boris 1.0.2 → 1.0.3

checksums.yaml

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
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data/CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,3 +1,16 @@
+# 1.0.3
+* Added support for F5 Big-IP traffic manager appliances
+* Added support for Cisco IOS devices
+* Added support for Cisco NX-OS devices
+* Added support for Brocade FOS devices
+* Added support to handle the automatic closing of SSH connections by Cisco appliances
+* Added more error support for SSH connections
+* Added new helper methods to String class
+* Added subclasses for each operating system type
+* Moved core extension classes to own directory
+* Solaris: Fixed bug where interfaces without hardware were causing error
+* Windows: Fixed filesystem utilization numbers
+
 # 1.0.2
 * Fix for devices asking for password when connecting via SSH
 * Fixed return value for Target#connect

data/README.md

@@ -9,12 +9,13 @@
 ## Introduction
 Boris is a library that facilitates the communication between you and various networked devices over SNMP, SSH and WMI, pulling a large amount of configuration items including installed software, network settings, serial numbers, user accounts, disk utilization, and more.
 
-Out of the box, Boris has server support for Red Hat, Solaris,and Windows (with other platforms available with future plugins), with a focus on returning precisely formatted data, no matter which platforms your organization may have deployed.  Through the use of profilers, Boris can easily be extended by the developer to include other platforms.  Highly suitable for small and large environments alike looking to pull configuration data from various platforms.
+Out of the box, Boris has server support for Red Hat, Solaris, and Windows, as well as support for Cisco IOS and NX-OS (and more!), with a focus on returning precisely formatted data, no matter which platforms your organization may have deployed.  Through the use of profilers, Boris can easily be extended by the developer to include other platforms.  Highly suitable for small and large environments alike looking to pull configuration data from various platforms connected to their network.
 
 ## Features
-* Currently, pulls information from Red Hat Linux, Solaris, and Windows servers (support for OS X, F5 BIG-IP, and Cisco IOS devices in the works)
-* Utilizes SNMP, SSH, and WMI communication technologies
-* Expandable to include other networked devices, such as switches, load balancers, and other operating systems
+* Server support: Red Hat Linux, Solaris, and Windows (support for OS X in the works)
+* Appliance support: Cisco IOS, Cisco NX-OS, F5 BIG-IP LTM, Brocade FOS, and HP Onboard Administrator
+* Utilizes SSH and WMI communication technologies (SNMP is baked in but not currently used)
+* Expandable to include other networked devices, such as switches, load balancers, and other appliances and server operating systems
 
