Radfish - Unified Redfish Client

A Ruby client library that provides a unified interface for managing servers via Redfish API, with automatic vendor detection and adaptation.

Data Normalization

Radfish takes a minimal approach to data normalization to ensure consistency across different systems and avoid mismatches from varying formats:

• Manufacturer/Make: Returns simplified vendor names (e.g., "Dell" instead of "Dell Inc.", "Supermicro" instead of "Super Micro Computer")
• Model: Returns core model identifiers without marketing prefixes (e.g., "R640" instead of "PowerEdge R640")
• Consistent Fields: All adapters normalize their data to use the same field names and formats

This approach minimizes potential mismatches across older systems or spacing/hyphenation issues with multi-token descriptors.

Architecture

Radfish provides a vendor-agnostic interface for server management through Redfish, automatically detecting and adapting to different hardware vendors. The architecture consists of:

radfish (core gem)

The HTTP layer

Radfish::HttpClient is the single seam between the library and the network. Faraday is an implementation detail behind it: the vendor detector, the core classes and the adapters talk to HttpClient (or to BaseClient#http_get and friends, which delegate to it) and never build a Faraday connection of their own. Everything that BMCs make awkward lives in that one class - permissive TLS for old firmware, the Host header for SSH tunnels, retries, redirects, debug logging, and the translation of transport failures into Radfish errors.

Two consequences worth knowing:

• Callers rescue Radfish errors, not Faraday errors. HttpClient converts Faraday's connection, timeout and SSL failures into Radfish::ConnectionError and Radfish::TimeoutError. Code above the seam that rescues Faraday::Error catches nothing.
• Adapters that wrap another gem are outside the seam. The Dell and Supermicro adapters delegate to the idrac and supermicro gems, which have their own HTTP stacks, so the behaviour described here does not apply to their requests.

Errors

All library errors descend from Radfish::Error, so one rescue catches everything the library raises:

Radfish::Error

Retries

Failed requests are retried with an exponential backoff on 408, 429, 500, 502, 503 and 504, and on connection and timeout failures. Only idempotent methods are retried - GET, HEAD, PUT and DELETE. A repeated POST is not safe on Redfish: it can mean a second session, a second reset, or a second job. A caller that knows its POST is safe to repeat can widen the set for one client:

Radfish::HttpClient.new(
  host: '192.168.1.100',
  retry_count: 3,                    # attempts after the first
  retry_delay: 1,                    # initial delay, doubled each retry
  retry_methods: Radfish::HttpClient::IDEMPOTENT_METHODS + [:post]
)

For a whole operation rather than a single request, BaseClient#with_retries wraps a block.

Redirects

Some BMCs (AMI MegaRAC, for one) redirect /redfish/v1 to /redfish/v1/. HttpClient follows redirects on GET and HEAD, up to max_redirects hops (3 by default; pass max_redirects: 0 on a call to get the 3xx response itself). A redirect is only followed back to the same endpoint - a relative path, or an absolute URL whose scheme, host and port match the BMC already being addressed - because every request carries credentials and Faraday would otherwise hand them to whatever host the Location header named. POST and PATCH redirects are returned to the caller rather than followed, since 301/302/303 do not preserve the method.

Features

Automatic Vendor Detection

• Automatically identifies Dell, Supermicro, HPE, Lenovo, and ASRockRack servers
• Falls back to generic Redfish if vendor cannot be determined
• Can be overridden with explicit vendor specification

Unified Interface

Regardless of vendor, all adapters provide:

• Power Management: on/off/restart/cycle
• System Inventory: CPUs, memory, NICs, storage
• Virtual Media: Mount/unmount ISOs
• Boot Configuration: Boot order, one-time boot
• Monitoring: Temperatures, fans, power consumption
• Event Logs: System event log management
• Jobs/Tasks: Long-running operation monitoring

Vendor-Specific Features

Adapters can expose vendor-specific functionality while maintaining the common interface.

Compatibility

activesupport below 8.1 and json 3 cannot be used together: activesupport's JSON encoder calls JSON.generate(..., quirks_mode: true), and json 3 removed that keyword, so any hash.to_json raises ArgumentError: unknown keyword: quirks_mode. This is not specific to this gem — it bites anything that loads active_support/core_ext — but radfish depends on activesupport, so pick one of:

• activesupport >= 8.1 with json 3, or
• activesupport 7.x with json 2.

CI covers both ends.

Installation

Add to your Gemfile:

gem 'radfish'

# Add vendor-specific adapters as needed
gem 'radfish-idrac'      # For Dell servers
gem 'radfish-supermicro'  # For Supermicro servers

Or install directly:

gem install radfish
gem install radfish-idrac      # For Dell servers  
gem install radfish-supermicro  # For Supermicro servers

The adapters will be automatically detected and loaded when available.

CLI Usage

Radfish includes a powerful command-line interface for server management:

Quick Start

# Check system status
radfish system --host 192.168.1.100 -u admin -p password

# Power operations
radfish power status --host 192.168.1.100 -u admin -p password
radfish power on --host 192.168.1.100 -u admin -p password
radfish power restart --host 192.168.1.100 -u admin -p password

# Virtual media operations
radfish media status --host 192.168.1.100 -u admin -p password
radfish media mount https://example.com/ubuntu.iso --host 192.168.1.100 -u admin -p password
radfish media unmount --host 192.168.1.100 -u admin -p password

# Boot configuration
radfish boot status --host 192.168.1.100 -u admin -p password
radfish boot cd --once --host 192.168.1.100 -u admin -p password
radfish boot pxe --uefi --host 192.168.1.100 -u admin -p password

Environment Variables

Configure common settings via environment variables to avoid repetition:

export RADFISH_HOST=192.168.1.100
export RADFISH_USERNAME=admin
export RADFISH_PASSWORD=password
export RADFISH_VENDOR=supermicro  # Optional: auto-detects if not set
export RADFISH_PORT=443           # Optional: defaults to 443

# Now commands are simpler
radfish system
radfish power on
radfish media mount https://example.com/ubuntu.iso

Available Commands

System Information

radfish system [OPTIONS]           # Display system information
radfish cpus [OPTIONS]             # List CPUs
radfish memory [OPTIONS]           # List memory modules
radfish nics [OPTIONS]             # List network interfaces
radfish storage controllers        # List storage controllers
radfish storage drives             # List drives across controllers
radfish storage volumes            # List volumes across controllers
radfish psus [OPTIONS]             # List power supplies

Power Management

radfish power status [OPTIONS]     # Show current power state
radfish power on [OPTIONS]         # Power on the system
radfish power off [OPTIONS]        # Power off the system
radfish power restart [OPTIONS]    # Restart the system
radfish power cycle [OPTIONS]      # Power cycle the system

Virtual Media

radfish media status [OPTIONS]     # Show virtual media status
radfish media mount URL [OPTIONS]  # Mount ISO from URL
radfish media unmount [OPTIONS]    # Unmount all virtual media

Boot Configuration

radfish boot status [OPTIONS]      # Show boot configuration
radfish boot cd [OPTIONS]          # Boot from virtual CD
radfish boot pxe [OPTIONS]         # Boot from network (PXE)
radfish boot disk [OPTIONS]        # Boot from hard disk
radfish boot bios [OPTIONS]        # Boot to BIOS setup

# Boot options:
  --once        # Set boot override for next boot only
  --continuous  # Set boot override until manually cleared
  --uefi        # Use UEFI boot mode
  --legacy      # Use Legacy/BIOS boot mode

Monitoring

radfish fans [OPTIONS]              # Show fan speeds
radfish temps [OPTIONS]             # Show temperatures
radfish power-consumption [OPTIONS] # Show power consumption
radfish sel [OPTIONS]               # Show system event log
radfish clear-sel [OPTIONS]         # Clear system event log

Global Options

All commands support these options:

  --host, -h HOST          # BMC hostname or IP address
  --username, -u USER      # BMC username
  --password, -p PASS      # BMC password
  --vendor, -v VENDOR      # Force specific vendor (dell, supermicro, etc.)
  --port PORT              # BMC port (default: 443)
  --config, -c FILE        # Read options from a YAML config file
  --json                   # Output in JSON format
  --verbose                # Application-level progress messages
  --debug [N]              # HTTP-level debug output (default 2, see below)
  --insecure               # Skip SSL certificate verification (default: true)

--verbose and --debug set the same verbosity level, and --debug wins:

Level	Flag	Output
0	(none)	Results only
1	--verbose	Progress messages from the library
2	--debug	Adds the HTTP request and response log
3	--debug 3	Adds request and response bodies, and call sites

The Authorization header and password fields are filtered out of the log, but level 3 prints request and response bodies, which can carry other sensitive data - read it before pasting it into an issue.

Output Formats

Default (Human-Readable)

$ radfish system
System Information:
  Manufacturer: Supermicro
  Model: X11SCL-F
  Serial: 0123456789
  Power State: On
  Health: OK

JSON Format

$ radfish system --json
{
  "manufacturer": "Supermicro",
  "model": "X11SCL-F",
  "serial": "0123456789",
  "power_state": "On",
  "health": "OK"
}

Common Workflows

Mount ISO and Boot from It

# Mount the ISO
radfish media mount https://releases.ubuntu.com/24.04/ubuntu-24.04-live-server-amd64.iso

# Configure one-time boot from CD with UEFI
radfish boot cd --once --uefi

# Restart the system
radfish power restart

Power Cycle with Monitoring

# Check current status
radfish power status
radfish temps

# Perform power cycle
radfish power cycle

# Monitor until back online
watch radfish power status

Automated Script Example

#!/bin/bash
# Provision multiple servers

SERVERS="192.168.1.100 192.168.1.101 192.168.1.102"
ISO_URL="https://example.com/os-installer.iso"

for server in $SERVERS; do
  echo "Provisioning $server..."
  
  # Mount ISO
  radfish media mount $ISO_URL --host $server -u admin -p password
  
  # Set one-time boot from CD
  radfish boot cd --once --host $server -u admin -p password
  
  # Restart
  radfish power restart --host $server -u admin -p password
done

Library Usage

Basic Usage with Auto-Detection

require 'radfish'

# Auto-detect vendor and connect
Radfish.connect(
  host: '192.168.1.100',
  username: 'admin',
  password: 'password'
) do |client|
  puts "Connected to #{client.vendor_name} server"
  puts "Power state: #{client.power_status}"
  
  # Common operations work regardless of vendor
  client.power_on
  client.insert_virtual_media("http://example.com/os.iso")
  client.boot_to_cd
end

Explicit Vendor Specification

# Skip auto-detection if you know the vendor
client = Radfish::Client.new(
  host: '192.168.1.100',
  username: 'admin',
  password: 'password',
  vendor: 'dell'  # or 'supermicro', 'hpe', etc.
)

client.login
# ... operations ...
client.logout

Vendor Detection Only

# Just detect the vendor without creating a client
vendor = Radfish.detect_vendor(
  host: '192.168.1.100',
  username: 'admin',
  password: 'password'
)
puts "Detected vendor: #{vendor}"
# => "dell", "supermicro", "hpe", etc.

Checking Supported Features

client = Radfish::Client.new(
  host: '192.168.1.100',
  username: 'admin',
  password: 'password'
)

# Check what this adapter supports
puts client.supported_features
# => [:power, :system, :storage, :virtual_media, :boot, :jobs, :utility]

# Get adapter info
puts client.info
# => {
#   vendor: "supermicro",
#   adapter: "Radfish::SupermicroAdapter",
#   features: [:power, :system, ...],
#   host: "192.168.1.100",
#   base_url: "https://192.168.1.100:443"
# }

Common Operations

Power Management

client.power_status      # => "On" or "Off"
client.power_on
client.power_off
client.power_restart
client.power_cycle

System Information

# Basic system info
info = client.system_info
# => { "manufacturer" => "Dell", "model" => "PowerEdge R640", ... }

# Hardware inventory
client.cpus      # CPU information
client.memory    # Memory DIMMs
client.nics      # Network interfaces
client.controllers.each { |c| c.drives }   # Physical drives (per controller)
client.controllers.each { |c| c.volumes }  # RAID volumes (per controller)
client.psus      # Power supplies

