Arista Automation with Ansible

1. Introduction

Ansible is a powerful automation tool that is widely used for configuration management, application deployment, and task automation. Arista Networks, known for its cloud networking solutions, provides an extensive API that can be leveraged through Ansible for automating network configurations and management.

2. Key Concepts

Understanding the following key concepts is essential for efficiently using Ansible with Arista devices:

• Playbook: A YAML file that contains a list of tasks to be executed on managed hosts.
• Module: A reusable script that Ansible uses to perform tasks. Arista has specific modules for their devices.
• Inventory: A list of hosts that Ansible manages. This can be static or dynamic.
• Tasks: Individual actions that Ansible performs, defined within a playbook.

3. Prerequisites

Before starting with Arista automation using Ansible, ensure you have the following:

• Ansible installed on your control node.
• Access to Arista devices with appropriate credentials.
• Understanding of YAML and basic networking concepts.

4. Installation

To install the necessary Ansible packages for Arista automation, you can use the following command:

pip install ansible arista-ansible

5. Creating Ansible Playbooks

To automate tasks on Arista devices, you need to create a playbook. Below is a basic example that demonstrates how to configure an Arista switch:

---
- hosts: arista_switch
  gather_facts: no
  tasks:
    - name: Configure hostname
      arista.eos.eos_config:
        lines:
          - hostname MyAristaSwitch
    - name: Configure interface
      arista.eos.eos_config:
        lines:
          - interface Ethernet1
          - description Uplink to Core
          - no shutdown

In this example, the playbook connects to an Arista switch defined in your inventory file and configures the hostname and an interface.

6. Best Practices

When automating Arista devices with Ansible, consider the following best practices:

• Use version control for your playbooks and inventory files.
• Test playbooks in a lab environment before deploying in production.
• Document all changes and configurations for future reference.
• Utilize Ansible Vault to encrypt sensitive information such as passwords.

7. FAQ