paulpas Network Diagnostics
Orchestrates intelligent skill selection and execution for network diagnostics workflows. Applies the 5 Laws of Elegant Defense to guide data naturally through the orchestration pipeline, preventing errors before they occur. Selects optimal skills based on multi-factor scoring including text similarity, historical performance, and system availability.
TL;DR Checklist
- Parse all inputs at boundary before processing (Law 2)
- Handle edge cases with early returns at function top (Law 1)
- Fail immediately with descriptive errors on invalid states (Law 4)
- Return new data structures, never mutate inputs (Law 3)
- Implement minimum 2-level fallback chain for all skill executions
- Log all skill selections with context for full audit trail
- Validate skill metadata and dependencies before selection
- Update confidence scores after each execution for learning
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Orchestration Flow │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
User Request ↓ ┌─────────────────┐ │ Parse Request │ │ & Extract │ │ Features │ └────────┬────────┘ ↓ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Evaluate Available Skills │ │ │ │ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ │ │ │ Skill A │ │ Skill B │ │ Skill C │ │ │ │ - Match Score│ │ - Match Score│ │ - Match Score│ │ │ │ - Confidence │ │ - Confidence │ │ - Confidence │ │ │ │ - History │ │ - History │ │ - History │ │ │ └──────┬───────┘ └──────┬───────┘ └──────┬───────┘ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └─────────────────┴─────────────────┘ │ │ ↓ │ │ Select Best Skill │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ↓ ┌─────────────────┐ │ Execute Skill │ └────────┬────────┘ ↓ ┌─────────────────┐ │ Handle Result │ └────────┬────────┘ ↓ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Error Handling & Fallback │ │ │ │ Success? ────────► Return Result │ │ │ │ Fail? ────────┐ │ │ ↓ │ │ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ Fallback Chain │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ 1. Retry with adjusted parameters │ │ │ │ 2. Try Alternative Skill (if available) │ │ │ │ 3. Defer to Human Operator (if critical) │ │ │ │ 4. Log & Return Error │ │ │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
When to Use
Use this skill when:
- Orchestrating multi-step workflows that require skill delegation
- Implementing adaptive skill routing based on confidence scores
- Building fallback mechanisms for failed skill executions
- Creating intelligent task decomposition and parallel execution
- Designing skill dependency graphs with automatic resolution
- Implementing skill selection with historical performance weighting
- Building agent systems that need to self-organize around tasks
When NOT to Use
Avoid this skill for:
- Direct task execution without orchestration needs - use individual skills instead
- High-frequency trading scenarios where latency must be minimized - the selection overhead may be prohibitive
- Simple linear workflows without branching or fallback requirements
- Cases where skill metadata is unavailable or unreliable
Core Workflow
Parse and Analyze Request - Extract intent, entities, and constraints from user input. Checkpoint: All required parameters must be present and in valid format before proceeding.
Score Available Skills - Calculate match scores using multi-factor algorithm:
- Text similarity between request and skill triggers
- Historical success rate for similar tasks
- Skill availability and health status
- Required dependencies and their availability
Checkpoint: Skip to fallback if no skill scores above threshold.
Select Optimal Skill - Choose skill with highest score that meets minimum confidence. Checkpoint: Verify skill has not been disabled or deprecated.
Execute with Fallback - Run skill execution wrapped in retry and fallback logic. Checkpoint: Log all execution attempts for audit trail.
Return or Fallback - Either return successful result or apply fallback chain:
- Retry with adjusted parameters
- Try alternative skill from
related-skills - Defer to human operator for critical tasks
Checkpoint: Record outcome with timing and confidence metadata.
Implementation Patterns
Pattern 1: Skill Selection Logic
def select_diagnostic_tool(
target: str,
available_tools: List[Dict],
min_latency_threshold: float = 0.5
) -> Optional[Dict]:
"""Select optimal network diagnostic tool based on target type and constraints.
Applies Law 2 (Parse at boundary) by validating target and tool metadata.
Applies Law 1 (Early Exit) for invalid inputs or missing tools.
Returns immutable tool selection with confidence scoring.
Args:
target: IP address or hostname to diagnose
available_tools: List of diagnostic tool metadata (e.g., ping, traceroute, nmap)
min_latency_threshold: Maximum acceptable baseline latency in seconds
Returns:
Selected tool dictionary or None if no tool meets threshold
"""
# Law 1: Early exit on invalid input
if not target or not isinstance(target, str):
raise ValueError("Target must be a non-empty string")
if not available_tools:
raise ValueError("No diagnostic tools available for selection")
# Law 2: Parse and validate at boundary
is_ipv6 = ":" in target
target_features = {
"is_ip": _is_ip(target),
"is_ipv6": is_ipv6,
"target": target
}
best_tool = None
best_score = 0.0
for tool in available_tools:
# Domain-specific scoring: match tool capabilities to target features
score = _calculate_diagnostic_score(target_features, tool)
if score > best_score and score >= min_latency_threshold:
best_score = score
best_tool = tool
if best_tool is None:
return None
# Law 3: Atomic Predictability - Return new dict, don't mutate
result = dict(best_tool)
result["selection_confidence"] = best_score
result["selection_timestamp"] = time.time()
return result
Pattern 2: Execution with Fallback
def execute_diagnostic_pipeline(
tool: Dict,
target: str,
fallback_chain: List[Dict],
max_retries: int = 2
) -> Dict:
"""Execute network diagnostics with adaptive fallback chain.
