Unlocking Faster Cisco Automation: An Interactive Approach with Ansible
Ansible has firmly established itself as a cornerstone of modern network automation. Its agentless architecture and human-readable YAML syntax have empowered network engineers to manage complex Cisco environments with code. However, for those accustomed to the immediate feedback of a command-line interface (CLI), the traditional ansible-playbook workflow can sometimes feel slow and cumbersome, especially for iterative development and troubleshooting.
The standard process—write a playbook, run it, check the results, edit the playbook, and run it again—is powerful for declarative, state-based configuration but lacks the interactivity needed for rapid, small-scale changes. This is where a more dynamic, session-based approach to Ansible can revolutionize your workflow, blending the power of automation with the immediacy of the CLI.
The Challenge: Bridging the Gap Between CLI and Playbooks
Network engineers often need to perform quick, exploratory tasks. This might involve running a series of show commands to diagnose an issue, applying a small configuration snippet across a handful of devices, or testing a new access control list (ACL) entry.
Using a full-fledged Ansible playbook for these tasks can introduce unnecessary overhead. The time spent writing, testing, and executing the playbook for a two-line change can feel inefficient compared to simply logging into the devices and typing the commands. This friction often leads engineers to revert to manual methods, undermining the goals of a consistent and automated infrastructure.
The core problem is the disconnect between the iterative nature of network troubleshooting and the batch-processing model of standard playbook execution. We need a method that offers the speed of the CLI while retaining the scalability and repeatability of Ansible.
Introducing a “Replay” Workflow for Interactive Automation
An interactive “replay” workflow is a powerful technique that transforms how you use Ansible for network tasks. Instead of writing a complete playbook from scratch, this method allows you to execute commands and tasks in an interactive session, capture them, and then “replay” them against other devices.
Think of it as a supercharged macro recorder for your network. You perform an action once on a single device, the system translates it into a structured Ansible task, and you can then instantly execute that same structured task across hundreds of devices defined in your inventory.
This approach fundamentally changes the development cycle:
- Initiate an Interactive Session: You start a session with a target device, similar to an SSH session but within the Ansible framework.
- Execute and Capture Tasks: As you run commands (e.g.,
show versionorconfigure terminalcommands), the tooling automatically captures these actions and converts them into corresponding Ansible module calls (likeios_commandorios_config). - Refine and Edit: The captured sequence of tasks can be easily viewed, edited, and reordered. This allows you to perfect the logic before deploying it more broadly.
- Replay at Scale: Once you are satisfied with the captured task list, you can replay it against any host or group in your Ansible inventory.
Key Benefits of an Interactive Ansible Workflow
Adopting this session-based model offers significant advantages for network teams managing Cisco infrastructure.
- Drastically Increased Speed and Efficiency: This is the most significant benefit. For quick changes or diagnostic checks, a replay workflow is orders of magnitude faster than writing, linting, and running a traditional playbook. It brings the interactive feel of the CLI directly into your automation environment.
- Lower Barrier to Entry: Network engineers who are highly skilled in the Cisco CLI but new to automation can become productive almost immediately. They can use the commands they already know while the framework handles the translation to Ansible tasks, helping them learn in a practical, hands-on way.
- Rapid Prototyping and Debugging: When developing a complex automation task, you can use an interactive session to test individual steps. This allows you to quickly validate logic, check device output, and debug issues without waiting for a full playbook run to complete or fail.
- Enhanced Consistency and Standardization: By capturing a successful series of steps and saving it as a “replay” file, you create a standardized, reusable template. This ensures that the exact same commands, in the exact same order, are applied every time, eliminating the risk of human error from manual configuration.
Security and Operational Best Practices
While an interactive workflow boosts speed, it’s crucial to adhere to security and operational best practices to prevent unintended consequences.
- Always Use Ansible Vault for Credentials: Never store SSH keys, passwords, or enable secrets in plain text. Leverage Ansible Vault to encrypt all sensitive data to ensure your automation framework remains secure.
- Leverage Check Mode First: Before replaying a captured session that makes configuration changes, always run it in “check mode” (
--check). This allows you to perform a dry run to see exactly what changes Ansible would make without actually applying them to the devices. - Embrace Idempotency: Strive to use Ansible modules that are idempotent. This means the task can be run multiple times, but the change will only be applied if the device is not already in the desired state. This prevents configuration drift and ensures predictable outcomes.
- Version Control Your Replays: Treat your saved replay files like code. Store them in a version control system like Git. This provides a full history of changes, enables collaboration among team members, and allows you to roll back to a previous version if needed.
By integrating these practices, you can create a workflow that is not only fast and efficient but also secure, reliable, and auditable. This interactive, session-based approach represents a powerful evolution in network automation, making Ansible an even more indispensable tool for managing modern Cisco networks.
Source: https://feedpress.me/link/4298/17155456/32218-russia-has-stolen-11000-children-this-year
