ZExplore Development Interface (ZEDI) User

Guide
Feb 2013
Table of Contents

1 OVERVIEW 3

2 GUI COMPONENTS 4

3 CONNECT TO AN API SERVER 6

3.1 CONNECT TO DATA ONTAP SERVER 6
3.1.1 SELECT TRANSPORT TYPE – HTTP/HTTPS 7
3.1.2 VFILER OR VSERVER TUNNELING 8
3.2 CONNECT TO DATAFABRIC MANAGER SERVER 8
3.2.1 SELECT TRANSPORT TYPE – HTTP/HTTPS 8

4 GENERATE XML REQUEST 9

4.1 METHODS TO GENERATE XML 10
4.1.1 RIGHT CLICK -> GENERATE 10
4.1.2 GENERATE “ARROW” BUTTON 11
4.1.3 DRAG-AND-DROP 11

5 EXECUTE AN API 12
5.1 VIEW API EXECUTION RESPONSE 12
5.1.1 XML FORMAT 13
5.1.2 TREE FORMAT 13

6 GENERATE SAMPLE CODES 14

7 OTHER FEATURES 15
7.1 SAVE & SAVE ALL 15
7.2 IMPORT 15
7.3 EXPORT 16
7.4 RIGHT CLICK ON A WORKFLOW TAB 16
7.5 ADDED APIS 17
7.6 WORKFLOWS 19
7.7 PROMPT TO SAVE UNSAVED WORKFLOWS WHILE QUITTING 20
7.8 ZEDI LAUNCHES IN THE SAME STATE/SETTINGS AS IT WAS CLOSED 21

8 MENU 21
8.1 FILE 21
8.2 EDIT 21
8.3 PREFERENCES 22
8.4 HELP 23

9 RUN ZEDI ON LINUX 23

2
1 Overview
ZEDI is a utility with graphical user interface bundled with NetApp
Manageability SDK (NMSDK). This utility enables you to test DATA ONTAP APIs
and OnCommand Unified Manager APIs. This utility allows you to generate raw
XML request for any given API. You can supply necessary arguments in the XML
request before invoking the API through HTTP or HTTPS and you can view the
response in raw XML format or tree format. Additionally, for a given API, the
utility can generate sample codes in Java, Perl, C, C#, Python and Ruby to
demonstrate how the said API can be invoked using NMSDK Core APIs. You can
choose to include comments (API documentation descriptions) and/or optional
parameters while generating the XML request and sample codes. You can
generate workflows by sequencing multiple APIs in logical order. It also supports
vFiler and Vserver tunneling, which enables a DATA ONTAP API to be invoked
directly on a vFiler or a Vserver respectively.

3
 2 GUI Components
Various graphical user interface components of ZEDI are shown below.
Execute selected
workflow on a Filter APIs
Connect to DATA
connected server displayed using
ONTAP or List of APIs added to
a regular
DataFabric Manager currently selected
expression
API explorer workflow in execute
or develop tab
Generate New
Workflow Lists all the
canned,
Add a value to imported, saved
Save current selected parameter and unsaved
workflow workflows
Sample
XML Codes Delete the node
Save all Open Request
workflows Editor Connection
Tab Generate
codes for
selected
nodes Filter added APIs
Import a Move using a regular
Workflow Response in the expression
XML Tree format Move the node
Response node up down
Export Selected Viewer
Workflow

Status Bar

 Take the cursor on an API to see the API documentation.

 Expand the API to see the list of input and output parameters.

 Input parameters are preceded by arrow

 Output parameters are preceded by arrow

 Red colored arrows indicate mandatory parameters whereas Blue colored

arrows indicate optional parameters.

4
Note: In some APIs when either one of the two input parameters is required,
both these input parameters are marked by “Blue” color arrow and not “Red”.

5
3 Connect to an API server
You can either click the "Connect" button (lightening icon) on the toolbar or
select the "Connect" option from the "Preferences" menu to get a popup window
as shown below:

ZEDI will not automatically decide the server type. You need to select
appropriate server type from the radio button.

3.1 Connect to DATA ONTAP server

In order to connect to a Data ONTAP server, select the Data ONTAP radio button
(marked by default). Enter the storage system hostname or IP address in the
input box with the label “Server” and provide the Username and Password in the
corresponding input boxes. Click the “Connect” button to connect to the storage
system.

