Ansible for Network Automation Flashcards

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

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

'network_cli' is SSH-based CLI automation; 'netconf' provides structured YANG-modeled data access via the NETCONF protocol on supported devices.

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

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

'ansible_network_os' identifies the device OS type, enabling Ansible to use the correct connection plugin, modules, and command syntax for that platform.

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

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

'ios_command' is for operational/show commands to gather data; 'ios_config' is for making configuration changes in a structured, idempotent way.

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

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

Network facts modules parse device output into structured Ansible variables, enabling condition-based automation without manual text parsing.

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

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

'cli_parse' transforms unstructured CLI text output into structured data (lists/dicts) using parsing frameworks like TextFSM or TTP.

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

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

Network privilege escalation uses the 'become' system with 'become_method: enable', which sends the 'enable' command and password to enter privileged exec mode.