merge with latest upstream status
[osm/vim-emu.git] / src / emuvim / api / sonata / dummygatekeeper.py
old mode 100644 (file)
new mode 100755 (executable)
index 0875adf..d5daf42
@@ -1,4 +1,31 @@
 """
+Copyright (c) 2015 SONATA-NFV and Paderborn University
+ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+
+Neither the name of the SONATA-NFV [, ANY ADDITIONAL AFFILIATION]
+nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote
+products derived from this software without specific prior written
+permission.
+
+This work has been performed in the framework of the SONATA project,
+funded by the European Commission under Grant number 671517 through
+the Horizon 2020 and 5G-PPP programmes. The authors would like to
+acknowledge the contributions of their colleagues of the SONATA
+partner consortium (www.sonata-nfv.eu).
+"""
+"""
 This module implements a simple REST API that behaves like SONATA's gatekeeper.
 
 It is only used to support the development of SONATA's SDK tools and to demonstrate
@@ -11,9 +38,12 @@ import uuid
 import hashlib
 import zipfile
 import yaml
-from docker import Client as DockerClient
+import threading
+from docker import DockerClient
 from flask import Flask, request
 import flask_restful as fr
+from collections import defaultdict
+import pkg_resources
 
 logging.basicConfig()
 LOG = logging.getLogger("sonata-dummy-gatekeeper")
@@ -31,14 +61,21 @@ BUILD_DOCKERFILE = False
 GK_STANDALONE_MODE = False
 
 # should a new version of an image be pulled even if its available
-FORCE_PULL = True
+FORCE_PULL = False
+
+# Automatically deploy SAPs (endpoints) of the service as new containers
+# Attention: This is not a configuration switch but a global variable! Don't change its default value.
+DEPLOY_SAP = False
 
+# flag to indicate if we use bidirectional forwarding rules in the automatic chaining process
+BIDIRECTIONAL_CHAIN = False
 
 class Gatekeeper(object):
 
     def __init__(self):
         self.services = dict()
         self.dcs = dict()
+        self.net = None
         self.vnf_counter = 0  # used to generate short names for VNFs (Mininet limitation)
         LOG.info("Create SONATA dummy gatekeeper.")
 
@@ -78,6 +115,11 @@ class Service(object):
         self.local_docker_files = dict()
         self.remote_docker_image_urls = dict()
         self.instances = dict()
+        self.vnf_name2docker_name = dict()
+        self.sap_identifiers = set()
+        # lets generate a set of subnet configurations used for e-line chaining setup
+        self.eline_subnets_src = generate_subnet_strings(50, start=200, subnet_size=24, ip=1)
+        self.eline_subnets_dst = generate_subnet_strings(50, start=200, subnet_size=24, ip=2)
 
     def onboard(self):
         """
@@ -90,6 +132,8 @@ class Service(object):
         self._load_package_descriptor()
         self._load_nsd()
         self._load_vnfd()
+        if DEPLOY_SAP:
+            self._load_saps()
         # 3. prepare container images (e.g. download or build Dockerfile)
         if BUILD_DOCKERFILE:
             self._load_docker_files()
@@ -97,7 +141,7 @@ class Service(object):
         else:
             self._load_docker_urls()
             self._pull_predefined_dockerimages()
-        LOG.info("On-boarded service: %r" % self.manifest.get("package_name"))
+        LOG.info("On-boarded service: %r" % self.manifest.get("name"))
 
