TRAINING - PROGRAMMING WITH THE METASWITCH APIS

This section contains the following information:

• Course Summary
• Prerequisite Knowledge
• Daily schedule
• Course content

Course Summary

The MetaSwitch API course is intended for those individuals looking to closely integrate the MetaSwitch and MetaSphere elements into their existing management environments through the use of programming interfaces available through the MetaView and MetaSphere servers. The overall goal of the API course is to expose participants to the various programming methods available for interacting with these elements and to build the basic skills necessary for integration with their own networks.

The course begins with a look at the features and architectures for each of the supported API interfaces and presents best practice design principles. Follow on modules cover each of the supported APIs in detail and include practice exercises and solutions for common procedures.

Prerequisite Knowledge

This is a programming course. Exercises designed to demonstrate the use of the various Application Programming Interfaces will be presented using the Java and C# programming languages. Efforts will be made to explain each example using pseudo-code. However, it is highly recommended that participants be proficient in at least one high level programming language such as Perl/Python/C#/Java before attending this course.

Daily schedule

The Programming with the MetaSwitch APIs course is a 3-day course. Class hours are 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

Check the course schedule to see what dates are scheduled for future courses.

Course content

The course is split into the following modules.

• M1 Introduction of Northbound Interfaces
  This module starts with an overview of the programming interfaces available for the MetaSwitch and MetaSphere platforms and the network architectures involved. These Application Programming Interfaces allow customers to closely integrate MetaSwitch and MetaSphere into their own environment. The separate APIs will be described and their capabilities will be compared. The module then moves on to review the tools and methodologies to be used through the course.
   
• M2 MetaView Scripting
  This module will introduce a lightweight method for gathering information and making configuration changes to the MetaSwitch Network Elements through the use of the built in Python script interpreter. Participants will gain an understanding on how to access this interface and the architectures involved. The module will cover the basic Python interfaces and demonstrate the principles of writing efficient MetaView scripts. The module includes exercises covering some common queries and configuration changes specific to MetaSwitch Network Elements.
   
• M3 CORBA access to MetaSwitch configuration
  This module explains how make use of the Common Object Request Broker Agent to access and manipulate objects and configurations on MetaSwitch Network Element. The module will cover how to obtain and interpret IDL definitions for all interfaces exposed by the MetaView Server. It will cover security and connection types between clients and the MetaView Server. Participants will learn how to craft CORBA calls to retrieve, create, modify and delete subscriber configurations. The module includes exercises covering some common queries and configuration changes.
   
• M4 Web Services
  This module looks at the Web Services offered by the MetaSwitch Network Elements and MetaSphere SDP platform. Participants will learn how to obtain and interpret the Web Services Definition Language provided on the respective MetaSwitch elements. Using the WSDL as a guide, participants will learn how to craft SOAP/XML calls to retrieve, create, modify and delete subscriber configurations. The module includes exercises covering some of the most common Web Service calls.
   
• M5 SNMP network monitoring interface
  This module looks at the details of gathering information and making configuration changes to relevant MetaSwitch Network Elements through the use of SNMP. Students will be given an introduction to the overall architecture and permissions system. The module will cover how to read and interpret existing MIB documents as well as how to derive the specific Object Identifiers required for objects of interest. The Module includes exercises covering some common queries and configuration changes.
   
• M6 Bulk Import/Exports
  This module looks at lightweight alternatives to provisioning through network APIs. Participants will learn how to add new subscribers and services through the use of imports on both the MetaSwitch NE and MetaSphere SDP platforms.
   
• M7 Accessing the MetaView Relational Database
  This module shows how to explore and access information from the MetaView data store. Participants will get an understanding of the Schema and access methods required to query and correlate information stored within the MetaView database. The module includes exercises covering some of the most common queries.