You can also choose to save your connection details and load the saved
connection details next time instead of entering the details every time. You can
load a saved connection by both double clicking on a saved connection in the
Manage connections tab or by selecting a connection and clicking on “load”. The
password field will need to be populated even for a saved connection. You can
delete a saved connection. Connections are not saved by default. You need to give
the current connection a name and click on “Save” to store the connection
details. You can also set a timeout for the connection in the advanced tab.

Once the connection is established, the correct API definitions corresponding to

the ONTAPI version will be loaded on the API Explorer. The Status Bar will
indicate the connection status and display the hostname, username, the port
number, transport protocol and the version information .

6
3.1.1 Select Transport type – HTTP/HTTPS

Click on “Advanced” button to select the Transport type.

3.1.1.1 HTTP

For making API invocations using HTTP, select HTTP from the Transport drop-
down menu (default is HTTPS). The default HTTP port number (80 for Data
ONTAP) is automatically selected as the port for API invocation. In case, the
storage system is listening to a different port for HTTP connections, enter the
changed port number at the Port field. Uncheck the “Use vFiler or Vserver
tunneling” check-box (it is unchecked by default) when vFiler or Vserver
tunneling feature is not being used. Click the “Connect” button to connect to the
storage system using HTTP.

3.1.1.2 HTTPS

The steps for connecting to a Data ONTAP server using HTTPS is exactly same as
those for connecting using HTTP, except for the Transport protocol selection
part. You need to choose HTTPS from the Transport drop-down menu. The
default port number (443 for Data ONTAP) for HTTPS connection is
automatically populated in the Port field. In case, the storage system is not
listening to the default port for HTTPS, you can enter the updated port number.

7
3.1.2 vFiler or Vserver Tunneling

Click on “Advanced” button to see this option.

Vserver - The mechanism of accessing Vserver APIs through a cluster-

management interface is called Vserver tunneling. Cluster administrator can
administer Vservers from the Vserver context by using Vserver tunneling in
NMSDK.
After setting up a functional Vserver or a Vserver with basic network
configuration, you can optionally delegate the administration of the Vserver to a
Vserver administrator. You can delegate Vserver administration by creating and
assigning user accounts either with predefined roles or customized roles.

Vserver administrator can directly connect to Vserver IP using the appropriate

username and password to execute Vserver APIs.

vFiler – vFiler tunneling is a Data ONTAP feature that allows you to invoke an
ONTAP API on a vFiler through the physical storage system on which the vFiler is
contained. This means that in order to execute an API on a vFiler, you need not
connect to the vFiler itself (though it is also an option). You can simply connect
to the physical storage system and tunnel the API request to the vFiler.

This feature is supported from ONTAPI 1.7 onwards. To use this feature, you
need to enable the vFiler or Vserver tunneling, which is disabled by default,
before you generate and execute an API. Just check the “Use vFiler or Vserver
tunneling” checkbox and provide the vFiler or Vserver hostname or IP address in
the input box labeled as “vFiler unit or Vserver name”. Now, when you execute
the API, it will be tunneled through the physical storage system to the vFiler or
Vserver unit.

3.2 Connect to DataFabric Manager server

For establishing a connection with DataFabric Manager server, select the

DataFabric Manager server radio button. You need to provide the DataFabric
Manager server hostname or IP address in the input box labeled with “Server”
along with the Username and Password. Click the “Connect” button to set the
connection.

ZEDI will automatically determine the DataFabric Manager server version and
load the corresponding API definitions on the API Explorer. The Status Bar will
indicate the connection status and display the hostname, username, the port
number, transport protocol and the version information.

3.2.1 Select Transport type – HTTP/HTTPS

Click on “Advanced” button to select the Transport type.

8
3.2.1.1 HTTP

In order to use HTTP for connecting to the DataFabric Manager server, opt for
HTTP from the Transport drop-down menu. The default port number (8088) for
DataFabric Manager HTTP connection is automatically populated in the Port
field. Modify the port number only if the server is listening to a different port
number for the given transport protocol.

3.2.1.2 HTTPS

To connect to a DataFabric Manager server using HTTPS, select “HTTPS” as the

transport protocol in the Transport drop-down menu in the DataFabric Manager
Connection Panel. The default port number (8488) for DataFabric Manager
HTTPS connection is automatically populated in the Port field. Modify the port
number only if the server is listening to a different port number for the given
transport protocol.

4 Generate XML Request

To generate XML request for an API, you need not connect to an API server.
However, to send the XML request to an API server, you do need an active
connection with the server (as discussed in Section 3).

