Can I Use Ansible with Cisco CML 2 for Network Automation?

Author: Selene Gong

Yes, you can effectively use Ansible with Cisco CML 2 for comprehensive Cisco Modeling Labs automation. This integration allows network engineers and IT administrators to automate the deployment, configuration, and management of virtual network topologies, improving consistency, speed, and testing efficiency in a cost-effective virtual environment.

What Is Cisco CML 2?

Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) enables network engineers to build and run complex network topologies for testing and learning in a virtual environment. It allows you to spin up topologies multiple times without interference from previous tests and can integrate with your home, office, or data center IP addressing to extend connectivity to CML nodes for external tools and automated testing.

Why Should You Use Ansible for Network Automation?

Ansible is a widely used open-source automation tool that supports Infrastructure as Code (IaC) practices, allowing you to define, control, and manage network infrastructure using structured text files.

Using Ansible for network automation provides:

Reproducibility for consistent deployments
Configuration consistency across devices
Speed in deploying and updating configurations
Approval and testing pipelines for verifying changes before deployment

Ansible complements tools like Terraform by managing ongoing device configurations within infrastructure environments created by tools like Cisco CML.

How Does Ansible Integrate with Cisco CML 2?

What Is the Ansible CML Collection?

The Ansible CML Collection extends Ansible’s capabilities to Cisco Modeling Labs by providing modules for:

Creating and managing topologies
Starting and stopping topologies and hosts
Managing lab resources dynamically

How Does the Dynamic Inventory Plugin Work?

The collection includes a dynamic inventory plugin that:

Retrieves topology details (hostname, interfaces, IPs)
Assigns ansible_host using the first available IP address or via PATty functionality
Processes tags to add devices to Ansible groups automatically
Supports group_tags to structure device management within your playbooks

How Do You Set Up Ansible with Cisco CML 2?

Install the Ansible CML Collection:

ansible-galaxy collection install cisco.cml

Set environment variables for CML access:

export CML_HOST=my-cml-server
export CML_USERNAME=my-username
export CML_PASSWORD=my-password

Create a cml.yml inventory file:

plugin: cisco.cml.cml_inventory
group_tags: network, ios, nxos, router

Build and start topologies using:

ansible-playbook cisco.cml.build -e wait=yes -e cml_lab_file=topology.yaml

Retrieve inventory with:
```
ansible-playbook cisco.cml.inventory
```

What Are the Benefits of Using Ansible with Cisco CML 2?

Pre-deployment validation in a virtual environment
Automated testing pipelines for network changes
Consistent lab setup for learning and development
Infrastructure as Code (IaC) practices applied to network management
Efficient management of multiple Cisco OS platforms (IOS XE, NX-OS) within CML

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1.What is the Cisco CML Collection in Ansible?
It is a set of Ansible modules and plugins that allow automated deployment, management, and dynamic inventory management of Cisco Modeling Labs environments.

Q2.How does the dynamic inventory plugin help in CML 2?
It dynamically retrieves device information from your running CML lab, enabling Ansible to manage devices automatically by providing IP addresses, ports, and grouping devices for playbooks.

Q3.Can Ansible configure Cisco IOS XE and NX-OS devices in CML?
Yes, Ansible can manage both IOS XE and NX-OS devices using the appropriate modules while handling platform-specific differences within your playbooks.

Q4.What are the main use cases for Ansible with CML 2?
Use cases include automating device configurations, testing network changes before production deployment, and learning network automation practices in a controlled environment.

Using Ansible with Cisco CML 2 is like using an automated workflow to design, build, and maintain your virtual network environments consistently and efficiently, ensuring your automation practices are production-ready while reducing manual overhead.

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