 ## Installation
     gem install boris
@@ -24,7 +25,7 @@ Or if using Bundler, add to your Gemfile
     gem 'boris'
 
 ## Example
-Let's pull some information from a RedHat Enterprise Linux server on our network:
+Let's pull some information from a Red Hat Enterprise Linux server on our network:
 
 ```ruby
 require 'boris'
@@ -69,20 +70,6 @@ if target.connected?
   # installed applications, etc.)
   target.retrieve_all
 
-  # if there is more information we want to collect but is not collected by default, we can specify
-  # our own commands to run against the target via two methods:
-  
-  # #get_values returns an Array (each line is an element of the array)
-  puts target.connector.values_at('cat /etc/redhat-release')
-
-  # #get_value, which returns a String (the first line returned from the command)
-  puts target.connector.value_at('uname -a')
-  
-  # NOTE: if this were a Windows server, you would send WMI queries instead of shell commands, ie:
-  #
-  # target.connector.values_at('SELECT * FROM Win32_ComputerSystem')
-  #
-
   puts target.to_json(:pretty_print)
 
   target.disconnect
@@ -139,6 +126,7 @@ Through a number of queries and algorithms, Boris efficiently polls devices on t
 * **network ID** - hostname and domain
 * **network interfaces** - ethernet and fibre channel interfaces, including IPs, MAC addresses, connection status
 * **operating system** - name, version, kernel, date installed
+* **running processes** - process command, start time and cpu time
 
 See [Boris::Profilers::Structure](http://www.rubydoc.info/github/alkalinecoffee/boris/Boris/Profilers/Structure) for more details on the data structure.
 
@@ -149,16 +137,34 @@ Profilers contain the instructions that allow us to run commands against our tar
 
 **Available profilers:**
 
+* **[Big-IP Core](http://rubydoc.info/github/alkalinecoffee/boris/master/Boris/Profilers/BigIP)**
+  * [Big-IP 10](http://rubydoc.info/github/alkalinecoffee/boris/master/Boris/Profilers/BigIP10)
+  * [Big-IP 11](http://rubydoc.info/github/alkalinecoffee/boris/master/Boris/Profilers/BigIP11)
+* **[Brocade FOS Core](http://rubydoc.info/github/alkalinecoffee/boris/master/Boris/Profilers/BrocadeFOSCore)**
+  * [FOS 6](http://rubydoc.info/github/alkalinecoffee/boris/master/Boris/Profilers/FOS6)
+* **[Cisco IOS Core](http://rubydoc.info/github/alkalinecoffee/boris/master/Boris/Profilers/CiscoIOS)**
+  * [Cisco IOS 12](http://rubydoc.info/github/alkalinecoffee/boris/master/Boris/Profilers/IOS12)
+* **[Cisco NX-OS Core](http://rubydoc.info/github/alkalinecoffee/boris/master/Boris/Profilers/CiscoNXOS)**
+  * [Cisco NX-OS 5](http://rubydoc.info/github/alkalinecoffee/boris/master/Boris/Profilers/NXOS5)
+* **[HP Onboard Administrator Core](http://rubydoc.info/github/alkalinecoffee/boris/master/Boris/Profilers/OnboardAdministratorCore)**
+  * [OA3](http://rubydoc.info/github/alkalinecoffee/boris/master/Boris/Profilers/OA3)
 * **[Linux Core](http://rubydoc.info/github/alkalinecoffee/boris/master/Boris/Profilers/Linux)**
-  * [Red Hat Linux](http://rubydoc.info/github/alkalinecoffee/boris/master/Boris/Profilers/RedHat)
+  * [Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5](http://rubydoc.info/github/alkalinecoffee/boris/master/Boris/Profilers/RHEL5)
+  * [Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6](http://rubydoc.info/github/alkalinecoffee/boris/master/Boris/Profilers/RHEL6)
 * **[UNIX Core](http://rubydoc.info/github/alkalinecoffee/boris/master/Boris/Profilers/UNIX)**
-  * [Oracle Solaris](http://rubydoc.info/github/alkalinecoffee/boris/master/Boris/Profilers/Solaris)
+  * [Oracle Solaris 10](http://rubydoc.info/github/alkalinecoffee/boris/master/Boris/Profilers/Solaris10)
+  * [Oracle Solaris 11](http://rubydoc.info/github/alkalinecoffee/boris/master/Boris/Profilers/Solaris11)
 * **[Windows Core](http://rubydoc.info/github/alkalinecoffee/boris/master/Boris/Profilers/Windows)**
   * [Windows 2003 Server](http://rubydoc.info/github/alkalinecoffee/boris/master/Boris/Profilers/Windows2003)
   * [Windows 2008 Server](http://rubydoc.info/github/alkalinecoffee/boris/master/Boris/Profilers/Windows2008)
   * [Windows 2012 Server](http://rubydoc.info/github/alkalinecoffee/boris/master/Boris/Profilers/Windows2012)
 
+Run [Boris#available_profilers](http://www.rubydoc.info/github/alkalinecoffee/boris/Boris.available_profilers).
+
 ## Extending Boris
+
+#### Running your own commands
+
 You can also run your own commands to grab information off of systems.  For example, on a Linux device, to run your own script that is already on the target and retrieve its output:
 
 ```ruby
@@ -182,30 +188,52 @@ multiple_rows_of_data = target.connector.values_at('SELECT * FROM Win32_NetworkA
 # passing to #values_at):
 multiple_rows_of_data = target.connector.values_at('SELECT * FROM MSNdis_EnumerateAdapter', :root_wmi)
 
-# you can also poll for registry keys under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE by providing a base key path, which returns
-# an array of keys:
+# poll registry keys under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE by providing a base key path, which returns an array of keys:
 registry_keys = target.connector.registry_subkeys_at('SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows')
 
