Hardware catalog handoff

What is ready

catalog-core provides the low-token search_hardware_catalog MCP tool for HPE Aruba Networking and HPE Juniper hardware. It searches a local SQLite index—no RAG embedding, vendor API call, or network access at query time.

Exact SKU/part-number aliases are case- and punctuation-insensitive.
Model/configuration queries return no more than five deterministic candidates.
Responses are compact by default; pass include_specs: true for normalized details.
Each result carries the official source URL, snapshot state, and lifecycle status when present.
ask_docs sends SKU/configuration-selection requests here, while broad hardware-specification questions continue through the existing docs route.

Use it

The Docker image builds the catalog automatically. For local development, build it once after checkout or after updating the seed:

uv run python scripts/build_hardware_catalog.py

Examples:

{"query": "CX 6300 PoE 48 port"}
{"query": "EX4400-48P", "include_specs": true}
{"query": "48 port PoE switch", "vendor": "juniper"}

In the recommended minimal router profile, discover it with find_tool and call it through invoke_read_tool. Default/direct router modes also expose the convenience wrapper directly.

Current boundary

The committed official-source seed is intentionally partial: 13 products and 28 aliases across selected Aruba CX, Juniper EX4400/EX4100, AP47, and Mist Edge examples. Every response declares that coverage state. It is usable now for fast SKU selection but must not be presented as the complete, current catalog.

The source policy is defined in ingestion/hardware_catalog_manifest.json: use official Aruba/HPE/Juniper sources only; retain a last verified snapshot and mark it stale if a source becomes unavailable—never substitute a reseller.

Where to continue

Expand ingestion/hardware_catalog_seed.json by official product family, starting with the remaining CX 6300/6200 SKUs, then switches, APs, gateways/routers, optics, power, and accessories.
Keep coverage as partial until the intended product families have a verified completeness policy.
Add lifecycle_status and lifecycle evidence where the official vendor source publishes it.
Rebuild the SQLite index and add a regression test for each new family or ambiguous model phrase.

Relevant implementation

src/hpe_networking_mcp/pipeline/clients/hardware_catalog.py — validation, SQLite/FTS build, ranking, response shape, and ask_docs classification.
src/hpe_networking_mcp/mcp_servers/catalog.py — standalone MCP tool.
src/hpe_networking_mcp/mcp_servers/tool_router.py — always-on backend and direct wrapper.
scripts/build_hardware_catalog.py — reproducible local build.
tests/unit/test_hardware_catalog.py — exact match, ranking, safety, and registration coverage.

Verification already completed

uv run ruff check src/hpe_networking_mcp/pipeline/clients/hardware_catalog.py \
  src/hpe_networking_mcp/mcp_servers/catalog.py \
  src/hpe_networking_mcp/mcp_servers/rag.py \
  src/hpe_networking_mcp/mcp_servers/tool_router.py \
  scripts/build_hardware_catalog.py tests/unit/test_hardware_catalog.py

uv run pytest tests/unit/test_hardware_catalog.py \
  tests/unit/test_rag_ask_docs.py \
  tests/unit/test_tool_router_backends.py \
  tests/unit/test_write_gate_enforcement.py -q