ansible network automation modules

Automation Gateway Using Automation Gateway with Ansibles Network Modules. Ansible is an automation language, as well as the name of its underlying automation engine.

You can run any command or configuration you want, at scale, in any order you want, on basically any platform available. The power of network automation with Ansible isn't running a simple command like show arp on one device, as we've done above. Jinja2 lets you apply logic, such as If, Else, End If, and even For Loops. But choosing a platform doesn't need to be confusing. A good example of this, and the next step in the BlueCat Address Manager Network Facts playbook, is to take the registered variable and create a nice (pretty) JSON file from the data. It is in INI format, which uses name = value syntax. Whether youre a Network Practitioner who is just starting the Network Automation journey, or youve been down this path for some time (and have the scars to prove it), youre probably aware of the fact that Ansible is a very popular network automation tool. But this extremely powerful module, which opens Ansible up to a Python-powered templating language, Jinja2, ended up with the silver medal. Depending on the platform, these modules go by a variety of different names. Filters, parsers and plugins can be used to extend its power. Cookie Preferences Continuing with the theme of variables, the ability to register data into a variable is slightly different than setting a one-time fact. Register has you covered. It was close. Itential Adds Automated Configuration for Multi-Cloud Networks, The Real Year of 5G: What it Means For Cloud Technology, US-Based Software and Network Automation Vendor Itential Appoints new Director for APAC Region. You can dynamically build the configurations of many devices and store them on a disk for later loading. This can often lead to confusion and false positive development issues. Sure, you can copy files, as seen in this example: But what I like to do with the copy module is create files from the variables the set_fact and register modules have created. Now that you have these 11 Ansible modules, I hope that you have a sense of the type of network automation and orchestration available to you. Part of: Using Ansible for network automation. New features tame network complexity, reduce costs, improve security, and automate DDI tasks to drive rapid innovation. Typically, I will get any given API CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) activity in Postman first to get it working. Also, I believe that digital information is the new oil and worth a lot. You can either provide it at playbook runtime to decrypt the strings orand this is the key to full automationyou can store the key inside a plain text file available to the playbook. For further reading, Ansibles guide on interacts with webservices, RedHats article on using Ansible to interact with web endpoints, are helpful. I also hope you find these Ansible modules useful, and that if you find more good stuff, that you share it with the rest of our networking community in Network VIP on Slack. Our example script uses the cli_command module to issue CLI commands to our test device, a Cisco 3560CX switch. ansible enrollment Windows and Linux platforms use the setup module while VMware has a variety of _info modules (guest_info, host_info, etc.). For example, you can get the networks from the BlueCat Address Manager REST API registered into a variable.

You can make sure device configurations are properly loaded and are consistent across many devices, with consistent quality of service or MPLS route target definitions. Ansible is great for network engineers. First, click on the 3 horizontal lines in the upper left corner and select API Documentation-2.0, Scroll down the new window until you see the section labelled Modules, Edit Module Parameters and input a JSON module that has the required hostname and default argument, as defined by the previous decoration, Specify the module name to execute, as it appears in the list: ios_facts, Click the Execute button and scroll down to look at the output, which can now be used via an API call through Automation Gateway. Complex tasks require users to incrementally learn more about Ansible's configuration, something network engineers are accustomed to doing. Why do seven in 10 enterprises struggle to realize the full value of the cloud? No agent is required on the network device. It controls Ansible's execution of the task to show the ARP table and display the output. On the left side, click on Ansible and youll see several categories, select Modules. Start my free, unlimited access. Default values are frequently the best choice, so this file may not be needed. But they all achieve the same end: Collecting stateful facts and information and returning the data as structured JSON. Any Linux command you can think of can be executed from inside your playbook. The Ansible modules that made my top three may come as a bit of a surprise to you. Regardless of the connection typebe it SSH, HTTPS, or WinRMthe playbook needs to authenticate with a set of credentials. Now that we understand decorating a module, we can run a module directly and see how it all works. This is usually added to the end of any playbooks that have altered the configuration of the device and when you need to save the changes to memory. Ansible vs. Terraform vs. Vagrant: What's the difference? These Ansible modules are also safe and the best entry point for enterprises and individuals to start their infrastructure-as-code automation journey. Without writing a playbook to leverage the module, we were able to run it directly from within Automation Gateway and get the facts about this Cisco ios device. Privacy Policy Today, there are over 60 network-specific modules available that cover all of the major network vendors. Configuration modules go a step further and enter the configuration terminal level (conf t) on the platform and issue configuration commands. Which is now in the Git repository and looks like this: And since I am partial to reading YAML, I also create another file using the | to_nice_yaml filter.