     def start_service(self):
         """
@@ -108,23 +152,154 @@ class Service(object):
         :return:
         """
         LOG.info("Starting service %r" % self.uuid)
+
         # 1. each service instance gets a new uuid to identify it
         instance_uuid = str(uuid.uuid4())
         # build a instances dict (a bit like a NSR :))
         self.instances[instance_uuid] = dict()
         self.instances[instance_uuid]["vnf_instances"] = list()
-        # 2. compute placement of this service instance (adds DC names to VNFDs)
+
+        # 2. Configure the chaining of the network functions (currently only E-Line and E-LAN links supported)
+        vnf_id2vnf_name = defaultdict(lambda: "NotExistingNode",
+                                      reduce(lambda x, y: dict(x, **y),
+                                             map(lambda d: {d["vnf_id"]: d["vnf_name"]},
+                                                 self.nsd["network_functions"])))
+
+        # 3. compute placement of this service instance (adds DC names to VNFDs)
         if not GK_STANDALONE_MODE:
-            self._calculate_placement(FirstDcPlacement)
+            #self._calculate_placement(FirstDcPlacement)
+            self._calculate_placement(RoundRobinDcPlacement)
         # iterate over all vnfds that we have to start
         for vnfd in self.vnfds.itervalues():
             vnfi = None
             if not GK_STANDALONE_MODE:
                 vnfi = self._start_vnfd(vnfd)
             self.instances[instance_uuid]["vnf_instances"].append(vnfi)
+
+        if "virtual_links" in self.nsd:
+            vlinks = self.nsd["virtual_links"]
+            fwd_links = self.nsd["forwarding_graphs"][0]["constituent_virtual_links"]
+            eline_fwd_links = [l for l in vlinks if (l["id"] in fwd_links) and (l["connectivity_type"] == "E-Line")]
+            elan_fwd_links = [l for l in vlinks if (l["id"] in fwd_links) and (l["connectivity_type"] == "E-LAN")]
+
+            GK.net.deployed_elines.extend(eline_fwd_links)
+            GK.net.deployed_elans.extend(elan_fwd_links)
+
+            # 4a. deploy E-Line links
+            # cookie is used as identifier for the flowrules installed by the dummygatekeeper
+            # eg. different services get a unique cookie for their flowrules
+            cookie = 1
+            for link in eline_fwd_links:
+                src_id, src_if_name = link["connection_points_reference"][0].split(":")
+                dst_id, dst_if_name = link["connection_points_reference"][1].split(":")
+
+                # check if there is a SAP in the link
+                if src_id in self.sap_identifiers:
+                    src_docker_name = "{0}_{1}".format(src_id, src_if_name)
+                    src_id = src_docker_name
+                else:
+                    src_docker_name = src_id
+
+                if dst_id in self.sap_identifiers:
+                    dst_docker_name = "{0}_{1}".format(dst_id, dst_if_name)
+                    dst_id = dst_docker_name
+                else:
+                    dst_docker_name = dst_id
+
+                src_name = vnf_id2vnf_name[src_id]
+                dst_name = vnf_id2vnf_name[dst_id]
+
+                LOG.debug(
+                    "Setting up E-Line link. %s(%s:%s) -> %s(%s:%s)" % (
+                        src_name, src_id, src_if_name, dst_name, dst_id, dst_if_name))
+
+                if (src_name in self.vnfds) and (dst_name in self.vnfds):
+                    network = self.vnfds[src_name].get("dc").net  # there should be a cleaner way to find the DCNetwork
+                    LOG.debug(src_docker_name)
+                    ret = network.setChain(
+                        src_docker_name, dst_docker_name,
+                        vnf_src_interface=src_if_name, vnf_dst_interface=dst_if_name,
+                        bidirectional=BIDIRECTIONAL_CHAIN, cmd="add-flow", cookie=cookie, priority=10)
+
+                    # re-configure the VNFs IP assignment and ensure that a new subnet is used for each E-Link
+                    src_vnfi = self._get_vnf_instance(instance_uuid, src_name)
+                    if src_vnfi is not None:
+                        self._vnf_reconfigure_network(src_vnfi, src_if_name, self.eline_subnets_src.pop(0))
+                    dst_vnfi = self._get_vnf_instance(instance_uuid, dst_name)
+                    if dst_vnfi is not None:
+                        self._vnf_reconfigure_network(dst_vnfi, dst_if_name, self.eline_subnets_dst.pop(0))
+
+            # 4b. deploy E-LAN links
+            base = 10
+            for link in elan_fwd_links:
+
+                elan_vnf_list=[]
+
+                # generate lan ip address
+                ip = 1
+                for intf in link["connection_points_reference"]:
+                    ip_address = generate_lan_string("10.0", base, subnet_size=24, ip=ip)
+                    vnf_id, intf_name = intf.split(":")
+                    if vnf_id in self.sap_identifiers:
+                        src_docker_name = "{0}_{1}".format(vnf_id, intf_name)
+                        vnf_id = src_docker_name
+                    else:
+                        src_docker_name = vnf_id
+                    vnf_name = vnf_id2vnf_name[vnf_id]
+                    LOG.debug(
+                        "Setting up E-LAN link. %s(%s:%s) -> %s" % (
+                            vnf_name, vnf_id, intf_name, ip_address))
+
+                    if vnf_name in self.vnfds:
+                        # re-configure the VNFs IP assignment and ensure that a new subnet is used for each E-LAN
+                        # E-LAN relies on the learning switch capability of Ryu which has to be turned on in the topology
+                        # (DCNetwork(controller=RemoteController, enable_learning=True)), so no explicit chaining is necessary.
+                        vnfi = self._get_vnf_instance(instance_uuid, vnf_name)
+                        if vnfi is not None:
+                            self._vnf_reconfigure_network(vnfi, intf_name, ip_address)
+                            # increase for the next ip address on this E-LAN
+                            ip += 1
+
+                            # add this vnf and interface to the E-LAN for tagging
+                            network = self.vnfds[vnf_name].get("dc").net  # there should be a cleaner way to find the DCNetwork
+                            elan_vnf_list.append({'name':src_docker_name,'interface':intf_name})
+
+
+                # install the VLAN tags for this E-LAN
+                network.setLAN(elan_vnf_list)
+                # increase the base ip address for the next E-LAN
+                base += 1
+
+        # 5. run the emulator specific entrypoint scripts in the VNFIs of this service instance
+        self._trigger_emulator_start_scripts_in_vnfis(self.instances[instance_uuid]["vnf_instances"])
+
         LOG.info("Service started. Instance id: %r" % instance_uuid)
         return instance_uuid
 