-# and then grab values found at some key via #registry_values_at, which returns value/data elements in a
-# Hash:
+# grab values found at some key via #registry_values_at, which returns value/data elements in a Hash:
 registry_values = target.connector.registry_values_at('SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion')
 ```
 
-**Coming soon--a write-up for SNMP devices**
+#### Creating your own profiler
+
+More than likely, you may want to grab information off of a platform that is not supported by Boris.  It's easy to create your own profiler by using the profiler skeleton file located in the `skeleton` directory.  Simply copy the `profiler_skeleton` file to your app's directory with a `.rb` extension, and modify that file to run the proper commands and retrieve the data from your desired platform, writing the data into the already available instance variables.  Once your data retrieval methods are set, simply require your newly created file in your app, and add the class to your `Target#options[:profilers]` array, and it will be available to you.
 
-Boris also comes with the ability to add your own complete modules for using the framework by writing your own data collection algorithms.  I will also write-up a howto in the near future.
+Some recommendations on making your own profiler:
+* Create a core file (ex. WindowsCore) for your platform, and only place generalized data-retrieval methods in this file if they would apply to the majority of versions available to that platform
+* Create a new profiler file for each version of your platform (ie. Windows2012), using the core class as its parent class
+  * Name your version classes with the major version number applied
+  * Only use code that applies to that specific version in your version profiler files
+  * Each version file should include a class method called `matches_target?`, where the logic will be to determine if this specific profiler version matches that of the device you're communicating with
+* Stick with the built-in variable names, and use the templates as described in [structure.rb](http://rubydoc.info/github/alkalinecoffee/boris/master/Boris/Structure), and extend them as necessary.
+* Be consistent by always calling `super` on your data-retrieval methods and ending the method by returning the data variable, even if that method does not apply to that platform
+* Check out the available helpers in the `lib/boris/core_ext` directory (especially those in [string.rb](http://rubydoc.info/github/alkalinecoffee/boris/master/String)!)
+* See the profilers in the `lib/boris/profilers` directory for more guidance
 
-## User Account Requirements
-While Boris does its best to gather data from devices without any special privileges, sometimes it just can't be helped.  One example of this is the RedHat profiler, which requires `sudo` access for the `dmidecode` command, as there isn't a well known, reliable way to grab this info without `dmidecode`.  If Boris attempts to run a command that requires special access and is denied, it will throw a message to the logger and move on.
+Also, please consider a pull request if you think your code can help others!
+
+## System Requirements
+While Boris does its best to gather data from devices without any special privileges, sometimes it just can't be helped.  One example of this is the `RedHat` profiler, which requires `sudo` access for the `dmidecode` command, as there isn't a well known, reliable way to grab hardware info without `dmidecode`.  If Boris attempts to run a command that requires special access and is denied, it will throw a message to the logger and move on.
 
 **Here is a list of known scan account requirements for each platform:**
 
+* **Big-IP**
+  * User shell set to `tmsh`
+* **Brocade FOS**
+  * `User` role
+* **Cisco IOS/NX-OS**
+  * User EXEC mode (privilege level 1)
+* **HP Onboard Administrator**
+  * `User` role
 * **Linux (any flavor)**
   * User must have `sudo` for `dmidecode`
 * **Solaris**
   * User must have `sudo` for `fcinfo`
 * **Windows**
-  * User must be a member of local Administrator group (looking into what other groups provide required access)
+  * User must be a member of local Administrator group
+
+## Contributing
+If you have written a profiler (and tests) for a device not currently supported, please create a pull request for it.  Also, my testing sucks, so if anyone wants to help clean that up, I'm all about it.
 
