm

Owner: knowltoj
Process ID: 3220
Parent process ID: 4308
Time started: 16:51:46

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Example 4: Check userids and passwords for policy compliance

Managing security is a critical part of the job for any system administrator. Python makes this job
easier, as the last example illustrates.

The program in Listing 7 uses the pwd module to access the password database. It checks userids
and passwords for security policy compliance (in this case, that userids are at least six characters
long and passwords are at least eight characters long).

There are two caveats:

• This program works only if you have full rights to /etc/passwd.

• If you use shadow passwords, this script won't work (however, Python 2.5 does have a spwd
module that does the job).

Listing 7. Check userids and passwords for compliance with security policy
import pwd

#initialize counters
erroruser = []
errorpass = []

#get password database

passwd_db = pwd.getpwall()

try:
#check each user and password for validity
for entry in passwd_db:
username = entry[0]
password = entry [1]
if len(username) < 6:
erroruser.append(username)
if len(password) < 8:
errorpass.append(username)

#print results to screen

print "The following users have an invalid userid (less than six characters):"
for item in erroruser:
print item
print "\nThe following users have invalid password(less than eight characters):"
for item in errorpass:
print item
except:
print "There was a problem running the script."

The program follows these steps:

1. Initialize the counter lists (lines 4-5).

2. Open the password database and assign data to a list (line 8).
3. Check users and passwords for validity (lines 12-18).
4. Output invalid users and passwords (lines 21-26).

The output is shown in Listing 8.

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Listing 8. Output of the fourth example

$ python example4.py
The following users have an invalid userid (less than six characters):
Guest

The following users have invalid password(less than eight characters):

Guest
johnsmith
joewilson
suejones

Other uses for scripts

You can use Python in a number of ways to manage systems. One of the best things you can do
is analyze your work, determine which tasks you perform repeatedly, and explore whether Python
modules are available to help you with those tasks—almost certainly they are.

Some specific areas where Python can be of great help are as follows:

• Managing servers: Checks patch levels for a particular application across a set of servers
and updates them automatically.
• Logging: Sends an e-mail automatically if a particular type of error shows up in the syslog.
• Networking: Makes a Telnet connection to a server and monitors the status of the
connection.
• Testing Web applications: Uses freely available tools to emulate a Web browser and verifies
Web application functionality and performance.

These are just a few examples—I'm sure you can add useful ideas of your own.

Summary
With its easy-to-learn language; its ability to handle files, processes, strings, and numbers; and its
almost endless array of helper modules, Python is a scripting language that looks like it was made
for system administrators. It's a valuable tool for any system administrator's toolbox.

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Related topics
• The Python tutorial: This tutorial is a great source of basic language information.
• "Discover Python" (Robert J. Brunner, developerWorks): Read all the articles in the
developerWorks "Discover Python" series.
• Official Python Web site: This site provides a wealth of information and downloads.
• The Python Cookbook: This site is maintained by ActiveState and is a user community with
user-contributed scripts on virtually every programming topic.
• Planet Python: This site covers all things Python.
• AIX and UNIX: The AIX and UNIX developerWorks zone provides a wealth of information
relating to all aspects of AIX systems administration and expanding your UNIX skills.
• Search the AIX and UNIX library by topic:
• System administration
• Application development
• Performance
• Porting
• Security
• Tips
• Tools and utilities
• Java™ technology
• Linux
• Open source
• IBM trial software: Build your next development project with software for download directly
from developerWorks.
• Browse the Python section of the Safari Technology Bookstore for books on these and other
technical topics.
• Download the latest version of Python.

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