VBScript

SSH Commands to a Sophos Router Device Console

Demonstrates establishing an SSH session with a Sophos XG router and sending commands in its device console session. The router presents a numbered main menu; the example selects the Device Console entry and then runs commands at the resulting console> prompt.

Note: QuickShell allocates a PTY, which is what a network device console expects. The device presents an interactive prompt, and each command's output is read up to the next prompt.

Background: Menu-driven appliances require the client to navigate the interface exactly as a human would — read the menu, send the keystroke that selects an entry, then wait for the next prompt. Because the prompt changes as you move between menu levels, the pattern you match on must change too, which is why this example matches the menu text first and console> afterward.

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VBScript

Dim fso, outFile
Set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
'Create a Unicode (utf-16) output text file.
Set outFile = fso.CreateTextFile("output.txt", True, True)

success = 0

'  This example requires the Chilkat API to have been previously unlocked.
'  See Global Unlock Sample for sample code.

'  Demonstrates establishing an SSH session with a Sophos XG router and sending commands in its
'  device console session.
'  
'  Note: QuickShell allocates a PTY, which is what a device console expects.  Navigating the
'  device's menus is a matter of reading up to each prompt and sending the expected keystrokes.

set ssh = CreateObject("Chilkat.Ssh")

port = 22
success = ssh.Connect("172.16.16.16",port)
If (success = 0) Then
    outFile.WriteLine(ssh.LastErrorText)
    WScript.Quit
End If

'  Normally you would not hard-code the password in source.  You should instead obtain it
'  from an interactive prompt, environment variable, or a secrets vault.
password = "mySshPassword"

success = ssh.AuthenticatePw("mySshLogin",password)
If (success = 0) Then
    outFile.WriteLine(ssh.LastErrorText)
    WScript.Quit
End If

channelNum = ssh.QuickShell()
If (channelNum < 0) Then
    outFile.WriteLine(ssh.LastErrorText)
    WScript.Quit
End If

'  IMPORTANT: Set a read timeout before receiving until a match.  ReadTimeoutMs defaults to 0,
'  which means no limit -- without it, this call waits forever if the received data never
'  contains a match.
ssh.ReadTimeoutMs = 15000

caseSensitive = 1

'  The router presents a numbered main menu ending with "Select Menu Number [0-7]: ".
success = ssh.ChannelReceiveUntilMatch(channelNum,"Select Menu Number","utf-8",caseSensitive)
If (success = 0) Then
    outFile.WriteLine(ssh.LastErrorText)
    WScript.Quit
End If

cmdOutput = ssh.GetReceivedText(channelNum,"utf-8")
If (ssh.LastMethodSuccess = 0) Then
    outFile.WriteLine(ssh.LastErrorText)
    WScript.Quit
End If

outFile.WriteLine(cmdOutput)

'  Choose menu item 4 (Device Console), exactly as if typing it in a terminal.
success = ssh.ChannelSendString(channelNum,"4" & vbLf,"utf-8")
If (success = 0) Then
    outFile.WriteLine(ssh.LastErrorText)
    WScript.Quit
End If

'  The device console prompt is "console>".
success = ssh.ChannelReceiveUntilMatch(channelNum,"console>","utf-8",caseSensitive)
If (success = 0) Then
    outFile.WriteLine(ssh.LastErrorText)
    WScript.Quit
End If

cmdOutput = ssh.GetReceivedText(channelNum,"utf-8")
If (ssh.LastMethodSuccess = 0) Then
    outFile.WriteLine(ssh.LastErrorText)
    WScript.Quit
End If

outFile.WriteLine(cmdOutput)

'  Send a console command and read its output up to the next prompt.
success = ssh.ChannelSendString(channelNum,"dnslookup host google.com" & vbLf,"utf-8")
If (success = 0) Then
    outFile.WriteLine(ssh.LastErrorText)
    WScript.Quit
End If

success = ssh.ChannelReceiveUntilMatch(channelNum,"console>","utf-8",caseSensitive)
If (success = 0) Then
    outFile.WriteLine(ssh.LastErrorText)
    WScript.Quit
End If

cmdOutput = ssh.GetReceivedText(channelNum,"utf-8")
If (ssh.LastMethodSuccess = 0) Then
    outFile.WriteLine(ssh.LastErrorText)
    WScript.Quit
End If

outFile.WriteLine(cmdOutput)

'  Additional commands follow the same pattern.
success = ssh.ChannelSendString(channelNum,"dnslookup host microsoft.com" & vbLf,"utf-8")
If (success = 0) Then
    outFile.WriteLine(ssh.LastErrorText)
    WScript.Quit
End If

success = ssh.ChannelReceiveUntilMatch(channelNum,"console>","utf-8",caseSensitive)
If (success = 0) Then
    outFile.WriteLine(ssh.LastErrorText)
    WScript.Quit
End If

cmdOutput = ssh.GetReceivedText(channelNum,"utf-8")
If (ssh.LastMethodSuccess = 0) Then
    outFile.WriteLine(ssh.LastErrorText)
    WScript.Quit
End If

outFile.WriteLine(cmdOutput)

ssh.Disconnect 

outFile.Close