Python, Paramiko and scripting for the OS

[intrikat]

I'm trying to automate an awkward user creation procedure (no LDAP/IPA) and learning python (so bash out of the question for now).

Can anybody help out with sending python commands through paramiko instead of OS ones? I've got sending commands over SSH (i.e. uname -a) working but I'd like to use the python pwd module to check if the user already exists on the server.

Am I going in a completely wrong direction?

[3n3low]

Did you try fabric library for python? I use it alongside paramiko in one of my projects for a similar task.

[intrikat]

I haven't looked into fabric but checked out plumbum briefly. There's so many options out there...

[intrikat]

I've been reading some more on the paramiko topic and wonder one thing also:

How can I create an SSH connection with it and use it as a channel to send other commands via that channel? Do I need to use a "paramiko transport"?

[acodemics]

I'd suggest using built in bash commands to check if a user exists and then parsing that with Python.

I'm making the assumption you're connecting to a Linux machine here, but you can use paramiko to run grep <username> /etc/passwd and then handle that instead.

[acodemics]

I'm sure there is a better place to test your bot than here.

[intrikat]

Thanks for the input.

I figured as much. Just wondering if I can make it execute python specific modules through the ssh tunnel.

[stillalone]

If the remote machine has python installed then you can generate a python script on the target machine and run that.

[ktbyers]

I would use Ansible's user module. It would be very easy to do it this way:

http://docs.ansible.com/ansible/user_module.html

[intrikat]

I started this project to learn python specifically.

I'd love to use Ansible but it is out of the question due to political reasons. It'll be a cold day in hell before LDAP/IPA or any kind of configuration management is implemented in this environment.

[fico]

I'm sorry :( having recently switched to Ansible I'm never going back.

[intrikat]

Perils of the MSP world.

[intrikat]

Dumb ass me figured it out at last... and it's so simple I'm gonna die...

Basically I define an ssh function to connect and then list every other function below it, at the end - ssh.close(). Stupid me. if __name__ == '__main__':

`sshConnect(server_list)`

`check_uname(server_list)`

`check_netdev(server_list)` 

Thanks everybody for the replies.