BGP Configuration On FRR Using Ansible Playbooks

Overview

This Ansible playbook is designed to configure BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) settings on network devices using the frr_bgp module. The playbook lets you define global BGP settings, configure neighbors, address family options, and manage network prefixes for FRR (Free Range Routing) devices.

The project leverages Ansible best practices, using a directory structure that separates host-specific variables (host_vars) and group-wide settings (group_vars) for easier management. Sensitive values are securely managed using Ansible Vault.

Project Structure

ansible/
├── playbooks/
│   └── bgp_configuration.yml  # The main playbook
├── host_vars/
│   ├── router1.yml            # Variables for Router 1
│   └── router2.yml            # Variables for Router 2 (if any)
└── group_vars/
    └── all.yml                # Global variables for all hosts

File Descriptions:

• playbooks/bgp_configuration.yml: Main playbook that applies the BGP configuration to the targeted routers.
• host_vars/: Directory containing variables for each router. This allows for device-specific configurations.
  • router1.yml: Defines BGP-specific variables for router1.
  • router2.yml: (Optional) Variables for an additional router.
• group_vars/all.yml: Contains global variables that apply to all routers, such as OSPF redistribution settings.
• README.md: Documentation file outlining the project and usage instructions.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Ansible 2.9+
• FRR (Free Range Routing) installed on the target devices
• Properly configured Ansible inventory and SSH access to the routers
• Ansible Vault for managing encrypted secrets

Installation

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/your_username/ansible-bgp-configuration.git
cd ansible-bgp-configuration

Running the Playbook

To run the playbook against the defined routers, use the following command:

ansible-playbook -i inventory.yml playbooks/bgp_configuration.yml

Securely Managing Sensitive Values

This project uses Ansible Vault to manage sensitive values such as BGP passwords. To create an encrypted value, use:

ansible-vault encrypt_string 'your_password' --name 'password'

Then replace the value in the host_vars file with the encrypted string:

password: !vault |
  $ANSIBLE_VAULT;1.1;AES256...

Author

Created by Ehsan Momeni Bashusqeh

Key Sections:

• Project Structure Overview: Detailed directory layout for easy navigation.
• Installation and Setup: Clear steps to configure and run the playbook.
• Usage of Tags: Information on selectively running parts of the playbook using tags.
• Variable Management: Guidance on managing variables using host_vars and group_vars.
• Secure Value Management: Explains using Ansible Vault to secure sensitive data.

This format should be comprehensive enough to serve as a solid foundation for your GitHub repository's documentation! Let me know if you need any other enhancements or customizations!