Netconf enabled Platform Options
Netconf enabled Platform Options
This page offers details on how the netconf connection works in Ansible and how to use it.
Connections Available
NETCONF all modules except | |
---|---|
Protocol | XML over SSH |
Credentials |
uses SSH keys / SSH-agent if present accepts |
Indirect Access | via a bastion (jump host) |
Connection Settings | ansible_connection: netconf
|
For legacy playbooks, Ansible still supports ansible_connection=local
for the netconf_config module only. We recommend modernizing to use ansible_connection=netconf
as soon as possible.
Using NETCONF in Ansible
Enabling NETCONF
Before you can use NETCONF to connect to a switch, you must:
- install the
ncclient
Python package on your control node(s) withpip install ncclient
- enable NETCONF on the Junos OS device(s)
To enable NETCONF on a new switch via Ansible, use the platform specific module via the CLI connection or set it manually. For example set up your platform-level variables just like in the CLI example above, then run a playbook task like this:
- name: Enable NETCONF
connection: network_cli
junos_netconf:
when: ansible_network_os == 'junos'
Once NETCONF is enabled, change your variables to use the NETCONF connection.
Example NETCONF inventory [junos:vars]
[junos:vars]
ansible_connection=netconf
ansible_network_os=junos
ansible_user=myuser
ansible_password=!vault |
Example NETCONF Task
- name: Backup current switch config
netconf_config:
backup: yes
register: backup_junos_location
Example NETCONF Task with configurable variables
- name: configure interface while providing different private key file path
netconf_config:
backup: yes
register: backup_junos_location
vars:
ansible_private_key_file: /home/admin/.ssh/newprivatekeyfile
Note: For netconf connection plugin configurable variables see netconf.
Bastion/Jumphost Configuration
To use a jump host to connect to a NETCONF enabled device you must set the ANSIBLE_NETCONF_SSH_CONFIG
environment variable.
ANSIBLE_NETCONF_SSH_CONFIG can be set to either:
- ;* 1 or TRUE (to trigger the use of the default SSH config file ~/.ssh/config)
- The absolute path to a custom SSH config file.
The SSH config file should look something like:
Host *
proxycommand ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -W %h:%p [email protected]
StrictHostKeyChecking no
Authentication for the jump host must use key based authentication.
You can either specify the private key used in the SSH config file:
IdentityFile "/absolute/path/to/private-key.pem"
Or you can use an ssh-agent.
ansible_network_os auto-detection
If ansible_network_os
is not specified for a host, then Ansible will attempt to automatically detect what network_os
plugin to use.
ansible_network_os
auto-detection can also be triggered by using auto
as the ansible_network_os
. (Note: Previously default
was used instead of auto
).
Warning
Never store passwords in plain text. We recommend using SSH keys to authenticate SSH connections. Ansible supports ssh-agent to manage your SSH keys. If you must use passwords to authenticate SSH connections, we recommend encrypting them with Ansible Vault.
© 2012–2018 Michael DeHaan
© 2018–2019 Red Hat, Inc.
Licensed under the GNU General Public License version 3.
https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/2.9/network/user_guide/platform_netconf_enabled.html