CML Administration

MCP Server

• Command: cml-mcp (pip-installed, stdio transport)
• Requires: CML_URL, CML_USERNAME, CML_PASSWORD environment variables

Available Tools

User Management

| Tool | Parameters | What It Does | |------|-----------|-------------| | get_users | none | List all CML users | | create_user | username, password, fullname?, email?, admin? | Create a new CML user | | get_user | user_id/username | Get user details (labs, resource usage) | | update_user | user_id/username, fields to update | Update user properties | | delete_user | user_id/username | Delete a CML user |

Group Management

| Tool | Parameters | What It Does | |------|-----------|-------------| | get_groups | none | List all CML groups | | create_group | name, description?, members? | Create a new group | | update_group | group_id/name, fields to update | Update group properties | | delete_group | group_id/name | Delete a group |

System Information

| Tool | Parameters | What It Does | |------|-----------|-------------| | get_system_info | none | CML version, uptime, resource usage (CPU, RAM, disk) | | get_node_defs | none | List all available node definitions and their resource requirements | | get_licensing | none | License status, node count, expiration | | get_resource_usage | none | Current resource utilization across all labs |

Workflow: Onboard a New Lab User

When an admin wants to add a new team member:

1. Check existing users: get_users to see current user list
2. Create the user: create_user with their credentials
3. Add to group (optional): update_group to add user to a team group
4. Verify: get_user to confirm creation
5. Share credentials: Report the username and CML URL to the admin (never share the password in Slack)

Workflow: Resource Capacity Check

Before building a large lab:

1. Check system resources: get_system_info for CPU, RAM, disk
2. Check licensing: get_licensing for available node count
3. Check node definitions: get_node_defs for per-node resource requirements
4. Calculate: Does the planned lab fit within available resources?
5. Report: "You have X GB RAM free, Y CPU cores available, Z node licenses remaining. Your planned lab needs A GB RAM and B nodes."

Workflow: System Health Report

For CML server health monitoring:

1. System info: get_system_info — version, uptime, resource usage
2. Licensing: get_licensing — license status and node count
3. Resource usage: get_resource_usage — breakdown by lab/user
4. Active labs: get_labs (from cml-lab-lifecycle) — list running labs
5. Generate report: Summary of CML platform health

Resource Planning Guide

Typical per-node resource requirements:

| Node Type | vCPUs | RAM | Disk | |-----------|-------|-----|------| | IOSv | 1 | 512 MB | 2 GB | | IOSv L2 | 1 | 768 MB | 2 GB | | CSR1000v / Cat8000v | 1 | 3 GB | 8 GB | | NX-OS 9000v | 2 | 6 GB | 8 GB | | IOS-XR 9000v | 2 | 8 GB | 16 GB | | ASAv | 1 | 2 GB | 8 GB | | Ubuntu Server | 1 | 512 MB | 8 GB | | Unmanaged Switch | 0 | 0 | 0 | | External Connector | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Rule of thumb: Plan for the CML host to have at least 2x the total RAM needed by all concurrent labs, plus 8 GB for the CML OS itself.

User Roles

| Role | Capabilities | |------|-------------| | Admin | Full access: create/delete users, manage all labs, system settings | | User | Create/manage own labs, view shared labs |

Workflow: Audit CML Usage

For tracking who's using what:

1. List all users: get_users
2. For each user: get_user to see their labs and resource usage
3. List all labs: get_labs with ownership info
4. Check resource usage: get_resource_usage for allocation breakdown
5. Report: Table of users, their labs, running state, and resource consumption
6. Identify stale labs: Labs that have been stopped for days — candidates for cleanup

Important Rules

• Admin operations require admin credentials — user management needs admin-level CML access
• Never share passwords in Slack — report usernames only, instruct admin to share credentials securely
• Check resources before big labs — don't let users build labs that exceed server capacity
• Monitor licensing — CML has node count limits; stay within license boundaries
• Record in GAIT — log all admin operations for audit trail

Environment Variables

• CML_URL — CML server URL
• CML_USERNAME — CML username (admin for full access)
• CML_PASSWORD — CML password
• CML_VERIFY_SSL — Verify SSL certificate (true/false)