# Changes in Release 1.7

```eval_rst
.. contents:: Table of Contents
   :depth: 2
   :local:
```

## New Functionality

(release-1.7.1)=
### Release 1.7.1

* [Automatically create nodes from group members](groups-auto-create)
* [Add 'wait' parameter](validate-wait) to validation tests
* Use colors in netlab up/down/test/validate printouts
* Use color-coded error messages
* Use the **rich** Python library to pretty-print tables, JSON, and YAML
* Display object descriptions in the 'netlab show attributes' printout
* Use any loopback interface for VXLAN VTEP (not just the *Loopback0*)

**Platform enhancements:**

* Juniper vPTX can run as a container with *containerlab*
* Implement unnumbered EBGP on FRR VRFs

**Minor improvements:**

* Add parent interface data to unnumbered interfaces
* Make loopback more like a regular interface
* Print an error message when the validation test is interrupted

**Integration tests:**

Release 1.7.1 includes improved initial configuration, VLAN, VXLAN, and VRF integration tests with automated validation.

(release-1.7.0)=
### Release 1.7.0

* [Lab validation tests](../topology/validate.md) executed with the **[netlab validate](../netlab/validate.md)** command.
* Add the `--show` option to the **[netlab connect](../netlab/connect.md)** command to have a consistent cross-device way of executing show commands.

**New and improved plugins:**

* The [**fabric** plugin](../plugins/fabric.md) generates a whole leaf-and-spine fabric topology from a few parameters.
* The [**bgp.domain** plugin](../plugins/bgp.domain.md) allows you to create topologies with multiple independent devices or sites using the same BGP AS number.
* The [**bgp.policy** plugin](../plugins/bgp.policy.md) supports AS-path prepending on Arista EOS, Aruba AOS-CX, Cisco CSR 1000v, Cisco IOSv, Cumulus Linux, FRR
* [**bgp.originate** plugin](../plugins/bgp.originate.md) uses loopbacks (instead of static routes to Null device) to originate BGP IPv4 and IPv6 prefixes

**Platform enhancements:**

* **vptx** device supports the vJunosEvolved release 23.2R1-S1.8 (or later). [Older releases no longer work](release-1.7.0-breaking), you'll have to rebuild your Vagrant boxes.
* **bgp.session**: implement BFD, BGP timers, and passive BGP for Junos devices (vMX, vSRX, vPTX)
* **bgp.session**: implement AS-path manipulation, default route origination, TTL security, passive BGP peers, MD5 passwords, and BGP timers on Cisco NexusOS
* MPLS LDP on Nokia SR Linux
* AOS-CX: Support for L3VNI and release 10.13
* Change the default FRR release to 9.1.0

**Documentation improvements:**

* [Plugin development documentation](../dev/plugins.md)
* [Document debugging options](dev-transform-debugging)
* Update the 'initial config' platform support table to list [additional loopback capability](platform-initial-interfaces)

**Internal data validation changes:**

* Streamline common data type validation
* User-defined data types (example: VLAN definition)
* Add `_namespace` parameter to user-defined types to pull in parameters from other objects (example: link parameter in VRF)
* Replace module `extra` attributes with data type validation `_requires` functionality
* Add `_required` flag to check mandatory attributes
* Add `_subtype` dictionary validation parameter to trigger recursive validation of **vrfs** and **vlans** attributes
* Validate keys in a dictionary with the `_keytype` attribute
* Add _include defaults at parent level_ functionality, use it to define VRF and VLAN data types as global attributes
* Cleanup data type validation in VLAN and VRF modules
* New built-in data types: **prefix_str** (IPv4 or IPv6 prefix), **node_id** (node name), **device** (device identifier)

For more details, read the [](../dev/validation.md)

## Breaking changes

(release-1.7.0-breaking)=
### Release 1.7.0

* Old vJunosEvolved (`vptx`) releases don't work with *netlab* release 1.7.0. In those releases, the vJunos virtual machine needed four additional interfaces for internal PFE and RPIO links. vJunosEvolved release 23.2R1-S1.8 implemented those links with intra-VM links. As there's no reasonably sane way to support both architectures without confusing everyone, we decided to adopt the new architecture -- a decision that breaks old Vagrant boxes.
* **extra_attributes** can no longer be used. This parameter has been deprecated in release 1.5.0 and removed from documentation in release 1.6.4. Supported ways of adding custom attributes are described in [](../extend-attributes.md).

## Bug Fixes

(bug-fixes-1.7.2)=
### Bug Fixes in Release 1.7.2-post1

* **netlab config** command breaks when used with newer Ansible releases. The modified deployment playbook uses the common _deploy custom configuration templates_ task list used by **netlab initial**.

### Bug Fixes in Release 1.7.2

* Change pinned Vagrant/vagrant-libvirt releases to Vagrant 2.4.0-1 and vagrant-libvirt 0.12.2. Both releases were successfully tested on Ubuntu 20.04 and 22.04
* Allow ansible_ or netlab_ variables in node and group data

### Bug Fixes in Release 1.7.1

* Hosts need at least one adjacent router with a real IPv4 address
* Cumulus Linux 4.x using VLAN-aware bridge does no support routed native VLANs or routed subinterfaces
* Pad NX-OS hostname if it's too short
* Make 'hostvars' available when evaluating validation templates
* Use yet another path to Ansible filters to cope with Ansible release 4.10.0
* Accept empty tools definitions could be empty (NoneType) when validating lab topology
* Propagate module attribute types (global -> node, link -> intf)
* Redistributing leaked VRF routes into OSPF on Arista EOS requires an additional configuration option
* STP has to be disabled on VLAN-aware Linux bridges using VXLAN
* Failure to execute command is a validation failure
* Replace 'termcolor' with 'rich' markup
* Fix DHCP race condition with 'interfaces' file mounted into Cumulus containers
* loopback0 on Cumulus Linux is named 'lo' not 'lo0'

### Bug Fixes in Release 1.7.0-post1

* ArubaCX: fix MTU plus minor stuff (#979)
* Dell OS10: MTU fixes (#978)
* FRR supports unnumbered interfaces with OSPF and IS-IS
* The `fabric.debug` parameter was not a valid topology attribute.
* Turn VLAN/interface attribute sets into dictionaries

### Bug Fixes in Release 1.7.0

* Configure new BGP community display format on Cisco IOS
* Display plugin hook call sequence
* Cleanup the generation of module supported_on lists (#933)
* [Validate error printouts](../dev/tests.md) in the `test_error_cases` test harness (#936)
* Reorder steps early in the topology transformation process
* Add the `expand_topology` plugin hook to support plugins that modify lab topology.

## Documentation Fixes

(doc-fixes-1.7.2)=
### Documentation Fixes in Release 1.7.2

* RouterOS CHR upload limits and trial license usage
* Better description of custom group Ansible variables

### Documentation Fixes in Release 1.7.1

* Polish 'topology defaults' documentation, add [troubleshooting hints](defaults-debug)

### Documentation Fixes in Release 1.7.0-post1

* Remove the FRR version from the platform support tables (fixes #973)
* Updated IS-IS and OSPF platform support
* Virtualbox should be the environment of last resort
* Nested virtualization is not needed for containers

### Documentation Fixes in Release 1.7.0

* Describe built-in non-Python data types and remove mentions of 'attributes specified as lists' in [](../dev/validation.md)