 ## License
 This software is provided under the MIT license.  See the LICENSE.md file.

data/Rakefile

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 require 'rake'
+require 'rake/testtask'
 
 $LOAD_PATH.unshift File.expand_path('../lib', __FILE__)
 
@@ -16,4 +17,9 @@ task :release => :build do
   system "git tag -a v#{Boris::VERSION} -m 'Pushed #{Boris::VERSION}'"
   system 'git push --tags'
   system "gem push boris-#{Boris::VERSION}.gem"
-end
+end
+
+Rake::TestTask.new do |t|
+  t.libs = ["test"]
+  t.test_files = FileList['test/**/test*.rb']
+end

data/code_lookups.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
+brocade:
+  blades:
+    1: 'CP1 Control Processor Blade'
+    2: 'Brocade FC-16 Port Blade'
+    4: 'Brocade FC2-16 Port Blade'
+    5: 'CP2 Control Processor Blade'
+    16: 'CP4 Control Processor Blade'
+    17: 'Brocade FC4-16 Port Blade'
+    18: 'Brocade FC4-32 Port Blade'
+    24: 'Brocade FR4-18i SAN Extension Blade'
+    31: 'Brocade FC4-16IP iSCSI Blade'
+    33: 'Brocade FA4-18 Fabric Application Blade'
+    36: 'Brocade FC4-48 Port Blade'
+    37: 'Brocade FC8-16 Port Blade'
+    39: 'Brocade FC10-6 Port Blade'
+    43: 'Brocade FS8-18 Encryption Blade'
+    46: 'CR4S-8 core Blade'
+    50: 'CP8 Control Processor Blade'
+    51: 'Brocade FC8-48 Port Blade'
+    52: 'Core8 switch Blade'
+    55: 'Brocade FC8-32 Port Blade'
+    74: 'Brocade FCOE10-24 Blade'
+    75: 'Brocade FX8-24 Extension Blade'
+    77: 'Brocade FC8-64 Port Blade'
+    96: 'Brocade FC16-48 Port Blade'
+    97: 'Brocade FC16-32 Port Blade'
+    98: 'Brocade CR16-8 Core Blade'
+    99: 'Brocade CR16-16 Core Blade'
+    125: 'Brocade FC8-32E Port Blade'
+    126: 'Brocade FC8-48E Port Blade'
+
+  switches:
+    1: 'Brocade 1000 Switch'
+    2: 'Brocade 2800 Switch'
+    3: 'Brocade 2100, 2400 Switches'
+    4: 'Brocade 20x0, 2010, 2040, 2050 Switch'
+    5: 'Brocade 22x0, 2210, 2240, 2250 Switch'
+    6: 'Brocade 2800 Switch'
+    7: 'Brocade 2000 Switch'
+    9: 'Brocade 3800 Switch'
+    10: 'Brocade 12000 Director'
+    12: 'Brocade 3900 Switch'
+    16: 'Brocade 3200 Switch'
+    17: 'Brocade 3800VL'
+    18: 'Brocade 3000 Switch'
+    21: 'Brocade 24000 Director'
+    22: 'Brocade 3016 Switch'
+    26: 'Brocade 3850 Switch'
+    27: 'Brocade 3250 Switch'
+    29: 'Brocade 4012 Embedded Switch'
+    32: 'Brocade 4100 Switch'
+    33: 'Brocade 3014 Switch'
+    34: 'Brocade 200E Switch'
+    37: 'Brocade 4020 Embedded Switch'
+    38: 'Brocade 7420 SAN Router'
+    40: 'Fibre Channel Routing (FCR) Front Domain'
+    41: 'Fibre Channel Routing, (FCR) Xlate Domain'
+    42: 'Brocade 48000 Director'
+    43: 'Brocade 4024 Embedded Switch'
+    44: 'Brocade 4900 Switch'
+    45: 'Brocade 4016 Embedded Switch'
+    46: 'Brocade 7500 Switch'
+    51: 'Brocade 4018 Embedded Switch'
+    55: 'Brocade 7600 Switch'
+    58: 'Brocade 5000 Switch'
+    61: 'Brocade 4424 Embedded Switch'
+    62: 'Brocade DCX Backbone'
+    64: 'Brocade 5300 Switch'
+    66: 'Brocade 5100 Switch'
+    67: 'Brocade Encryption Switch'
+    69: 'Brocade 5410 Blade'
+    70: 'Brocade 5410 Embedded Switch'
+    71: 'Brocade 300 Switch'
+    72: 'Brocade 5480 Embedded Switch'
+    73: 'Brocade 5470 Embedded Switch'
+    75: 'Brocade M5424 Embedded Switch'
+    76: 'Brocade 8000 Switch'
+    77: 'Brocade DCX-4S Backbone'
+    83: 'Brocade 7800 Extension Switch'
+    86: 'Brocade 5450 Embedded Switch'
+    87: 'Brocade 5460 Embedded Switch'
+    90: 'Brocade 8470 Embedded Switch'
+    92: 'Brocade VA-40FC Switch'
+    95: 'Brocade VDX 6720-24 Data Center Switch'
+    96: 'Brocade VDX 6730-32 Data Center Switch'
+    97: 'Brocade VDX 6720-60 Data Center Switch'
+    98: 'Brocade VDX 6730-76 Data Center Switch'
+    108: 'Dell M8428-k FCoE Embedded Switch'
+    109: 'Brocade 6510 Switch'
+    116: 'Brocade VDX 6710 Data Center Switch'
+    117: 'Brocade 6547 Embedded Switch'
+    118: 'Brocade 6505 Switch'
+    120: 'Brocade DCX 8510-8 Backbone'
+    121: 'Brocade DCX 8510-4 Backbone'

data/lib/boris.rb

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 # encoding: UTF-8
 
 PLATFORM = RbConfig::CONFIG['host_os'] =~ /mswin|mingw|cygwin/ ? :win32 : RbConfig::CONFIG['host_os']
+LIB_PATH = File.expand_path('..', __FILE__)
 
 require 'date'
 require 'json'
@@ -13,6 +14,20 @@ require 'socket'
 require 'thread'
 require 'win32ole' if PLATFORM == :win32
 
-require 'boris/helpers'
