Integrations
Provides containerization for the server, enabling easy setup and deployment with Docker and Docker Compose.
Mentions integration with HashiCorp Vault for secrets management as an alternative to plaintext credentials in configuration files.
Uses Python-based frameworks like Nornir and NAPALM to provide network automation tools that can interact with multi-vendor network devices.
🌐 Nornir MCP Server
A FastMCP server providing network automation tools powered by Nornir and NAPALM.
This server acts as a bridge, exposing Nornir/NAPALM network operations as MCP (Massively Concurrent Processing) tools, making them easily accessible from compatible MCP clients (like the FastMCP Web UI).
✨ Key Features
- Leverages Nornir for inventory management and concurrent task execution against network devices.
- Uses NAPALM for multi-vendor device interaction (information gathering, command execution).
- Built with FastMCP for seamless integration with MCP clients using various transports (SSE in this configuration).
- Containerized with Docker 🐳 for easy setup and deployment.
- Uses
uv
for fast Python dependency management within the container ⚡.
🔧 Prerequisites
Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed:
- Docker
- Docker Compose (Usually included with Docker Desktop)
⚙️ Configuration
Before running the server, you must configure your network inventory and device credentials:
- Navigate to the
conf/
directory in the project. - Edit
hosts.yaml
: Define your network devices. Specify their management IP/hostname, platform (e.g.,ios
,junos
,eos
), credentials (if not using defaults), and assign them to groups if desired. - Edit
groups.yaml
: Define device groups with shared properties (like platform or connection options). Settings here can override defaults. - Edit
defaults.yaml
: Set default credentials (username
,password
) and connection options (like NAPALMsecret
for enable passwords or defaultplatform
).- ⚠️ Important Security Note: The default configuration uses plaintext credentials in YAML files. This is suitable for testing/lab environments. For production, strongly consider using Nornir's built-in secrets management features (e.g., environment variables, HashiCorp Vault plugin) to avoid storing sensitive information directly in configuration files. Modify
nornir_ops.py
and your configuration if you implement a secrets provider.
- ⚠️ Important Security Note: The default configuration uses plaintext credentials in YAML files. This is suitable for testing/lab environments. For production, strongly consider using Nornir's built-in secrets management features (e.g., environment variables, HashiCorp Vault plugin) to avoid storing sensitive information directly in configuration files. Modify
- Review
config.yaml
: Ensure the inventory file paths (host_file
,group_file
,defaults_file
) point correctly to the files within theconf/
directory (they should by default). Adjust runner options (num_workers
) if needed.
▶️ Running the Server
Once configured, you can easily run the server using Docker Compose:
- Ensure you have configured the
conf/
directory as described above. - Open a terminal or command prompt in the project's root directory (the same directory as the
Dockerfile
anddocker-compose.yml
files). - Run the following command:Copy
- The
--build
flag tells Docker Compose to build the image based on theDockerfile
the first time or if any project files (like.py
files orpyproject.toml
) have changed. - This command will start the Nornir MCP server in a Docker container.
- The
- The server logs will be displayed in your terminal. By default, it should be accessible on port
8000
of your host machine (localhost). - To stop the server, press
Ctrl+C
in the terminal wheredocker-compose
is running. To remove the container afterwards, rundocker-compose down
.
🔌 Adding to MCP Client
To use the tools provided by this server in an MCP client (like the official FastMCP Web UI or other compatible clients):
- Make sure the Nornir MCP server is running (using
docker-compose up
). - Open your MCP client application.
- Find the option to add or manage MCP Server connections.
- Add a new connection with the following details:
- Server URL: Since this server uses the SSE (Server-Sent Events) transport and runs on port 8000 by default, the URL will be:
http://localhost:8000/sse
- (If your Docker host has a different IP address accessible by the client, replace
localhost
with that IP, e.g.,http://192.168.1.100:8000/sse
)
- Connection Name: Give it a descriptive name, for example,
Nornir Lab Server
.
- Server URL: Since this server uses the SSE (Server-Sent Events) transport and runs on port 8000 by default, the URL will be:
- Save and connect to the newly added server.
- The MCP client should discover the
Nornir_MCP
service and list all the available tools (likeget_facts
,send_command
, etc.). You can now use these tools via the client interface! 🎉
Dify DSL Examples
- Nornir MCP.yml - A simple example to chat with your devices.
- Device Check.yml - An example to run Device Assessment Report.
🛠️ Available Tools & Resources
Once connected via an MCP client, the following tools (under the "Nornir_MCP" service name) should typically be available:
- Inventory:
list_all_hosts
: Lists devices configured in your Nornir inventory (conf/hosts.yaml
).
- NAPALM Getters: (Retrieve information)
get_facts
get_interfaces
get_interfaces_ip
get_interfaces_counters
get_config
(withretrieve
option: running, startup, candidate)get_arp_table
get_mac_address_table
get_users
get_vlans
get_snmp_information
get_bgp_neighbors
- (Availability depends on device platform and NAPALM driver support)
- Execution:
send_command
: Send a single, read-only command to a device and get the output.
- Streaming Resource:
sse://updates
: Provides a simple heartbeat event stream. (Can be subscribed to by clients supporting SSE resources).
📄 License
This project is licensed under the MIT License.
🙌 Contributing
Contributions, issues, and feature requests are welcome! Please feel free to submit them via the project's repository.
This server cannot be installed
remote-capable server
The server can be hosted and run remotely because it primarily relies on remote services or has no dependency on the local environment.
A FastMCP server that provides network automation tools by exposing Nornir and NAPALM operations as MCP tools, allowing users to manage and interact with network devices through compatible MCP clients.
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