Post on 29-Apr-2018
SEPTEMBER 25-27, 2017AUSTIN, TX AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTER
ACCELERATING
DIGITAL
BUSINESS
Network Automation and the Tools Available Today
About Me:CCIE RS #50117
Network Engineer - 12+ years
• Primary focus is the DC
Industry Experience:
• Service Provider
• Enterprise
• Government
• Medical
• Financial
Network automation and development - 2 years
RyanBoothAdvanced Solutions
Engineer
@ApstraInc
Overview
Technical look at the tools available to network engineers today to automate and
simplify the management of current infrastructure with the limitations in place today.
Main focus will be DC and Enterprise networks. Will also cover what areas of our
job can automate.
Overview cont…
• Areas of Automation
• Organization approach towards automation and tooling
• Tools
• Frameworks
• Vendor Solutions
Areas of Automation:
Broken down into several main categories.
• Automated deployment (ZTP, scale-out, Initial configuration, etc)
• Config management and add/change/move and validate
• Troubleshooting and visibility beyond manual CLI
approach
towards
automation and
toolingTurn-key solution(s) with little customization
• 3rd party applications
DIY using Frameworks and in-house development
• fully customized and tailored to your needs
Tools Available:
• Netmiko
• Napalm
• TextFSM
NetmikoWhat is it?:
• Open source multi-vendor Python library to simplify SSH connections to network devices
• Build on-top of Paramiko
• Supports all major networking vendor's OSes
Usage:
• Python scripts to collect data push basic changes
• Ansible modules for playbooks
• <code snip show supported methods or options>
Netmiko cont…
• Example Usage:
NapalmWhat is it?:
• Open source multi-vendor library used to manage and configure network devices
• advanced configuration management
• push / roll-back
• diff
• merge
• validate
• Supports all major networking vendor's OSes
Usage:
• Python scripts to collect data push basic changes
• Framework modules
Napalm cont…• Example Usage:
TextFSM
What is it?:
• Python module used to parse semi-formatted text such as CLI output into
structured data.
• Developed by Google and released for public use
(https://github.com/google/textfsm)
• template based state machine using regex to parse output
Usage:
• Manually collect and parse CLI output from network devices
TextFSM cont…• Example Usage:
Template
TextFSM cont…
• Example Usage:
Frameworks
• Ansible
• Salt
• StackStorm
AnsibleWhat is it?
• Open source automation platform
• Agentless
• Supports all major networking vendors
Usage:
• Configuration management
• Data Collection
• Task automation
Ansible cont…• Example Usage:
Ansible cont…
Salt
What is it?
• Open source automation platform
• Agentless
• Uses NAPALM for network modules
Usage:
• Configuration management
• Data Collection
• Task automation
Salt cont…
• Example Usage:
Topology file - /etc/salt/pillar/top.sls
Proxy file - /etc/salt/pillar/switch1.sls
Salt cont…• Example Usage:
Salt cont…• Example Commands:
StackStorm
What is it?
• Open source automation/orchastration platform
• Event-driven automation
• IFTTT (If This Then That)
Usage:
• Task and Event Automation
• Configuration auditing
• Auto-remediation
StackStorm cont…• Example Usage:
Config file - /opt/stackstorm/configs/napalm.yaml
StackStorm cont…
• Example Usage:
StackStorm cont…• Example Usage:
Vendor Solutions
• Apstra AOS
• Arista Cloud Vision Portal (CVP)
Apstra AOSWhat is it?
• Full network lifecycle automation
Continuous enforcement & validation of intent vs network state (closed-loop)
• Vendor-agnostic
Supports: Cisco NX-OS, Arista EOS, Cumulus OS and Snaproute
• Agent based
Usage:
• Automates network design, build, deploy and operate
• Zero Touch Provisioning (ZTP)
• Unique visibility into network state and deviations
Streaming telemetry
• Fully integrated API
Apstra cont…
Apstra cont…
Apstra cont…
Apstra cont…
Apstra API
Arista CVP
• What is it?
• Network device management
• Central control and visibility
• Arista devices only
• Usage:
• Zero Touch Provisioning (ZTP)
• Configuration and NOS management
• Policy enforcement
Arista cont…
Arista cont…
Most Importantly
• Just get started!
• Find what works best for your objectives and team
Apstra
• Interested and want to learn more?
• Email:
ryan@apstra.com
Apstra
• Interested and want to learn more?
• Email:
ryan@apstra.com
THANK YOU!Don’t forget to turn in your
survey at the door!
SEPTEMBER 25-27, 2017AUSTIN, TX AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTER
ACCELERATING
DIGITAL
BUSINESS