Custom datasource send/expect .before() issue .... empty data

I'm trying my hand at a custom datasource just to do a proof of concept. The part of it that generates instances is correct, and most of the code seems correct, I'm making a datapoint that is just the output, or thats the goal.

I'm using ssh and send and expect and the .before() as in the LM examples and my issue is that I KNOW my code is working and the prompts are working and etc, because when I add a touch command in there, I'm seeing the file appear on the serevr.

But for some reason the .before() command isnt grabbing anything. No data. But it SHOULD have captured the response to my real command I care about, which is an nslookup.

The code is short, I see all my values and println stuff coming back in the test window, and I see the "touch" command I slipped in there working on the server. But the cmd_output I've captured with .before() is empty.

Is there something fundamentally wrong I'm doing?

 

import com.santaba.agent.groovyapi.expect.Expect;
import com.santaba.agent.groovyapi.snmp.Snmp;
import com.santaba.agent.groovyapi.http.*;
import com.santaba.agent.groovyapi.jmx.*;
import org.xbill.DNS.*;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Arrays;

host = hostProps.get("system.hostname")
user = hostProps.get("ssh.user")
pass = hostProps.get("ssh.pass")
prompt = "^.+?>\\s+"

site = instanceProps.get("wildvalue")
wildvalue2 = instanceProps.get("wildvalue2")
ds_command = "nslookup $site\n"
 

//ssh into the device
cli=Expect.open(host, user, pass) //connect
cli.expect(prompt) //Waiting for prompt...

// send the command
println(ds_command);
cli.send(ds_command);
cli.expect(prompt);

//get everything from the first prompt to the second prompt
cmd_output = cli.before();

println("WHATGIVES1\n");
println(cmd_output);
cmd_output.eachLine {line ->
    println("moo\n");
}

println("WHATGIVES2\n");

cli.send("touch /tmp/abctouch444.txt\n");
cli.expect(prompt);

//exit session
cli.send("exit\n");

println(site);

return 0