Table of Contents Link to heading
Simple Network Automations Link to heading
Reprieving Network Information Link to heading
A simple playbook to gather device facts and interface details:
- name: Collect device facts
hosts: all
gather_facts: no
tasks:
- name: Gather network facts
cisco.ios.ios_facts:
Run the playbook:
ansible-playbook get_facts.yml -i inventory.ini
Deploying VLANs Across Switches Link to heading
Instead of manually configuring VLANs on every switch, use Ansible:
- name: Configure VLANs
hosts: switches
tasks:
- name: Create VLAN
arista.eos.eos_vlan:
vlan_id: 100
name: Management_VLAN
state: present
Run the playbook:
ansible-playbook configure_vlan.yml -i inventory.ini
Backing Up Network Configurations Link to heading
Automate backups to ensure configurations are stored securely:
- name: Backup Router Configurations
hosts: routers
tasks:
- name: Save running config
cisco.ios.ios_command:
commands:
- show running-config
register: output
- name: Write to file
copy:
content: "{{ output.stdout_lines }}"
dest: "/backup/router_config_{{ inventory_hostname }}.txt"
Run the playbook:
ansible-playbook backup_configs.yml -i inventory.ini
Advanced Network Automations Link to heading
Automating Router Firmware Upgrades Link to heading
Keeping network devices updated with the latest firmware can be a tedious process. Here’s an Ansible playbook to automate this task across multiple routers:
- name: Upgrade Router Firmware
hosts: routers
tasks:
- name: Upload firmware file
cisco.ios.ios_command:
commands:
- copy tftp://192.168.1.100/cisco_fw.bin flash:cisco_fw.bin
- name: Verify firmware version
cisco.ios.ios_command:
commands:
- show version
register: firmware_output
- name: Display firmware version
debug:
msg: "{{ firmware_output.stdout_lines }}"
Run the playbook:
ansible-playbook upgrade_firmware.yml -i inventory.ini
Monitoring Network Performance Link to heading
Instead of logging into each network device manually, automate network health monitoring using Ansible:
- name: Monitor Network Devices
hosts: all
tasks:
- name: Check Interface Status
cisco.ios.ios_command:
commands:
- show ip interface brief
register: interfaces
- name: Display Interface Status
debug:
msg: "{{ interfaces.stdout_lines }}"
Run the playbook:
ansible-playbook monitor_network.yml -i inventory.ini
Automating Security Policy Deployment Link to heading
Manually updating Access Control Lists (ACLs) can introduce misconfigurations. This Ansible playbook ensures consistent firewall rule deployment:
- name: Apply Firewall Rules
hosts: firewalls
tasks:
- name: Configure ACL
cisco.ios.ios_acl:
name: BLOCK_EXTERNAL_ACCESS
entries:
- sequence: 10
action: deny
protocol: tcp
src: any
dest: 192.168.1.0/24
dport: 22
Run the playbook:
ansible-playbook firewall_rules.yml -i inventory.ini
Troubleshooting Network Issues Link to heading
Automate troubleshooting procedures with Ansible playbooks to quickly diagnose problems:
- name: Troubleshoot Network Devices
hosts: all
tasks:
- name: Check Routing Table
cisco.ios.ios_command:
commands:
- show ip route
register: routing_table
- name: Check CPU Utilisation
cisco.ios.ios_command:
commands:
- show processes cpu sorted
register: cpu_usage
- name: Display Troubleshooting Output
debug:
msg:
- "Routing Table: {{ routing_table.stdout_lines }}"
- "CPU Usage: {{ cpu_usage.stdout_lines }}"
Run the playbook:
ansible-playbook troubleshoot_network.yml -i inventory.ini
Automating Network Backup & Recovery Link to heading
Backup configurations regularly with Ansible, ensuring swift recovery in case of failures:
- name: Backup Network Configuration
hosts: routers
tasks:
- name: Retrieve Running Config
cisco.ios.ios_command:
commands:
- show running-config
register: running_config
- name: Store Config in Backup Directory
copy:
content: "{{ running_config.stdout_lines }}"
dest: "/backups/{{ inventory_hostname }}-config.txt"
Run the playbook:
ansible-playbook backup_configs.yml -i inventory.ini