+    def stop_service(self, instance_uuid):
+        """
+        This method stops a running service instance.
+        It iterates over all VNF instances, stopping them each
+        and removing them from their data center.
+
+        :param instance_uuid: the uuid of the service instance to be stopped
+        """
+        LOG.info("Stopping service %r" % self.uuid)
+        # get relevant information
+        # instance_uuid = str(self.uuid.uuid4())
+        vnf_instances = self.instances[instance_uuid]["vnf_instances"]
+
+        for v in vnf_instances:
+            self._stop_vnfi(v)
+
+        if not GK_STANDALONE_MODE:
+            # remove placement?
+            # self._remove_placement(RoundRobinPlacement)
+            None
+
+        # last step: remove the instance from the list of all instances
+        del self.instances[instance_uuid]
+
     def _start_vnfd(self, vnfd):
         """
         Start a single VNFD of this service
@@ -144,12 +319,112 @@ class Service(object):
             assert(target_dc is not None)
             if not self._check_docker_image_exists(docker_name):
                 raise Exception("Docker image %r not found. Abort." % docker_name)
-            # 3. do the dc.startCompute(name="foobar") call to run the container
+
+            # 3. get the resource limits
+            res_req = u.get("resource_requirements")
+            cpu_list = res_req.get("cpu").get("cores")
+            if not cpu_list or len(cpu_list)==0:
+                cpu_list="1"
+            cpu_bw = res_req.get("cpu").get("cpu_bw")
+            if not cpu_bw:
+                cpu_bw=1
+            mem_num = str(res_req.get("memory").get("size"))
+            if len(mem_num)==0:
+                mem_num="2"
+            mem_unit = str(res_req.get("memory").get("size_unit"))
+            if str(mem_unit)==0:
+                mem_unit="GB"
+            mem_limit = float(mem_num)
+            if mem_unit=="GB":
+                mem_limit=mem_limit*1024*1024*1024
+            elif mem_unit=="MB":
+                mem_limit=mem_limit*1024*1024
+            elif mem_unit=="KB":
+                mem_limit=mem_limit*1024
+            mem_lim = int(mem_limit)
+            cpu_period, cpu_quota = self._calculate_cpu_cfs_values(float(cpu_bw))
+
+            # 4. do the dc.startCompute(name="foobar") call to run the container
             # TODO consider flavors, and other annotations
-            vnfi = target_dc.startCompute(GK.get_next_vnf_name(), image=docker_name, flavor_name="small")
-            # 6. store references to the compute objects in self.instances
+            intfs = vnfd.get("connection_points")
+
+            # TODO: get all vnf id's from the nsd for this vnfd and use those as dockername
+            # use the vnf_id in the nsd as docker name
+            # so deployed containers can be easily mapped back to the nsd
+            vnf_name2id = defaultdict(lambda: "NotExistingNode",
+                                          reduce(lambda x, y: dict(x, **y),
+                                                 map(lambda d: {d["vnf_name"]: d["vnf_id"]},
+                                                     self.nsd["network_functions"])))
+            self.vnf_name2docker_name[vnf_name] = vnf_name2id[vnf_name]
+            # self.vnf_name2docker_name[vnf_name] = GK.get_next_vnf_name()
+
+            LOG.info("Starting %r as %r in DC %r" % (vnf_name, self.vnf_name2docker_name[vnf_name], vnfd.get("dc")))
+            LOG.debug("Interfaces for %r: %r" % (vnf_name, intfs))
+            vnfi = target_dc.startCompute(self.vnf_name2docker_name[vnf_name], network=intfs, image=docker_name, flavor_name="small",
+                    cpu_quota=cpu_quota, cpu_period=cpu_period, cpuset=cpu_list, mem_limit=mem_lim)
             return vnfi
 