You can choose any API version (both ONTAPI and DFM API) from the API
Explorer drop-down menu, irrespective of whether ZEDI is connected to one or
more API servers. Once you choose an API version, corresponding API
definitions will be loaded in the API Explorer window. The definitions are loaded
in expandable tree format with all the API categories showing up at the top level.

Instead of choosing from the API Explorer drop-down menu, if you connect to an
API server, ZEDI will automatically load the correct API definitions in the API
Explorer window.

Alternatively, you can add new API documentation by selecting the “Add New
Api Document” option as shown in the figure below.

9
ZEDI will remember the path of the added api document and load it when
“Remember the path of the API document during subsequent launches” is
checked.

You can find the latest ZEDI API doc at

https://communities.netapp.com/community/interfaces_and_tools/developer/z
edi .

4.1 Methods to generate XML

4.1.1 Right Click -> Generate

 Depending on the API for which XML input and sample code has to be
generated, you can expand the API category from the tree of categories
displayed in the "API Explorer" pane. This lists all the APIs falling under
the expanded category.

 You select the API for which XML input and sample code has to be
generated and right-click on the API. This brings up a popup menu
containing the only item "Generate".

10
  Click on the "Generate" option. This creates the XML input in the currently
selected workflow tab in "Execute" pane. The sample code is also
generated at the same time in the currently selected workflow tab in
"Develop" pane.

4.1.2 Generate “Arrow” Button

"Right Arrow" button (hereafter called the "Generate" button) is located beside
the drop-down box for API version selection in the "API Explorer" pane.

Expand the API category (discussed above in Section 4.1.1), selects the required
API and clicks the "Generate" button to generate corresponding XML input in the
currently selected workflow tab in "Execute" pane and sample codes in
corresponding workflow tab in "Develop" pane.

You can use "Ctrl" key to select multiple API and generate the XML inputs and
sample codes at the same time. The order in which the APIs are selected will be
retained during the generation of XML inputs and sample codes (discussed in
more detail in Section 7.4).

4.1.3 Drag-and-Drop

Drag-and-Drop option for XML input and sample code generation is also
provided in ZEDI.

In order to use this mechanism, you have to expand the API category (discussed
above in Section 4.1.1) and then you can drag the APIs under question and drop
it to the currently selected workflow tab in the "Execute" pane to see the
generated XML input and sample codes in "Execute" pane and "Develop" pane
respectively.

11
5 Execute an API
If the server is connected, you can execute the API or a series of APIs (i.e.
workflow) by clicking the "Execute" button (last icon on the toolbar, next to
lightening "Connect" icon) on the toolbar. If there are multiple workflows
(identified by the individual tabs under "Execute/Develop" pane), the workflow
under currently selected workflow tab will be executed, and not all of them.

If there are multiple APIs in the currently executed workflow, each of the APIs
will be executed all at once (this is the default behavior which can be changed
from the options menu). The results will be updated in the Output (XML/Tree)
pane in the order of API invocation. If there is a failure in invocation of API, ZEDI
will not stop the invocation of subsequent APIs (if any) unless it is in single
invocation mode (see options under preferences). You can see which API failed
from the Output pane.

Three APIs are listed in the Execute tab above. We can execute them by clicking
on “Execute” button and see the output in XML and Tree format.

If you would like to execute multiple APIs in single invocation, you can check
“execute multiple APIs in single invocation” in “options” under the “preferences”
menu. Please see Section 8.3 for more information.

The execution time of the workflow and the number of APIs that executed
successfully will be updated on the right side of the Status Bar.

5.1 View API Execution Response

All three APIs executed successfully. We can see the output below.

12
5.1.1 XML Format

To view the raw XML response returned by the API server on executing an API,
select the “XML” tab from the Response Viewer Tabs.

5.1.2 Tree Format

To view the API invocation response in tree format, select the “Tree” tab from
Response Viewer Tabs.

13
6 Generate Sample Codes
The steps for generating sample codes are same as those for generating XML
request (as mentioned in Section 4). However, to view the generated sample
codes, you need to select the Develop Tab. The language can be selected and set
from the "Preference" menu as shown below:

ZEDI supports sample code generation in C, C#, Java, Perl, Python, and Ruby.

14
7 Other Features
7.1 Save & Save All

You can "Save" the generated workflow by clicking the "Save" button (single
floppy disk icon) on the toolbar or the “Save” option from the “File” menu.

If there are multiple workflows to be saved at the same time, you can click the
"Save All" button (three stacked floppy disks icon) on the toolbar or the "Save
All" option from the "File" menu as shown below:

The workflows are saved as XML files at the Workflows Path location set by you
at the "Preferences" menu. Default location is the current working directory of
ZEDI.

