Ansible training course description

The course focusses on the use of ansible for network devices instead of its usual server use case. The course progresses from the basics of ansible and playbooks onto using network specific modules including NAPALM. The use Jinja2 templating with ansible is also studied. Hands on sessions with ansible configuring routers and switches follow all major sections.

What will you learn

• Automate tasks with ansible.
• Write ansible playbooks.
• Configure network devices with ansible.
• Troubleshoot network devices with ansible.
• Use ansible network modules.
• Use jinja2 templates with ansible.

Ansible training course details

Ansible training course contents

• What is ansible?

The language, the engine, the framework. Uses of ansible, orchestration.
Hands on Installing ansible, enabling SSH on network devices.

• Ansible architecture

How ansible “normally” works, Agentless, SSH, ansible and Python, modules, how ansible work on network devices, Configuration management, inventories, playbooks, modules, ansible.cfg.
Hands on Getting started, running ad hoc commands.

• Playbooks

ansible-playbook, users, YAML, plays, tasks, modules. ansible-vault.
Hands on Running playbooks.

• More playbooks

Handlers, variables, environmental variables, playbook variables, inventory variables, variable scope and precedence, accessing variables, facts, ansible vault. Conditionals, wait_for.
Hands on Using variables and conditions in playbooks.

• Inventories

/etc/ansible/hosts, inventory variables, static inventories, dynamic inventories.
Hands on Inventories and variables.

• Ansible network modules

Built in modules, custom modules, return values. ansible-doc –l. connection: local, Cisco modules, Juniper module,
Hands on Using modules for your network devices.

• Ansible templatings

The template module, the assemble module, jinja2 templates, for, if else.
Hands on Configuring network devices from templates.

• Roles and includes

Dynamic includes, Handler includes, playbook includes. Roles, role parts: handlers, files, templates, cross platform roles, ansible galaxy.
Hands on includes example, building roles.

• Ansible and NAPALM

Installation, napalm-ansible, NAPALM modules: napalm_diff-yang, napalm_get_facts, napalm_install_config, napalm_parse_yang, napalm_ping, napalm_translate_yang, napalm_validate.
Hands on Using NAPALM modules in ansible.

Learning path

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