Ryan Malloy
8815db06d8
Operator-suggested prompt: "what does my AXL account *actually* have permission to do?" Resolves the user → access-control-group → function-role chain for a single account, defaulting to the AXL service account from AXL_USER env when no userid is given. The prompt principle came in using table names from older Cisco docs (`enduserauthgroupmap`, `dirgrouprolemap`) that don't exist on CUCM 15. The shipped SQL uses the verified CUCM 15 names (`enduserdirgroupmap`, `functionroledirgroupmap`); a regression test asserts the deprecated names don't appear in the rendered SQL section, so any future "fix" reverting to the older names fires red. Live verification on cucm-pub.binghammemorial.org found the existing AXL service account (`SupportedSystemsReadOnly`) has 4 roles via the `ReadOnly-AXL` access control group: - Standard AXL API Access (full RW — group misnamed) - Standard AXL Read Only API Access (the genuinely-read-only one) - Standard Packet Sniffing (PHI-relevant in healthcare) - Standard RealtimeAndTraceCollection The first finding is structural: the group `ReadOnly-AXL` contains the FULL RW role `Standard AXL API Access` despite its name. The MCP server's structural read-only enforcement (no write methods registered) is what prevents this from mattering — but the account itself is over-privileged relative to what the tool needs. The prompt's findings template surfaces this kind of misnamed-group case explicitly. Also discovered (and documented in the prompt body): AXL auth is case-insensitive for usernames, but SQL `WHERE name = 'X'` is case-sensitive. Step 3 of the prompt handles the case-mismatch fallback so a typo like `SupportedSYstemsReadOnly` (env) vs `SupportedSystemsReadOnly` (cluster canonical) doesn't produce a silently-empty result. 5 new tests: - correct CUCM 15 table names embedded in SQL - explicit userid threads through to the query - default reads AXL_USER from env - missing userid AND missing env → clear instruction - SQL injection defense (single-quote escape) 123 → 128 tests; 9 → 10 prompts. Prompt registration smoke test updated to assert the new shim is wired.
mcp-cucm-axl
Read-only MCP server for Cisco Unified CM 15 AXL — built for LLM-driven cluster auditing, with a particular focus on the Route Plan Report: partitions, calling search spaces, route patterns, translation patterns, called/calling party transformations, and digit-discard instructions.
Why this exists
CUCM's admin UI is great for one-config-at-a-time work but painful for audit/discovery questions like:
- "Which translation patterns rewrite the calling party number, and why?"
- "Which CSSs include the
Internal_PTpartition, in what order?" - "Show me every route pattern targeting the SIP trunk to the carrier."
- "Are there partitions defined but unreachable from any CSS?"
This server gives an LLM SQL access to CUCM's Informix data dictionary,
plus focused tools that bake in the right joins for routing-audit work.
Pair it with the sibling mcp-cisco-docs server and the LLM
gets vendor documentation alongside live cluster state — answering
"is our config consistent with Cisco's recommended baseline?" in a single
conversation.
Read-only by structural guarantee
The server never registers AXL write methods. There is no
executeSQLUpdate, no add*/update*/remove*/apply*/reset*/
restart* tool. Read-only is enforced by absence of write operations,
not by runtime sanitization. Defense-in-depth: SQL queries are also
client-side validated to begin with SELECT or WITH.
Setup
1. Configure environment
Edit .env (already gitignored):
AXL_URL=https://cucm-pub:8443/axl
AXL_USER=AxlUser
AXL_PASS=...
AXL_VERIFY_TLS=false # CUCM ships self-signed certs; default off
AXL_CACHE_TTL=3600 # 1 hour; 0 disables caching
AXL_WSDL_PATH= # optional explicit WSDL location
CISCO_DOCS_INDEX_PATH= # optional override for prompt enrichment
2. Bootstrap the AXL WSDL
Download the Cisco AXL Toolkit from your CUCM admin UI:
Application → Plugins → Find → "Cisco AXL Toolkit" → Download
Drop the resulting axlsqltoolkit.zip into the project directory. On first
launch, the server auto-extracts schema/15.0/ into ~/.cache/mcp-cucm-axl/wsdl/15.0/.
The zip is gitignored (Cisco-licensed; not redistributable).
Alternatives (in resolution order):
# A: explicit zip elsewhere
export AXL_WSDL_ZIP=/path/to/axlsqltoolkit.zip
# B: explicit WSDL file
export AXL_WSDL_PATH=/path/to/schema/15.0/AXLAPI.wsdl
# C: pre-populated cache directory
mkdir -p ~/.cache/mcp-cucm-axl/wsdl/15.0/
cp /path/to/schema/15.0/* ~/.cache/mcp-cucm-axl/wsdl/15.0/
3. Install + run
uv sync
uv run mcp-cucm-axl
Or via the bundled .mcp.json, automatically registered when Claude Code
opens this directory.
Tool surface
Foundational
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
axl_version() |
Cluster version sanity check |
axl_sql(query) |
Execute a SELECT against Informix data dictionary |
axl_list_tables(pattern=None) |
Discover Informix tables |
axl_describe_table(name) |
Column metadata for one table |
cache_stats(), cache_clear(pattern=None) |
Cache plumbing |
Route plan
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
route_partitions() |
All partitions with pattern + CSS-member counts |
route_calling_search_spaces(name=None) |
CSS list with ordered partitions |
route_patterns(kind=None, partition=None, filter=None) |
Route Plan Report — patterns + transformations |
route_inspect_pattern(pattern, partition=None) |
Deep dive: transforms, route filter, reachable-from CSS, full destination chain (route list → groups → gateways) |
route_lists_and_groups(name=None) |
Route list → route group → gateway chain (annotates Local Route Group placeholders) |
route_translation_chain(number, css_name=None) |
Wildcard-aware pattern matcher: evaluates X / ! / [0-9] / @ / \+ against the number and returns matches sorted by specificity |
route_digit_discard_instructions() |
DDI catalog |
route_device_pool_route_groups(device_pool_name=None) |
How each device pool resolves Local Route Group placeholders to actual gateway-bearing groups |
route_devices_using_css(css_name) |
Impact analysis: every reference to a CSS across line CFA/CFB/CFNA/CFUR/translation/MWI/shared, device-level CSSs, voicemail pilots, route lists |
route_filters(name=None) |
Route filter clauses + member rules (composed with @-pattern routes) |
Prompts
Schema-grounded conversation seeds. They pull relevant chunks from the
sibling cisco-docs index and embed them inline:
route_plan_overview— fresh audit conversation seedinvestigate_pattern(pattern, partition=None)— deep-dive a specific patternaudit_routing(focus="full")— comprehensive audit walkthroughcucm_sql_help(question)— catch-all for arbitrary SQL questions
Cache
Responses are cached in SQLite at ~/.cache/mcp-cucm-axl/responses/axl_responses.sqlite.
Cache survives restarts. Clear with cache_clear() after a known config change.
Notes
route_translation_chaindoes literal/prefix matching only. CUCM's actual matcher evaluates wildcards (X,!,[0-9], etc.) and selects the longest match. Treat results as "patterns to investigate" rather than "definitive route."- Pattern type codes (
tkpatternusage) used byroute_patterns(kind=...)are stable across CUCM versions but enumerated against thetypepatternusagetable at query time, so any cluster-specific custom types still work.