Virtual Media

# Check current media
media = client.virtual_media_status

# Mount an ISO
client.insert_virtual_media("http://example.com/os.iso")

# Unmount all media
client.unmount_all_media

# Mount and configure boot
client.mount_iso_and_boot("http://example.com/os.iso")

Boot Configuration

# Get boot options
options = client.boot_options

# Set one-time boot
client.set_boot_override("Pxe", persistence: 'Once')

# Quick boot methods
client.boot_to_pxe
client.boot_to_disk
client.boot_to_cd
client.boot_to_bios_setup

Monitoring

# Thermal monitoring
fans = client.fans
temps = client.temperatures

# Power monitoring
power = client.power_consumption

# Event logs
events = client.sel_summary(limit: 10)
client.clear_sel_log

Multi-Vendor Environments

Radfish shines in environments with mixed hardware vendors:

servers = [
  { host: '192.168.1.100', vendor: 'dell' },
  { host: '192.168.1.101', vendor: 'supermicro' },
  { host: '192.168.1.102', vendor: nil }  # auto-detect
]

servers.each do |server_config|
  Radfish.connect(
    host: server_config[:host],
    username: 'admin',
    password: 'password',
    vendor: server_config[:vendor]
  ) do |client|
    # Same code works for all vendors
    puts "#{client.vendor_name}: #{client.power_status}"
    
    if client.power_status == "Off"
      client.power_on
    end
  end
end

Configuration Options

Radfish::Client.new(
  host: '192.168.1.100',
  username: 'admin',
  password: 'password',
  
  # Optional parameters
  vendor: 'dell',           # Skip auto-detection
  port: 443,                # BMC port
  use_ssl: true,            # Use HTTPS
  verify_ssl: false,        # Verify certificates
  direct_mode: false,       # Use Basic Auth instead of sessions
  retry_count: 3,           # Retries after the first attempt
  retry_delay: 1,           # Initial delay between retries, doubled each time
  retry_methods: nil,       # Defaults to idempotent methods only
  max_redirects: 3,         # Same-endpoint redirects to follow (0 disables)
  verbosity: 0              # Debug output level (0-3)
)

Debugging

Enable verbose output:

client.verbosity = 1  # Progress messages from the library
client.verbosity = 2  # Adds the HTTP request and response log
client.verbosity = 3  # Adds request and response bodies, and call sites

These are the same levels the CLI sets with --verbose and --debug N. The Authorization header and password fields are filtered out of the log.

Supported Vendors

Currently supported:

• Dell (via radfish-idrac)
• Supermicro (via radfish-supermicro)

Planned support:

• HPE (iLO)
• Lenovo (XCC)
• ASRockRack
• Generic Redfish (fallback)

Creating Custom Adapters

To add support for a new vendor, create an adapter gem:

# radfish-myvendor/lib/radfish/myvendor_adapter.rb
module Radfish
  class MyvendorAdapter < Core::BaseClient
    include Core::Power
    include Core::System
    # ... include other modules
    
    def vendor
      'myvendor'
    end
    
    def power_status
      # Implement vendor-specific logic
    end
    
    # ... implement required methods
  end
  
  # Register the adapter
  Radfish.register_adapter('myvendor', MyvendorAdapter)
end

Benefits of the Unified Approach

1. Single API: Learn once, use everywhere
2. Vendor Flexibility: Switch hardware vendors without changing code
3. Automatic Detection: No need to track which vendor each server uses
4. Gradual Migration: Mix vendors during hardware transitions
5. Simplified Testing: Mock one interface instead of many
6. Future-Proof: New vendors can be added without changing existing code

Migration from Direct Vendor Gems

If you're currently using the idrac or supermicro gems directly:

# Old way (vendor-specific)
require 'idrac'
client = IDRAC::Client.new(host: '...', ...)

# New way (unified)
require 'radfish'
require 'radfish/idrac_adapter'  # or let it auto-load
client = Radfish::Client.new(host: '...', vendor: 'dell')

# Or with auto-detection
client = Radfish::Client.new(host: '...') 

The same method names work, so migration is straightforward.

License

MIT