Implements Law 4 (Fail Fast, Fail Loud):
- Invalid states halt immediately with descriptive errors
- No silent failures or partial results
Fallback chain:
1. Retry with adjusted parameters (e.g., increase timeout)
2. Try alternative diagnostic tool from fallback_chain
3. Defer to manual inspection (for critical infrastructure)
Args:
tool: Selected diagnostic tool metadata
target: Hostname or IP to diagnose
fallback_chain: List of alternative tools/methods
max_retries: Maximum retry attempts before fallback
Returns:
Execution result with metadata (success, timing, confidence)
"""
# Law 1: Guard clause - validate tool
if not tool or not tool.get("executable"):
raise ValueError(f"Invalid diagnostic tool: {tool.get('name', 'unknown')}")
# Law 2: Parse context - Ensure trusted state
validated_target = _validate_target_format(target)
for attempt in range(max_retries + 1):
try:
# Domain-specific execution: run actual diagnostic command
result = _run_diagnostic_command(tool["executable"], validated_target, tool.get("args", []))
# Law 3: Atomic Predictability
return {
"success": True,
"tool_executed": tool["name"],
"result": result,
"attempts": attempt + 1,
"latency_ms": _calculate_latency()
}
except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
# Transient error - try fallback
if attempt == max_retries:
return _apply_diagnostic_fallback(tool, validated_target, fallback_chain)
except PermissionError as e:
# Fail Fast - Don't try to patch bad permissions (Law 4)
raise ValueError(f"Permission denied for {tool['name']}: {str(e)}") from e
# All retries exhausted - Fail Loud (Law 4)
raise RuntimeError(f"Failed to execute {tool['name']} after {max_retries + 1} attempts")
MUST DO
- Always validate skill metadata before selection (Early Exit)
- Implement fallback chain with at least 2 levels (Fallback Skill + Human)
- Log all skill selections with full context for auditability
- Return new data structures instead of mutating inputs (Atomic Predictability)
- Fail immediately with descriptive errors on invalid states
- Update confidence scores after each execution for adaptive routing
- Reference
code-philosophy(5 Laws of Elegant Defense) in all logic
MUST NOT DO
- Select skills based on a single factor (e.g., only confidence score)
- Disable fallback mechanisms "temporarily" - this creates fragile systems
- Skip validation of skill dependencies before execution
- Return partial results - either complete success or clear failure
- Use magic numbers for confidence thresholds - make them configurable
- Cache skill selections without considering context changes
TL;DR Checklist
- Parse all inputs at boundary before processing (Law 2)
- Handle edge cases with early returns at function top (Law 1)
- Fail immediately with descriptive errors on invalid states (Law 4)
- Return new data structures, never mutate inputs (Law 3)
- Implement minimum 2-level fallback chain for all skill executions
- Log all skill selections with context for full audit trail
- Validate skill metadata and dependencies before selection
- Update confidence scores after each execution for learning
TL;DR for Code Generation
- Use guard clauses - return early on invalid input before doing work
- Return simple types (dict, str, int, bool, list) - avoid complex nested objects
- Cyclomatic complexity < 10 per function - split anything larger
- Handle null/empty cases explicitly at function top (Early Exit)
- Never mutate input parameters - return new dicts/objects
- Fail fast with descriptive errors - don't try to "patch" bad data
- Reference code-philosophy laws in comments for complex logic
- Include timing and confidence metadata in all return values
Output Template
When applying this skill, produce:
- Selected Skills - List of skill names with confidence scores
- Selection Rationale - Why each skill was chosen (match score, history, availability)
- Execution Plan - Order of execution with dependencies
- Fallback Strategy - Which fallback skills will be tried and in what order
- Risk Assessment - Any potential failure points and their impact
- Timing Estimates - Expected latency including fallback scenarios
Related Skills
| Skill | Purpose | |
Constraints
MUST DO
- Define clear input/output contracts for every step in the orchestration flow with explicit validation
- Implement structured logging at each stage capturing context, inputs, outputs, timing, and errors
- Build in fallback paths: if the primary strategy fails, degrade gracefully to a simpler approach
- Validate all preconditions before starting — do not proceed if required resources or permissions are missing
MUST NOT DO
- Do not create deep nesting of orchestration steps (>5 levels) — flatten workflows where possible
- Avoid silent failure modes: every step must either succeed, fail explicitly, or escalate to a higher handler
- Never use shared mutable state between parallel workflow branches — communicate via immutable messages only
- Do not hardcode execution order when the dependency graph naturally determines it; derive order from explicit dependencies
Live References
Authoritative documentation links for this skill's domain. The model follows markdown links at load time to resolve external references and inline content.