-require 'boris/lumberjack'
 require 'boris/target'
+
+module Boris
+  # Returns an array of all profiler classes that are currently available. If this
+  # is launched from a non-Windows machine, the Windows-based profilers will not be
+  # available.
+  #
+  # @return [Array] list of profiler classes
+  def self.available_profilers
+    ObjectSpace.each_object(Class).select{|klass| klass.to_s =~ /profilers/i}.inject([]) do |result, klass|
+      if !(klass.to_s =~ /windows/i && PLATFORM != :win32) && klass.respond_to?(:matches_target?)
+        result << klass
+      end
+      result
+    end.sort_by {|klass| klass.to_s}
+  end
+end

data/lib/boris/connectors.rb

@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ module Boris
     attr_reader :host
     attr_reader :options
     attr_reader :reconnectable
-    attr_reader :failure_message
+    attr_reader :failure_messages
     attr_reader :user
 
     def initialize(host, cred={})
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ module Boris
       @user = cred[:user]
       @password = cred[:password]
       @connected = false
+      @failure_messages = []
       @reconnectable = true
       debug 'creating connection object'
     end
@@ -61,7 +62,7 @@ module Boris
 
       amount = limit == 1 ? 'single value' : 'multiple values'
 
-      debug "issuing request for #{amount} (#{request})"
+      debug "issuing request for #{amount} (#{request.strip})"
     end
   end
 end

data/lib/boris/connectors/ssh.rb

@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+STDOUT.sync = true
 require 'boris/connectors'
 
 module Boris
@@ -12,26 +13,31 @@ module Boris
     # @param [Hash] options an optional list of options. See {Boris::Options} for a list of all
     #   possible options.  The relevant option set here would be :ssh_options.
     def initialize(host, cred, options=Options.new)
+      super(host, cred)
+
       @ssh_options = options[:ssh_options]
-      
-      @ssh_options[:auth_methods] = ['publickey']
-      if @password
-        @ssh_options[:auth_methods] << 'password'
-        @ssh_options[:password] = @password
-      end
+
+      @reconnect_mode = false
       
       if @ssh_options
         invalid_ssh_options = @ssh_options.keys - Net::SSH::VALID_OPTIONS
         raise ArgumentError, "invalid ssh option(s): #{invalid_ssh_options.join(', ')}" if invalid_ssh_options.any?
       end
 
-      super(host, cred)
+      @ssh_options[:auth_methods] = ['publickey']
+      if @password
+        @ssh_options[:auth_methods] << 'password'
+        @ssh_options[:password] = @password
+      end
     end
 
     # Disconnect from the host.
     def disconnect
       super
+
+      @transport.close rescue nil
       @transport = nil
+      
       debug 'connections closed'
     end
     
@@ -40,26 +46,46 @@ module Boris
     def establish_connection
       super
 
+      @connected = @reconnectable = false
+
       begin
         @transport = Net::SSH.start(@host, @user, @ssh_options)
-        debug 'connection established'
+
+        # send a newline character to test if the connection is ok. if the return value
+        # is nil, then the connection should be good.
+        if @reconnect_mode == false
+          test_result = value_at("\n")
+          
+          raise PasswordExpired, @failure_messages.last if (test_result && test_result =~ /password has expired/i)
+          
+          debug 'connection established'
+        else
+          debug 'connection re-established'
+        end
+        
         @connected = @reconnectable = true
       rescue Net::SSH::AuthenticationFailed
         warn "connection failed (connection made but credentials not accepted with user #{@user})"
-        @failure_message = CONN_FAILURE_AUTH_FAILED
+        @failure_messages << CONN_FAILURE_AUTH_FAILED
         @reconnectable = true
       rescue Net::SSH::HostKeyMismatch
         warn CONN_FAILURE_HOST_KEY_MISMATCH
-        @failure_message = CONN_FAILURE_HOST_KEY_MISMATCH
-        @reconnectable = false
+        @failure_messages << CONN_FAILURE_HOST_KEY_MISMATCH
       rescue SocketError, Errno::ETIMEDOUT
         warn CONN_FAILURE_NO_HOST
-        @failure_message = CONN_FAILURE_NO_HOST
-        @reconnectable = false
+        @failure_messages << CONN_FAILURE_NO_HOST
+      rescue Errno::ECONNREFUSED
+        warn CONN_FAILURE_REFUSED
+        @failure_messages << CONN_FAILURE_REFUSED
+      rescue Boris::PasswordExpired
