Cisco ACE-4710-K9 Administration Manual page 367

Chapter 9 Configuring the XML Interface
R E V I E W D R A F T - C I S C O C O N F I D E N T I A L
XML provides an application-independent way of sharing data between computer
systems. Similar to HTML, XML consists of text delimited by tags so it is easily
conveyed over the Internet. In XML, the tags define the meaning and structure of
the information, enabling computer applications to use the information directly.
Unlike HTML, XML tags identify the data, rather than specifying how to display
it. An XML tag acts like a field name in your program; it puts a label on a piece
of data that identifies it (for example: <message>...</message>).
An XML document that contains configuration commands and output results is
easily transformed between the devices by using standard Internet protocols such
as HTTP or secure HTTP (HTTPS) as the transfer protocol.
The XML application programming interface (API) allows you to automate the
programmatic configuration of the ACE by using a Document Type Definition
(DTD). The XML format is a translation of the CLI commands into an equivalent
XML syntax. Each ACE CLI command has an equivalent XML tag, and all of the
parameters of the CLI command are attributes of that element. The ACE uses an
Apache HTTP server to provide the XML management interface and to provide
HTTP services between the ACE and the management client. To use the ACE
XML API, you must have the Admin user role.
You can use XML to do the following:
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A network management station (NMS), such as the CiscoWorks Hosting Solution
Engine (HSE), can connect to the ACE and push new configurations to it over
HTTP or HTTPS.
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Provide a mechanism using XML to transfer, configure, and monitor objects
in the ACE. This XML capability allows you to easily shape or extend the CLI
query and reply data in XML format to meet different specific business needs.
Transfer show command output from the ACE CLI interface in an XML
format for statistics and status monitoring. This capability allows you to
query and extract data from the ACE.
Use the ACE XML DTD schema for formatting CLI queries or parsing the
XML results from the ACE to enable third-party software development
through XML communications.
Provide remote user authentication through AAA.
Provide session and context management by the global administrator and
other users with the Admin user role.
Cisco 4700 Series Application Control Engine Appliance Administration Guide
XML Overview
9-3