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Describe Subnets operation

The Describe Subnets operation enables you to retrieve information about your subnets.

You can filter the results to return information only about those subnets that match the criteria that you specify. For example, you could get information only about those subnets whose state is available. Also, you can specify multiple values for the filter. For example, the subnet is in a particular virtual private cloud (VPC), and the state of the subnet is available. However, at least one of the specified values must match a subnet to obtain results.

The result includes information for a particular subnet only if it matches all the specified filters. If there is no match, no special message is returned; the response is empty.

You can use wildcard characters with the filters:

  • Use the asterisk (*) to match any number of characters.
  • Use the question mark (?) to match a single character.

To escape a special character or metacharacter that has a special meaning in searches, precede the special character with a backslash (\ ).

The following table shows the available filters.

Filter Name

Description

availability-zone

Specifies the Availability Zone in which the subnet resides

Valid value: Any string

available-ip-address-count

Specifies the number of IP addresses that are available in the subnet

Valid value: Any string

cidr

Specifies the Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) block of the subnet

The CIDR block that you specify must exactly match the CIDR block of the to obtain results. Include a forward slash followed by one or two digits (for example, /28) before the CIDR block.

Valid value: Any string

state

Specifies the state of the subnet

Valid values: pending, available

subnet-id

Specifies the ID of the subnet

Valid value: Any string

tag-key

Species the key assigned to a resource

The tag-key filter is independent of the tag-value filter.

To list all the resources assigned the Purpose tag key (regardless of the value of the tag), and the X tag value (regardless of the value of the tag key), specify:

tag-key=Purpose
tag-value=X

Valid value: Any string

tag-value

Specifies the value of the tag assigned to the resource

The tag-value filter is independent of the <tag-key> filter.

Valid value: Any string

tag:key

Filters the results based on a specific tag-value combination

To list the resources assigned the Purpose=X tag, specify:
name=tag:Purpose
value=X

To list the resources assigned the Purpose=X or Purpose=Y tag, specify:
name=tag:Purpose
value1=X
value2=Y

vpc-id

Specifies the ID of the VPC that the subnet is in

Valid value: Any string

The following figure shows a sample <items> XML element for the Describe Subnets operation. 

Sample <items> XML element for the Describe Subnets operation

<items>
 <item>
   <parameters>
     <subnet-set>
       <!--Zero or more repetition-->
       <item>
         <subnet-id></subnet-id>
       </item>
     </subnet-set>
     <!--Optional:-->
     <filter-set>
       <!--Zero or more repetition-->
       <item>
         <name></name>
         <value-set>
           <!--Zero or more repetition-->
           <item>
             <value></value>
           </item>
         </value-set>
       </item>
     </filter-set>
   </parameters>
 </item>
</items>

The following table describes the elements for this adapter request. 

Adapter request elements for the Describe Subnets operation

Element

Definition

Required

<wsdl-location>

Specifies the target Web Service Description Language (WSDL) URL for Amazon EC2

Examples:

Conditional:

  • Required if not specified in the configuration
  • If specified in the configuration and the request, the value in the request overrides the value in the configuration
<endpoint-address>

Specifies the web service endpoint for the adapter to use while performing operations on Amazon EC2 instances across different regions

Default value: US East region, http://us-east-1.ec2.amazonaws.com/

No

<signature-properties>

Specifies the mode for signing the adapter request

Conditional:

  • Required if not specified in the configuration
  • If mode is set to "key-files", requires <private-key-file> and <certificate-file>
  • If mode is set to "key-data", requires <private-key-data> and <certificate-data>
<operation-name>

Contains the name of the operation: describe-subnets

Yes

<parameters>

Contains the elements required to execute the operation

This element can be empty.

Yes

<subnet-set>

Contains the list of subnets

No

<item>

Contains information about an individual subnet

No

<subnet-id>

Specifies the ID of the subnet whose information you want to retrieve

No

<filter-set>

Specifies the details of the filter with the filterName and filterValue that are used to retrieve specific information about the subnet

No

The following figure shows a sample adapter request for the Describe Subnets operation using vpc-id as a filter. 

Sample adapter request for the Describe Subnets operation using vpc-id as a filter

<amazon-ec2-request>
   <wsdl-location>http://ec2.amazonaws.com/doc/2011-02-28/</wsdl-location>
   <endpoint-address>http://us-east-1.ec2.amazonaws.com/</endpoint-address>
   <signature-properties mode = "key-files">
       <private-key-file>C:\Security\
pk-MJ5GIUNLM2XJ3VRJSYTKOFDWILELDQHB.PEM</private-key-file>
       <certificate-file>C:\Security\
cert-MJ5GIUNLM2XJ3VRJSYTKOFDWILELDQHB.PEM</certificate-file>
   </signature-properties>
   <operation-name>describe-subnets</operation-name>
   <parameters>
     <subnet-set>
       <!--Zero or more repetition-->
       <item>
         <subnet-id>subnet-ab7b41c2</subnet-id>
       </item>
     </subnet-set>
     <!--Optional:-->
     <filter-set>
       <!--Zero or more repetition-->
       <item>
         <name>vpc-id</name>
         <value-set>
           <!--Zero or more repetition-->
           <item>
             <value>vpc-f87b4191</value>
           </item>
         </value-set>
       </item>
     </filter-set>
   </parameters>
</amazon-ec2-request>

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The following figure shows the response for the sample Describe Subnets operation using vpc-idas a filter.