+    def _stop_vnfi(self, vnfi):
+        """
+        Stop a VNF instance.
+
+        :param vnfi: vnf instance to be stopped
+        """
+        # Find the correct datacenter
+        status = vnfi.getStatus()
+        dc = vnfi.datacenter
+        # stop the vnfi
+        LOG.info("Stopping the vnf instance contained in %r in DC %r" % (status["name"], dc))
+        dc.stopCompute(status["name"])
+
+    def _get_vnf_instance(self, instance_uuid, name):
+        """
+        Returns the Docker object for the given VNF name (or Docker name).
+        :param instance_uuid: UUID of the service instance to search in.
+        :param name: VNF name or Docker name. We are fuzzy here.
+        :return:
+        """
+        dn = name
+        if name in self.vnf_name2docker_name:
+            dn = self.vnf_name2docker_name[name]
+        for vnfi in self.instances[instance_uuid]["vnf_instances"]:
+            if vnfi.name == dn:
+                return vnfi
+        LOG.warning("No container with name: %r found.")
+        return None
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _vnf_reconfigure_network(vnfi, if_name, net_str):
+        """
+        Reconfigure the network configuration of a specific interface
+        of a running container.
+        :param vnfi: container instacne
+        :param if_name: interface name
+        :param net_str: network configuration string, e.g., 1.2.3.4/24
+        :return:
+        """
+        intf = vnfi.intf(intf=if_name)
+        if intf is not None:
+            intf.setIP(net_str)
+            LOG.debug("Reconfigured network of %s:%s to %r" % (vnfi.name, if_name, net_str))
+        else:
+            LOG.warning("Interface not found: %s:%s. Network reconfiguration skipped." % (vnfi.name, if_name))
+
+
+    def _trigger_emulator_start_scripts_in_vnfis(self, vnfi_list):
+        for vnfi in vnfi_list:
+            config = vnfi.dcinfo.get("Config", dict())
+            env = config.get("Env", list())
+            for env_var in env:
+                var, cmd = map(str.strip, map(str, env_var.split('=', 1)))
+                LOG.debug("%r = %r" % (var , cmd))
+                if var=="SON_EMU_CMD":
+                    LOG.info("Executing entry point script in %r: %r" % (vnfi.name, cmd))
+                    # execute command in new thread to ensure that GK is not blocked by VNF
+                    t = threading.Thread(target=vnfi.cmdPrint, args=(cmd,))
+                    t.daemon = True
+                    t.start()
+
     def _unpack_service_package(self):
         """
         unzip *.son file and store contents in CATALOG_FOLDER/services/<service_uuid>/
@@ -178,6 +453,7 @@ class Service(object):
                 self.package_content_path,
                 make_relative_path(self.manifest.get("entry_service_template")))
             self.nsd = load_yaml(nsd_path)
+            GK.net.deployed_nsds.append(self.nsd)
             LOG.debug("Loaded NSD: %r" % self.nsd.get("name"))
 
     def _load_vnfd(self):
@@ -195,6 +471,28 @@ class Service(object):
                     self.vnfds[vnfd.get("name")] = vnfd
                     LOG.debug("Loaded VNFD: %r" % vnfd.get("name"))
 