You can find out more about cookies and usage on our privacy policy page. I thought it could help us solve some particularly complex and large-scale problems. Pay close attention to this if you are new to Ansible. The most difficult decision I had to make was if the template module was my favorite module or not. A good example of this, and a non-disruptive yet highly valuable playbook, could be to perform a copy running-config startup-config command writing the memory. Ansible can do many more things. The example in this article will collect Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) table data so you can compare it with the scripts we used in our previous article, "Network automation with Python, Paramiko, Netmiko and NAPALM.". Using these simple Ansible modules, fully automated, fully scaled, real-time, network-state documentation can be stored in a real enterprise-grade source of truth. You can even check against Ciscos PSIRT REST API for security vulnerabilities. Here is a simple example using the ios_command module where I want to register the response into a variable. How to plan a hybrid conference room setup, Zoom, RingCentral, BlueJeans improve virtual whiteboards, How mobile firewalls protect against unique threat vectors, How to perform a full remote wipe on an Android device, How to perform a full remote wipe on an iPhone, The implications of blockchain in the chip shortage, Quantum computing market sees new partnerships, progress, Microsoft partner ecosystem revved up, riled by 2022 event, Recruiters look for range of qualities in MSP job candidates, Microsoft industry clouds hover over partner event. The worlds largest companies use our automation products to deliver services faster, simplify network change management, and maintain security with standardized configuration and compliance. Some basic logic and valid output file type formatting (be careful with your markdown, as its very strict) result in two files: the CSV and the markdown. For further reading, Ansibles guide on print statements during execution is helpful. Itential creates a default decoration for Ansible modules, so that they can be directly executed in the application, or even through an API. Conference rooms need to evolve as employees demand the same rich virtual meeting experience they have on desktop. Network pros can use it to perform basic network automation tasks, like collecting ARP table data. For example, get_configurations.yml returns an Address Manager entity for each configuration in Address Manager. This matters because all modernor, at the very least, next-generationinfrastructure comes equipped with a REST API. We tried to collect more comprehensive solutions and articles that would help you become proficient in Ansible, and figure out how to best use Ansible in your first production-grade network automation solution: The best way to get better with any tool is to learn from the masters, and David (one of the most popular speakers in the Network Automation course is an open-source network automation legend. Another resource includes Nick Russo's tutorial, "Automating Networks with Ansible the Right Way," which describes the process of maintaining MPLS configurations with Ansible. I chose this module because I firmly believe the future of IT and the backbone of infrastructure as code is the REST API. For further reading, Ansibles guides to run commands on remote devices running Cisco IOS and manage Cisco IOS configuration sections are helpful. The company already has a foothold Firewalls are an essential part of network security. I am using the Ansible filter | to_nice_json to achieve this. It also allows you to keep the logical complexity inside the templates in Pythonic syntax, which is easier to write and maintain than inside the Ansible playbook as YAML. Another reason Ansible has become widely used in network automation is that it doesnt require users to be programmers in order to start using existing Playbooks or building them from scratch. BlueCat has implemented a collection of RESTful get_ modules that achieve the same goals. Configuration templating is accomplished by combining Ansible with the Jinja2 templating language.

Network automation with Python, Paramiko, Netmiko and NAPALM, Automating Networks with Ansible the Right Way, How Advances in HCI Are Empowering the Next-Generation of Edge Computing. Once I have my API authentication, headers, and body working in Postman, I port over the code into the Ansible URI module to take that single request and automatically scale it up. For an easy way to get started with automation, use the above example to run several useful show commands across your network and store the output in files. If you read the documentation for this module, it may seem like copying a source file to a local or remote destination is all this module can do. ansible wolters automating Sign-up now. You can set facts from other facts or data retrieved from devices. It is very versatile in what it can encrypt. Ansible can run with a simple configuration, but that path leads to a jumble of different constructs. After all, this is supposed to be automation, right? GM Financials DevOps VP Matt McComas offers key lessons on taking a systemic approach, breaking process roadblocks, and measuring automation success. A good example is a host variable with its management IP address and hostname. My Cisco Services APIs Ansible Playbooks is an open-source package available on GitHub. For further reading, Ansibles guide on registering variables, as well as my BlueCat Address Manager Network Facts playbook on GitHub, are helpful. Ansible, Terraform and Vagrant are common infrastructure automation platforms with specific use cases, benefits and drawbacks. Device fact gathering is disabled -- i.e., gathering = explicit -- because it is intended for non-network devices. Its operation is controlled by easy-to-read configuration files and by command-line arguments. You can also see the status of the call (SUCCESS) and various other information that can be easily used programmatically. The device test_sw is a member of the groups IOS_switches and access. I like to print variables to the screen to check their contents. My particular use case is to encrypt my credentials so I can store them safely inside my Git repository. For our example, we will use the following directory and file structure: The ansible.cfg file contains Ansible's configuration. The BlueCat Ansible module extends Ansible to allow for command and configuration within the BlueCat platform. Ansible is easy to learn, which enables users to be productive quickly. There are many real-world examples available on GitHub and other places, my blog included. However, including the credentials in a variable file is much simpler for the demonstration below. Most networking-focused Ansible examples or blog posts focus on basic proof-of-concept examples. ansible playbook It is ideal for collecting and reporting information about the current network state. The BlueCat Ansible module includes a series of standalone playbooks.

This offers numerous advantages, including: Note: Its easy to try the latest Ansible automation platform for free. In that row, enter default, which tells the module to send us all of the default information about the device. It's hard to hire employees with technical experience and an MSP background, but recruiters who understand what motivates At Microsoft Inspire, industry-specific cloud offerings emerged as a key FY 2023 direction for the technology company and one in All Rights Reserved, A key component of infrastructure as code is the ability to work with variables. These names are simply text strings that will appear in the output. The recommended secure configuration uses either Ansible vaults or SSH keys, so the credentials are not kept in a plain-text file. If you are ever going to evolve and containerize your simple Ansible playbooks into full-fledged CI/CD in a fully automated pipeline, you will need to re-factor any vars_prompt credential handling. The ability to gather facts and informationyou may be wondering how this seemingly simple capability is higher on the list than configuration modules.

5 - name: "Task 1: Get output of show arp on IOS", 10 - name: "Task 2: Display stdout_lines[0]", 3 PLAY [Gather ARP data] ***************************************************, 5 TASK [Task 1: Get output of show arp on IOS] *****************************, 8 TASK [Task 2: Display stdout_lines[0]] ***********************************.

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