Sample adapter response for the Describe Subnets operation using vpc-id as a filter

<amazon-ec2-response>
   <metadata>
       <status>success</status>
   </metadata>
   <DescribeSubnetsResponse>
       <requestId>edfd87f1-ca5e-4d5b-bd25-039cc1c36d45</requestId>
       <subnetSet>
           <item>
               <subnetId>subnet-ab7b41c2</subnetId>
               <state>available</state>
               <vpcId>vpc-f87b4191</vpcId>
               <cidrBlock>10.0.0.0/24</cidrBlock>
               <availableIpAddressCount>251</availableIpAddressCount>
               <availabilityZone>us-east-1a</availabilityZone>
           </item>
       </subnetSet>
   </DescribeSubnetsResponse>
</amazon-ec2-response>

The following figure shows a sample adapter request for the Describe Subnets operation using cidr as a filter.

Sample adapter request for the Describe Subnets operation using cidr as a filter

<amazon-ec2-request>
   <wsdl-location>http://ec2.amazonaws.com/doc/2011-02-28/</wsdl-location>
   <endpoint-address>http://us-east-1.ec2.amazonaws.com/</endpoint-address>
   <signature-properties mode = "key-files">
       <private-key-file>C:\Security\
pk-MJ5GIUNLM2XJ3VRJSYTKOFDWILELDQHB.PEM</private-key-file>
       <certificate-file>C:\Security\
cert-MJ5GIUNLM2XJ3VRJSYTKOFDWILELDQHB.PEM</certificate-file>
   </signature-properties>
   <operation-name>describe-subnets</operation-name>
   <parameters>
     <subnet-set/>
     <filter-set>
       <item>
         <name>cidr</name>
         <value-set>
           <item>
             <value>10.0.0.0/24</value>
           </item>
           <item>
             <value>10.0.0.0/22</value>
           </item>
         </value-set>
       </item>
     </filter-set>
   </parameters>
</amazon-ec2-request>

The following figure shows the response for the sample Describe VPCs operation using cidr as a filter.

Sample adapter response for the Describe Subnets operation using cidr as a filter

<amazon-ec2-response>
   <metadata>
       <status>success</status>
   </metadata>
   <DescribeSubnetsResponse>
       <requestId>0b42e898-4e65-4468-a9fa-d5cab83de314</requestId>
       <subnetSet>
           <item>
               <subnetId>subnet-ab7b41c2</subnetId>
               <state>available</state>
               <vpcId>vpc-f87b4191</vpcId>
               <cidrBlock>10.0.0.0/24</cidrBlock>
               <availableIpAddressCount>251</availableIpAddressCount>
               <availabilityZone>us-east-1a</availabilityZone>
           </item>
           <item>
               <subnetId>subnet-097f4560</subnetId>
               <state>available</state>
               <vpcId>vpc-317f4558</vpcId>
               <cidrBlock>10.0.0.0/22</cidrBlock>
               <availableIpAddressCount>1019</availableIpAddressCount>
               <availabilityZone>us-east-1c</availabilityZone>
           </item>
       </subnetSet>
   </DescribeSubnetsResponse>
</amazon-ec2-response>

The following figure shows a sample adapter request for the Describe VPCs operation using cidr, available-ip-address-count, state, and availability-zone as filters.

Sample adapter request for the Describe Subnets operation using cidr, available-ip-address-count, state, and availability-zone as filters

<amazon-ec2-request>
   <wsdl-location>http://ec2.amazonaws.com/doc/2011-02-28/</wsdl-location>
   <endpoint-address>http://us-east-1.ec2.amazonaws.com/</endpoint-address>
   <signature-properties mode = "key-files">
       <private-key-file>C:\Security\
pk-MJ5GIUNLM2XJ3VRJSYTKOFDWILELDQHB.PEM</private-key-file>
       <certificate-file>C:\Security\
cert-MJ5GIUNLM2XJ3VRJSYTKOFDWILELDQHB.PEM</certificate-file>
   </signature-properties>
   <operation-name>describe-vpcs</operation-name>
   <parameters>
     <subnet-set/>
     <filter-set>
       <item>
         <name>cidr</name>
         <value-set>
           <item>
             <value>10.0.0.0/24</value>
           </item>
         </value-set>
       </item>
       <item>
         <name>available-ip-address-count</name>
          <value-set>
           <item>
             <value>251</value>
           </item>
         </value-set>
       </item>
       <item>
         <name>state</name>
          <value-set>
           <item>
             <value>available</value>
           </item>
         </value-set>
       </item>
       <item>
         <name>availability-zone</name>
          <value-set>
           <item>
             <value>us-east-1a</value>
           </item>
         </value-set>
       </item>
     </filter-set>
   </parameters>
</amazon-ec2-request>

The following figure shows the response for the sample Describe VPCs operation using cidr, available-ip-address-count, state, and availability-zone as filters.

Sample adapter response for the Describe Subnets operation using cidr, available-ip-address-count, state, and availability-zone as filters

<amazon-ec2-response>
   <metadata>
       <status>success</status>
   </metadata>
   <DescribeSubnetsResponse>
       <requestId>f1b852ca-8371-4fc6-bcfe-dfc310b77f7d</requestId>
       <subnetSet>
           <item>
               <subnetId>subnet-ab7b41c2</subnetId>
               <state>available</state>
               <vpcId>vpc-f87b4191</vpcId>
               <cidrBlock>10.0.0.0/24</cidrBlock>
               <availableIpAddressCount>251</availableIpAddressCount>
               <availabilityZone>us-east-1a</availabilityZone>
           </item>
       </subnetSet>
   </DescribeSubnetsResponse>
</amazon-ec2-response>

 

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