README.md

netbox-ansible-cisco-cc

A simple NetBox integration that enables Ansible to automate devices managed by a Cisco Catalyst Center Controller.

This solution was presented by Rich Bibby at Cisco Live Amsterdam 2024 in the Cisco U. Theater. Session ID CISCOU-1014 Integrating Cisco Catalyst Center with NetBox as Part of a Modern Network Automation Solution

Integration Overview

The four main elements of the integration are as follows:

1. The NetBox data model is extended by adding two Custom Fields to the devices model:

• Custom Field 1 is called cisco_catalyst_center, and is a Selection type field that maps to the hostname of the Cisco Catalyst Center controller:

  

  The Custom Field makes use of a Choice Set called Cisco Catalyst Center Hosts which is a drop-down menu of available Catalyst Center hosts:

  

• Custom Field 2 is called ccc_device_id, and is a Text type field that maps to the device UUID in the Cisco Catalyst Center controller

  

2. Devices managed by the Cisco Catalyst Center are added to NetBox and the device data includes the custom field values:

   

3. The NetBox Inventory Plugin for Ansible is used to dynamically generate the inventory from NetBox to be used in the Ansible playbook:

   # ansible.cfg
   
   [defaults]
   inventory = ./netbox_inv.yml
   

   # netbox_inv.yml
   
   plugin: netbox.netbox.nb_inventory
   validate_certs: False
   group_by: 
    - device_roles
    - sites
   

4. The Ansible playbooks target hosts based on the device_roles as defined in NetBox and pulled from the dynamic inventory. They contain a set_facts task to map the values of the ccc_device_id and cisco_catalyst_center custom fields to the devices, so they can be used in later tasks per inventory device:

   ---
   - name: Get Device Details From Cisco Catalyst Center
     hosts: device_roles_distribution, device_roles_access
   

   tasks:
       - name: Set Custom Fields as Facts for Cisco Catalyst Center host and Device UUID
       set_fact:
           cisco_catalyst_center: "{{ hostvars[inventory_hostname].custom_fields['cisco_catalyst_center'] }}"
           ccc_device_id: "{{ hostvars[inventory_hostname].custom_fields['ccc_device_id'] }}"
   

   - name: Get Device Details
     uri:
       url: "https://{{ cisco_catalyst_center }}/dna/intent/api/v1/network-device/{{ ccc_device_id }}"
       method: GET
       return_content: yes
       validate_certs: no
       headers:
         Content-Type: "application/json"
         x-auth-token: "{{ login_response.json['Token'] }}"
     register: device_details
     delegate_to: localhost
   

Getting Started with the Ansible Playbooks

1. Clone the Git repo and change into the netbox-ansible-cisco-cc directory:

   git clone https://github.com/netboxlabs/netbox-learning.git
   cd netbox-learning/netbox-ansible-cisco-cc
   

2. Create and activate Python 3 virtual environment:

   python3 -m venv ./venv
   source venv/bin/activate
   

3. Install required Python packages:

   pip install -r requirements.txt
   

4. Set environment variables for the NetBox API token and URL:

   export NETBOX_API=<YOUR_NETBOX_URL> (note - must include http:// or https://) 
   export NETBOX_TOKEN=<YOUR_NETBOX_API_TOKEN>
   

5. List the devices and host variables retrieved from NetBox using the dynamic inventory:

   ansible-inventory -i netbox_inv.yml --list
   

6. Note how the Custom Fields ccc_device_id and cisco_catalyst_center and their values are retrieved for each device:

   "sw4": {
       "ansible_host": "10.10.20.178",
       "custom_fields": {
           "ccc_device_id": "826bc2f3-bf3f-465b-ad2e-e5701ff7a46c",
           "cisco_catalyst_center": "sandboxdnac.cisco.com"
       },
   

7. Run a playbook making sure to specify the NetBox dynamic inventory with the -i flag. For example:

   ansible-playbook -i netbox_inv.yml get_device_details.yml
   

8. When you have finished working you can deactivate the Python virtual environment:

   deactivate
   

References

• NetBox Offical Docs
• NetBox Inventory Plugin for Ansible
• Cisco Catalyst Center API Docs