+    def _load_saps(self):
+        # Each Service Access Point (connection_point) in the nsd is getting its own container
+        SAPs = [p["id"] for p in self.nsd["connection_points"] if p["type"] == "interface"]
+        for sap in SAPs:
+            # endpoints needed in this service
+            sap_vnf_id, sap_vnf_interface = sap.split(':')
+            # set of the connection_point ids found in the nsd (in the examples this is 'ns')
+            self.sap_identifiers.add(sap_vnf_id)
+
+            sap_docker_name = "%s_%s" % (sap_vnf_id, sap_vnf_interface)
+
+            # add SAP to self.vnfds
+            sapfile = pkg_resources.resource_filename(__name__, "sap_vnfd.yml")
+            sap_vnfd = load_yaml(sapfile)
+            sap_vnfd["connection_points"][0]["id"] = sap_vnf_interface
+            sap_vnfd["name"] = sap_docker_name
+            self.vnfds[sap_docker_name] = sap_vnfd
+            # add SAP vnf to list in the NSD so it is deployed later on
+            # each SAP get a unique VNFD and vnf_id in the NSD
+            self.nsd["network_functions"].append({"vnf_id": sap_docker_name, "vnf_name": sap_docker_name})
+            LOG.debug("Loaded SAP: %r" % sap_vnfd.get("name"))
+
     def _load_docker_files(self):
         """
         Get all paths to Dockerfiles from VNFDs and store them in dict.
@@ -244,7 +542,7 @@ class Service(object):
         dc = DockerClient()
         for url in self.remote_docker_image_urls.itervalues():
             if not FORCE_PULL:  # only pull if not present (speedup for development)
-                if len(dc.images(name=url)) > 0:
+                if len(dc.images.list(name=url)) > 0:
                     LOG.debug("Image %r present. Skipping pull." % url)
                     continue
             LOG.info("Pulling image: %r" % url)
@@ -257,7 +555,7 @@ class Service(object):
         :param image_name: name of the docker image
         :return:
         """
-        return len(DockerClient().images(image_name)) > 0
+        return len(DockerClient().images.list(name=image_name)) > 0
 
     def _calculate_placement(self, algorithm):
         """
@@ -275,6 +573,29 @@ class Service(object):
         for name, vnfd in self.vnfds.iteritems():
             LOG.info("Placed VNF %r on DC %r" % (name, str(vnfd.get("dc"))))
 
+    def _calculate_cpu_cfs_values(self, cpu_time_percentage):
+        """
+        Calculate cpu period and quota for CFS
+        :param cpu_time_percentage: percentage of overall CPU to be used
+        :return: cpu_period, cpu_quota
+        """
+        if cpu_time_percentage is None:
+            return -1, -1
+        if cpu_time_percentage < 0:
+            return -1, -1
+        # (see: https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/scheduler/sched-bwc.txt)
+        # Attention minimum cpu_quota is 1ms (micro)
+        cpu_period = 1000000  # lets consider a fixed period of 1000000 microseconds for now
+        LOG.debug("cpu_period is %r, cpu_percentage is %r" % (cpu_period, cpu_time_percentage))
+        cpu_quota = cpu_period * cpu_time_percentage  # calculate the fraction of cpu time for this container
+        # ATTENTION >= 1000 to avoid a invalid argument system error ... no idea why
+        if cpu_quota < 1000:
+            LOG.debug("cpu_quota before correcting: %r" % cpu_quota)
+            cpu_quota = 1000
+            LOG.warning("Increased CPU quota to avoid system error.")
+        LOG.debug("Calculated: cpu_period=%f / cpu_quota=%f" % (cpu_period, cpu_quota))
+        return int(cpu_period), int(cpu_quota)
+
 
 """
 Some (simple) placement algorithms
@@ -290,6 +611,20 @@ class FirstDcPlacement(object):
             vnfd["dc"] = list(dcs.itervalues())[0]
 
 
+class RoundRobinDcPlacement(object):
+    """
+    Placement: Distribute VNFs across all available DCs in a round robin fashion.
+    """
+    def place(self, nsd, vnfds, dcs):
+        c = 0
+        dcs_list = list(dcs.itervalues())
+        for name, vnfd in vnfds.iteritems():
+            vnfd["dc"] = dcs_list[c % len(dcs_list)]
+            c += 1  # inc. c to use next DC
+
+
+
+
 """
 Resource definitions and API endpoints
 """
@@ -327,7 +662,7 @@ class Packages(fr.Resource):
             s = Service(service_uuid, file_hash, upload_path)
             GK.register_service_package(service_uuid, s)
             # generate the JSON result
-            return {"service_uuid": service_uuid, "size": size, "sha1": file_hash, "error": None}
+            return {"service_uuid": service_uuid, "size": size, "sha1": file_hash, "error": None}, 201
         except Exception as ex:
             LOG.exception("Service package upload failed:")
             return {"service_uuid": None, "size": 0, "sha1": None, "error": "upload failed"}, 500
@@ -337,6 +672,7 @@ class Packages(fr.Resource):
         Return a list of UUID's of uploaded service packages.
         :return: dict/list
         """
+        LOG.info("GET /packages")
         return {"service_uuid_list": list(GK.services.iterkeys())}
 
