Ansible Modules for Network Automation

And even get structured data back from CLI devices!

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Requirements

• netmiko
• TextFSM (https://code.google.com/p/textfsm/)
• terminal

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Modules

• ntc_show_command - gets config data from devices that don't have an api
• ntc_config_command - writes config data to devices that don't have an api

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ntc_show_command

Gets config data from devices that don't have an API

• Synopsis
• platform Naming Convention
• Options
• Examples

Synopsis

This module offers structured data for CLI enabled devices by using the TextFSM library for templating and netmiko for SSH connectivity.

platform Naming Convention

The platform parameter given to the modules should be of the form:<netmiko_device_type>[-<hardware_type>]. In plain English, that means it should start with a supported netmiko device type, followed by an optional hyphen and arbitrary hardware specific identifier.

Valid platform names:

cisco_ios-c3k
cisco_ios-c6k
cisco_ios
cisco_nxos
hp_comware

Invalid platform names:

cisco-ios-c3k
csco_ios
hp-comware_5900

Options

Parameter	required	default	choices	comments
username	no			Username used to login to the target device
platform	yes	ssh		Platform FROM the index file
template_dir	no	ntc_templates		path where TextFSM templates are stored. Default path is ntc with ntc in the same working dir as the playbook being run
host	no			IP Address or hostname (resolvable by Ansible control host)
connection	no	ssh	ssh offline	connect to device using netmiko or read from offline file for testing
command	yes			Command to execute on target device
file	no			If using connection=offline, this is the file (with path) of a file that contains raw text output, i.e. 'show command' and then the contents of the file will be rendered with the the TextFSM template
password	no			Password used to login to the target device
index_file	no	index		name of index file. file location must be relative to the template_dir
port	no	22		specify an alternative ssh port
delay	no	1		wait for command output from a target device

Examples

# get vlan data
- ntc_show_command:
    connection=ssh
    platform=cisco_nxos
    command='show vlan'
    host={{ inventory_hostname }}
    username={{ username }}
    password={{ password }}

ntc_config_command

Writes config data to devices that don't have an API

• Synopsis
• Options
• Examples

ntc_config_synopsis

This module writes configuration data to non-API enabled devices, via CLI, using netmiko for SSH connectivity.

ntc_config_options

Parameter	Required	Default	Choices	Comments
username	no			Username used to login to the target device
password	no			Password used to login to the target device
secret	no			Specify the administrative password to allow ntc_config_command to make changes. On cisco devices, this is the equivalent to the enable password.
connection	no	ssh	ssh	Connect to device using netmiko
port	no	22		Specify the port for netmiko to SSH to. The default is 22.
platform	yes			Required by netmiko in order to use the proper connection module for the type of device. It follows the same naming scheme as the ntc_show_command
host	yes			IP Address or hostname (resolvable by Ansible control host)
commands	no			Commands should be in a list format. config t isn't needed, as netmiko will automatically enter config mode to execute commands
commands_file	no			the commands_file option can be very useful if you generate commands based upon the results of a ntc_show_command play.

ntc_config_examples

Example using the commands option

# write vlan data
- ntc_config_command:
    connection: ssh
    platform: cisco_ios
    commands:
      - vlan 10
      - name vlan_10
      - end
    host: "{{ inventory_hostname }}"
    username: "{{ username }}"
    password: "{{ password }}"
    secret: "{{ secret }}"

Example using the commands_file option

# write config from file
- ntc_config_command:
    connection: ssh
    platform: cisco_ios
    commands_file: "dynamically_created_config.txt"
    host: "{{ inventory_hostname }}"
    username: "{{ username }}"
    password: "{{ password }}"
    secret: "{{ secret }}"

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Created by Network to Code, LLC For: 2015