7.2 Import

You can load saved workflows using the "Import" option available on the toolbar
and also on the "File" menu. Imported workflows will show up in the under the
"Workflows" tab along with canned workflows. On importing a workflow, the
XML input structure will be loaded on a new workflow tab under Execute pane
and the corresponding sample codes are also auto-generated at the same time
and available under the "Develop" tab.

An imported workflow

15
7.3 Export

If you want to save the XML code or sample code for the language set (through
Preferences -> Languages as discussed above in Section 6) for current workflow,
you can use the "Export" button on the toolbar or use the "Export" option from
the "File" menu. This option exports/saves sample code.

If you use the export icon on the toolbar and if “Develop” tab is selected, it will
export the language sample code with proper extension (e.g. Java sample code is
saved with .java extension) at the location specified by you and if the “Execute”
tab is selected, it will export the XML code.

The exported XML code can be imported back to ZEDI. See Section 7.2 for more
details.

7.4 Right click on a workflow tab

16
When you right click on a workflow tab a menu shows up. The functionality of
each item in the menu is as follows:

 Save – Saves the select workflow. See section 7.1 for more details.
 Save As – Saves your workflow to a location of your choice and renames
the workflow to a name given by you while saving this workflow.
Subsequent saves will save the workflow in this location.
 Save All – Saves all open unsaved workflows. See section 7.1 for more
details.
 Clone is a feature you can use to make a copy of the current tab in a new
tab. The same API(s) along with the xml and code is copied on to a new
tab.
 Close – Closes the current workflow tab. ZEDI will prompt you to save it if
it is unsaved.
 Close Other Tabs – Closes all other workflow tabs except for the selected
one. If any of the workflows being closed are unsaved ZEDI will prompt
you to save it.
 Undo Close Tab – In case you mistakenly close a workflow tab you can
undo that action by this option. If there is no tab closed in current launch
session, this option will be disabled. You cannot perform this action for a
tab closed in a previous ZEDI launch session.
 Delete – Closes the selected workflow and deletes it from the disk. ZEDI
will prompt you to confirm this action. Once confirmed this action is
irreversible. If the workflow tab has not been saved then ZEDI will show a
prompt asking you if you would like to close the selected tab or cancel
this action.
 Delete All – Closes all saved workflows and deletes them from the disk.
ZEDI will prompt to confirm this action along with some other options.
 Import – Import a workflow. See section 7.2.
 Export – Export this workflow. See section 7.3.
 Connect - Connect to a server. See section 3.
 Execute - Execute the current workflow. See section 5.

7.5 Added APIs

With ZEDI you can generate a series of XML inputs (and hence sample codes)
from multiple APIs to generate a workflow. You can use any or all of the methods
(discussed above in Section 4 & Section 6) to generate the XML inputs and
sample codes for the APIs.

You can use "Ctrl" key to select multiple API and generate the XML inputs and
sample codes at the same time. The order in which the APIs are selected will be
retained during the generation of XML inputs and sample codes. You can add one
or more APIs to a workflow having one or more APIs already added to it. Newly
added APIs are always appended at the end of existing workflow.

17
Added APIs will show up in the "Added APIs" tab (next to "Execute/Develop"
pane) as shown below:

As seen in the above diagram, the "Added APIs" has the following components
(which are also available for "Workflows" tab):

 Edit Button – Insert value for input parameters. See below for more
details.
 Left Arrow Button - This generates the XML input structure and sample
codes for the selected API in the current workflow. This button can also
be used to duplicate (re-generate) input parameters within an API.
 Up Arrow Button – This moves the selected API up. This button can also
be used to move an input parameter up in the list of input parameter
within an API. The change is also reflected in the current workflow as well
as in the generated sample codes.
 Down Arrow Button - This moves the selected API down. This button
can also be used to move an input parameter up in the list of input
parameter within an API. The change is also reflected in the current
workflow as well as in the generated sample codes.
 "X" Button - This deletes the API from the list of the APIs. This button can
also be used to delete an input parameter. The change is also reflected in
the current workflow as well as in the generated sample codes.

Value for Input parameters can be provided in the right pane, which is reflected
in both XML and Generated Code. To do so:

 Right click on the parameter and click on “edit”.

 Then enter the value for the parameter in the “value” field of the window
that opens once you click edit.

18
It is note-worthy that generating an API multiple times will result in multiple
entries of the same API in the "Added APIs List" while retaining the order in
which it is regenerated.

