Network automation

Just like computers, Ansible can be used to automate the management of network devices if they run some kind of remote service, preferably SSH. In this section, we are going to explore some use cases on CISCO network devices. We will look at various tasks that are time-consuming when done manually.

Use case 1 – automated patching of network devices

We are going to follow the recommended method for upgrading a network device. We need to make sure that we back up both the running and startup configuration. We will then start patching one device at a time using the serial option:

---
- name: Patch CISCO network devices 
  hosts: ciscoswitches
  remote_user: admin
  strategy: debug
  connection: ssh
  serial...