+        warn CONN_FAILURE_PASSWORD_EXPIRED
+        @failure_messages << CONN_FAILURE_PASSWORD_EXPIRED
+      rescue Net::SSH::Disconnect
+        warn CONN_FAILURE_CONNECTION_CLOSED
+        @failure_messages << CONN_FAILURE_CONNECTION_CLOSED
       rescue => error
-        message = "connection failed (#{error.message})"
-        warn message
-        @failure_message = message
+        @failure_messages << "connection failed (#{error.message})"
+        warn @failure_messages.last
         @reconnectable = true
       end
 
@@ -94,59 +120,77 @@ module Boris
       error_messages = []
       reconnect = false
       return_data = []
+
+      if @reconnect_mode
+        disconnect
+        establish_connection
+      end
       
-      chan = @transport.open_channel do |chan|
+      channel = @transport.open_channel do |chan, success|
+        debug 'channel opened successfully' if success
+
         if request_pty
           debug 'requsting pty...'
           chan.request_pty()
           debug 'pty successfully requested'
         end
 
-        chan.on_data do |ch, data|
-          if data =~ /^\[sudo\] password for/i
-            debug 'system asking for password for sudo request'
-            if @password
-              ch.send_data "#{@password}\n"
-              debug 'password sent'
+        chan.exec(request) do |chan, success|
+          chan.on_data do |chan, data|
+            if data =~ /^\[sudo\] password for/i
+              debug 'system asking for password for sudo request'
+              if @password
+                chan.send_data "#{@password}\n"
+                debug 'password sent'
+              else
+                chan.close
+                info "channel closed (we don't have a password to supply)"
+              end
+            elsif data =~ /sorry, try again/i
+              chan.close
+              return_data = []
+              info 'channel closed (we have a password to supply but it is not accepted)'
+            elsif data =~ /permission denied/i
+              warn "permission denied for this request (#{data.gsub(/\n|\s+/, ', ')})"
             else
-              ch.close
-              info "channel closed (we don't have a password to supply)"
+              return_data << data
             end
-          elsif data =~ /sorry, try again/i
-            ch.close
-            return_data = []
-            info 'channel closed (we have a password to supply but it is not accepted)'
-          elsif data =~ /permission denied/i
-            warn "permission denied for this request (#{data.gsub(/\n|\s+/, ', ')})"
-          else
-            return_data << data
           end
-        end
-        
-        # called when something is written to stderr
-        chan.on_extended_data do |ch, type, data|
-          if data =~ /password has expired/i
-            @failure_message = CONN_FAILURE_PASSWORD_EXPIRED
-            ch.close
-            disconnect
+
+          chan.on_extended_data do |chan, type, data|
+            if type == 1
+              if data =~ /password has expired/i
+                @failure_messages << CONN_FAILURE_PASSWORD_EXPIRED
+                chan.close
+                disconnect
+              end
+              error_messages.concat(data.split(/\n/))
+            end
           end
-          error_messages.concat(data.split(/\n/))
         end
-
-        chan.exec(request)
       end
 
-      chan.wait
+      begin
+        channel.wait
+      rescue Net::SSH::Disconnect
+        # some devices (namely cisco switches) tend to silently break the ssh
+        # connection after creating a session and running a command. to get around
+        # this, we will re-establish the connection (and bypassing our test command
+        # in #establish_connection) to prepare the connection for running another
+        # command.
+        info 'connection broken by remote host... we will automatically reconnect'
+        @reconnect_mode = true
+      end
 
       if !error_messages.empty?
         warn "message written to STDERR for this request (#{error_messages.join('. ')})"
       end
 
-      return_data = return_data.join.split(/\n/)
-
-      debug "#{return_data.size} row(s) returned"
+      return_data = return_data.join.gsub(/\r/, '').split(/\n/)
 
       limit = return_data.size if limit.nil?
+      
+      debug "#{return_data.size} row(s) returned"
 
       return_data[0..limit]
     end