7.6 Workflows

Sample workflows will be bundled as part of ZEDI. The list of canned workflows
will be listed in the "Workflows" pane (beside "Execute/Develop" pane) as
shown below:

You can select the workflow and then click on the "Generate" button (left arrow
in the "Workflows" pane) to generate the XML input structure in "Execute" pane
and corresponding sample code in "Develop" pane.

The canned workflows cannot be deleted. However, they can be modified and
saved as new workflows.

Canned workflows will be marked with “green flag” icon while the custom
workflows will be marked with “single book” icon.

Imported workflows are represented with "Two overlapping pages" icon.

19
All unsaved workflows have an asterisk (*) suffixed to their name. When you
save an unsaved workflow (imported or manually generated), the asterisk
disappears immediately to indicate that the workflow is saved. Also, when any
change is done in a saved workflow (imported or manually generated), the
asterisk appears with the workflow name to show that it is unsaved.

7.7 Prompt to save unsaved workflows while quitting

In case you try to quit ZEDI without saving any workflows, ZEDI will
prompt you to save (or choose to not save) them. It lists the unsaved
workflow(s) with workflow name and the file location to contain the XML
content for the workflow. Each workflow name in the list is accompanied
by a check-box. By default, all the workflows (check-boxes) are selected.

If ZEDI fails to save a workflow due to any reason (say, I/O failure), ZEDI
does not exit and throws an error message dialog (not shown here)
stating the reason of the failure and the file(s) not saved. ZEDI then
displays the "Save Unsaved Workflows" dialog with the list (same or
smaller list compared to previous list) of unsaved workflow. Attempt to
save the workflows may result in same behavior and you may get into a
loop. In such a case, you need to deselect (uncheck) the file(s) causing the

20
 issue and try to "Save Selected". If even if that fails, you need to press the
"Save None, Exit" button.

7.8 ZEDI launches in the same state/settings as it was closed

ZEDI remembers the state/settings with which ZEDI was closed

previously. When you launch ZEDI next:

 It uses the same preferred language of code generation.

 It uses the same Options Settings.
 It has the same Workflow Path.
 It is loaded with the same API version.
 It has the same saved workflow tabs along with its inputs provided if any.
 It preserves all imported workflows in “workflows” tab.

Please note that ZEDI uses Operating System specific backing store (e.g.
registry in Windows). If for some reason these entries are deleted or
edited, ZEDI will show an error message and will load with its default
settings.

8 Menu
8.1 File

“New” is to generate a new workflow; it has the same function as the “New” icon
(first on toolbar). All other File menu options are discussed above in Section 7.

8.2 Edit

You can clear the “Execute” or “Develop” pane using “Clear All” option.

21
8.3 Preferences

Various configuration preferences and options are under this Menu.

Out of the four menu items currently available, three (Connect, Languages and
Workflows Path) have been already discussed in previous sections. The
"Options" menu item pops up a window containing the options shown below:

 By default, inclusion of comments (API element descriptions) is disabled

in code generation. To enable this check the “Include comments in
generated code” checkbox in the Options Panel and press “Save Changes”
button. To disable it, uncheck the checkbox and press “Save Changes”.

 To include optional parameters in sample code generation, check “Include

optional elements in code generation” checkbox. Press the “Save Changes”
button and generate the sample code to see the included optional
elements. This can be disabled by un-checking the said checkbox and
pressing “Save Changes” before generating the sample codes.

22
  Iterator Comprehension - For iterative APIs, fetches the complete list of
iterative results at one instance. It is enabled by default. “Iterator Fetch
Size” sets the maximum number of iterative results that can be fetched at
one instance.

 Multiple APIs in Single Invocation

o Sequential Invocation - By default, APIs will execute sequentially

(one after another) in ZEDI i.e. in your preferred order it exists in
your workflow. Only after the result of the first API is received
from the server will ZEDI send the next API. In case any API fails
(or for any other reason) you can choose to abort further
execution.
o Single Invocation –When “Multiple APIs in Single Invocation”
option is checked, consider that your request would be sent in one
packet to the server. The APIs in the workflow may not execute in
your preferred order.

8.4 Help

It contains two items as shown below:

 On selecting the first item, User Guide for ZEDI shows up in a different
window.
 The "About" menu item provides the version information and copyright
notice.

9 Run ZEDI on Linux

“zexplore.jar” will be provided (under <nmsdk_root>/zedi/) which Linux users
can run with Java to get the full functionality of ZEDI.

23