Ansible Automation Ansible for Network Automation

Question 1

What is the primary difference between Ansible's 'network_cli' and 'netconf' connection types for network devices?

Accepted Answer

network_cli connects via SSH and executes CLI commands; netconf connects via SSH port 830 using XML-based NETCONF protocol for structured data exchange

Answer

network_cli is for Cisco devices only; netconf works with all vendors

Answer

netconf is older and deprecated; network_cli is the modern replacement

Answer

They are identical but network_cli is faster due to persistent connections

Question 2

In Ansible network automation, why is 'ansible_network_os' an important inventory variable?

Accepted Answer

It tells Ansible which network OS modules and connection plugins to use, determining how commands are formatted and sent to the device

Answer

It specifies the version of the network operating system installed on the device

Answer

It selects which Python library to use for parsing network output

Answer

It determines which user account Ansible uses for authentication

Question 3

What does the 'cisco.ios.ios_command' module do and when should 'ios_config' be used instead?

Accepted Answer

ios_command runs show commands and captures output for analysis; ios_config is used to push configuration changes to the device

Answer

ios_command is for configuration; ios_config is for show commands

Answer

ios_command supports all IOS commands; ios_config only supports interface configuration

Answer

They are equivalent; the choice depends on personal preference

Question 4

What is a 'network facts module' in Ansible, and what information does 'ios_facts' typically return?

Accepted Answer

Facts modules gather structured device information (hostname, interfaces, routing, VLANS, version) and store it as Ansible variables

Answer

Facts modules return device hardware specifications only

Answer

Facts modules execute show commands and return raw text output

Answer

Facts modules generate configuration backup files from the device

Question 5

What is the 'ansible.netcommon.cli_parse' module used for in network automation?

Accepted Answer

It parses raw CLI output from network devices into structured data using templates (TextFSM, TTP, or NTC templates)

Answer

It validates CLI command syntax before sending to devices

Answer

It converts Ansible playbooks to vendor-specific CLI scripts

Answer

It parses YANG models from NETCONF devices

Question 6

How does Ansible handle network device privilege escalation (enable mode on Cisco IOS)?

Accepted Answer

Set 'ansible_become: true' and 'ansible_become_method: enable' in inventory; ansible_become_password holds the enable password

Answer

Use 'enable_mode: true' in the task definition

Answer

Configure 'privilege_mode: enable' in ansible.cfg under [network]

Answer

Network devices don't support privilege escalation in Ansible