 
@@ -360,7 +696,7 @@ class Instantiations(fr.Resource):
         if service_uuid in GK.services:
             # ok, we have a service uuid, lets start the service
             service_instance_uuid = GK.services.get(service_uuid).start_service()
-            return {"service_instance_uuid": service_instance_uuid}
+            return {"service_instance_uuid": service_instance_uuid}, 201
         return "Service not found", 404
 
     def get(self):
@@ -368,12 +704,50 @@ class Instantiations(fr.Resource):
         Returns a list of UUIDs containing all running services.
         :return: dict / list
         """
-        return {"service_instance_list": [
+        LOG.info("GET /instantiations")
+        return {"service_instantiations_list": [
             list(s.instances.iterkeys()) for s in GK.services.itervalues()]}
 
+    def delete(self):
+        """
+        Stops a running service specified by its service and instance UUID.
+        """
+        # try to extract the service  and instance UUID from the request
+        json_data = request.get_json(force=True)
+        service_uuid = json_data.get("service_uuid")
+        instance_uuid = json_data.get("service_instance_uuid")
+
+        # try to be fuzzy
+        if service_uuid is None and len(GK.services) > 0:
+            #if we don't get a service uuid, we simply stop the last service in the list
+            service_uuid = list(GK.services.iterkeys())[0]
+        if instance_uuid is None and len(GK.services[service_uuid].instances) > 0:
+            instance_uuid = list(GK.services[service_uuid].instances.iterkeys())[0]
+
+        if service_uuid in GK.services and instance_uuid in GK.services[service_uuid].instances:
+            # valid service and instance UUID, stop service
+            GK.services.get(service_uuid).stop_service(instance_uuid)
+            return "service instance with uuid %r stopped." % instance_uuid,200
+        return "Service not found", 404
+
+class Exit(fr.Resource):
+
+    def put(self):
+        """
+        Stop the running Containernet instance regardless of data transmitted
+        """
+        list(GK.dcs.values())[0].net.stop()
+
+
+def initialize_GK():
+    global GK
+    GK = Gatekeeper()
+
+
 
 # create a single, global GK object
-GK = Gatekeeper()
+GK = None
+initialize_GK()
 # setup Flask
 app = Flask(__name__)
 app.config['MAX_CONTENT_LENGTH'] = 512 * 1024 * 1024  # 512 MB max upload
@@ -381,10 +755,17 @@ api = fr.Api(app)
 # define endpoints
 api.add_resource(Packages, '/packages')
 api.add_resource(Instantiations, '/instantiations')
+api.add_resource(Exit, '/emulator/exit')
+
+
+#def initialize_GK():
+#    global GK
+#    GK = Gatekeeper()
 
 
 def start_rest_api(host, port, datacenters=dict()):
     GK.dcs = datacenters
+    GK.net = get_dc_network()
     # start the Flask server (not the best performance but ok for our use case)
     app.run(host=host,
             port=port,
@@ -416,6 +797,32 @@ def make_relative_path(path):
     return path
 
 
+def generate_lan_string(prefix, base, subnet_size=24, ip=0):
+    """
+    Helper to generate different network configuration strings.
+    """
+    r = "%s.%d.%d/%d" % (prefix, base, ip, subnet_size)
+    return r
+
+
+def generate_subnet_strings(n, start=1, subnet_size=24, ip=0):
+    """
+    Helper to generate different network configuration strings.
+    """
+    r = list()
+    for i in range(start, start + n):
+        r.append("%d.0.0.%d/%d" % (i, ip, subnet_size))
+    return r
+
+def get_dc_network():
+    """
+    retrieve the DCnetwork where this dummygatekeeper (GK) connects to.
+    Assume at least 1 datacenter is connected to this GK, and that all datacenters belong to the same DCNetwork
+    :return:
+    """
+    assert (len(GK.dcs) > 0)
+    return GK.dcs.values()[0].net
+
 if __name__ == '__main__':
     """
     Lets allow to run the API in standalone mode.