Ansible for Network Engineers - Cisco IOS, Junos, Arista

Name: Ansible for Network Engineers - Cisco IOS, Junos, Arista
Rating: 4.3 (89 reviews)

A course to make you an expert in Network automation using Ansible: covers Cisco IOS, Juniper, and Arista devices.

Created byShahzad Qadir

Last updated 4/2024

English

English [Auto],

What you'll learn

Ansible automation for Cisco, Juniper, and Arista devices
Ansible Architecture, ad-hoc commands and Playbooks
More than 20 examples covering wide range of Ansible modules
Writing, executing and troubleshooting Ansible playbooks

Course content

9 sections • 31 lectures • 4h 32m total length

Course Introduction2:26
Set up Cisco, Juniper, and Arista topologies with Docker and Linux environments, then explore Ansible essentials and write scalable playbooks with variables and loops for upgrades and troubleshooting.

Setup GNS3 IOS Topology in less than 30 minutes15:36
In this lecture, I will show step by step how you can download and install GNS3 and GNS3 VM and setup our topology for Cisco IOS exercises.
Tips to run GNS3 smoothly ...0:53
Setup devices for Ansible7:06
In this lecture, we will configure Cisco devices so they can accept connection from Ansible host. We will configure domain name, generate SSH keys, create a username and configure VTY access.
Setup and configure Juniper topology13:49
In this lecture, we will setup Juniper devices so that they can accept SSH connection from Ansible host. We will enable SSH service and configure a username for this purpose.
Setup and configure Arista topology14:51
Set up an Arista topology for an Ansible lab by downloading images, configuring four switches, and enabling SSH with a dedicated user; verify connectivity from the Ansible controller.

Common Configuration Management Tools2:06
Ansible Architecture5:19
Explore Ansible architecture for network devices by using YAML playbooks, network modules, and inventory groups to push configurations, run commands, and display output with the debug module.
Ansible Host File12:14
Learn to manage an ansible inventory by editing the host file, mapping hostnames to IP addresses, grouping devices, and applying group_vars and ansible_user settings.
Ansible Config File1:44
Review the Ansible configuration file (ansible.cfg) to manage defaults, including locating the inventory file at /etc/ansible, changing inventory paths, and disabling host key checking to ignore banners.

ad hoc commands for Cisco IOS12:39
Explore Ansible ad hoc commands to quickly gather device information on Cisco IOS devices, troubleshoot, and plan upgrades, using inventories, the raw module, and show commands.
ad hoc commands for Juniper (Junos)15:06
Learn to use Ansible ad hoc commands to pull Juniper (Junos) device information across multiple routers, with inventory file, disabled SSH key checking, and outputs saved for analysis.

Add Static Routes, Redistribute and testing19:33
This playbook has 3 plays and it adds a static route, redistribute it into IGP and test connectivity within whole site.
Backup configs and setup system services8:04
ios_banner module to configure banners9:33
Secure network access using ACLs11:03
Use Ansible to create and apply an access list that restricts management access to network devices, permitting only the Ansible controller, saving changes, and validating connectivity.
Multi Area OSPF Configuration & Verification19:12

Enable netconf on Juniper devices3:04
Ansible playbooks use netconf to communicate to Juniper (Junos) devices. In this video we will observe what error message we get if netconf is not enabled on remote devices, then we will enable netconf and test again.
Backup device configurations5:51
Learn to back up Juniper Junos device configurations with Ansible by using the Junos command module, retrieving configs, and saving them as host-named files in a junos_config folder.
Setup static routing and test4:28
Configure BGP9:19
Learn to configure BGP with Ansible on Juniper devices, including setting the autonomous system, neighbors, and export policies, then verify connectivity with a practical playbook-driven workflow.

Using Ansible Loops6:43
Create Vlans on switches using loops8:25
Use ansible loops to create vlans on switches across sites with a switches group. Define vlan numbers and names in variables, push configurations, and verify output.
Variable scopes, simplify playbook by defining variables in files13:12
Define variables at global, group, play, and host scopes; move common variables to group vars under network, and host-specific overrides to host vars, simplifying playbooks and controlling facts gathering.
Use include for repetitive tasks3:22

Gather device info using eos_command9:29
Learn to gather device information from Arista devices using the eos_command module in Ansible, with a structured inventory and group vars, plus debug output.
Create vlans and SVIs using eos_config9:49
Use Ansible eos_config to create VLANs and SVIs on Arista EOS, leveraging group variables and host files, then apply, verify with show commands, and save changes.
Static routes with eos_static_route module4:54
Learn to configure multiple static routes on Arista devices with the eos_static_route Ansible module by looping through an IP list, setting next-hop, distance, and verifying with show commands.
Configure Layer 2 Ports as access or trunks7:20
Learn to configure layer 2 ports as access or trunk using Ansible, defining host variables and inventory, and applying a playbook to manage interfaces on Cisco IOS, Junos, and Arista.

Requirements

Basic understanding of Cisco, Juniper, and Arista commands.
NO programming experience is required.

Description

A complete course with 31 videos, covers full installation using GNS3 for Cisco, Juniper, Arista. Has about 20 example playbooks written & executed live while recording. You will go through so many examples that writing Ansible playbooks will become a second nature to you.

The purpose of this course is to not only get you started but make you an expert in network automation using Ansible. You will go through enough theory that you will understand how Ansible works and then we will start writing Ansible code to communicate with your network devices. The course is divided into following major parts:

Setup topologies: We will setup topologies in GNS3 for Cisco IOS, Juniper OS, and Arista EOS
Ansible Essentials: A discussion around common management tools and Ansible architecture
Ad hoc commands: You will learn how you can use ad hoc commands to pull quick device information and for troubleshooting
Playbooks for Cisco: 8 Playbooks, covering device backups, setting banner, static routing & route re-distribution, OSPF, BGP, and access control.
Playbooks for Junos: 5 Playbooks, covering device backups, setting up static routing, enable system services, setup logging
Advance Ansible Concepts: Ansible loops, Variable scopes, Use of include statement
Playbooks for Arista: 4 Playbooks, covering device info collection, create vlans & SVIs, static routing, and layer 2 port configurations

Select this course, IF

You are a network engineer and want to start working on automation - DevNet
You want to become more productive by doing repetitive tasks using automation
You are looking for a course that covers more than Cisco IOS - you will get exposure to Cisco, Juniper and Arista devices.

If you have time for only 1 course and you want to be confident in your Ansible skills then chose this one, I am sure you will not regret!

Who this course is for:

Anyone who is interested in learning network automation
Anyone interested in DevNet
Students interested in learning configuration management

Ansible for Network Engineers - Cisco IOS, Junos, Arista

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction1 lecture • 2min

Setup Topologies5 lectures • 52min

Ansible Essentials4 lectures • 21min

Ansible Adhoc Commands2 lectures • 28min

Playbooks for Cisco IOS - ios_command module2 lectures • 15min

Playbooks to configure network - Cisco IOS5 lectures • 1hr 7min

Playbooks for Junos4 lectures • 23min

More Ansible Concepts4 lectures • 32min

Playbooks for Arista Switches4 lectures • 32min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: