Cisco Catalyst Heart Template Labs – PnP Preparation, Half 2

Overview

On this episode of our ongoing Catalyst Heart Automation Collection, we are going to deal with PnP Preparation through the Wired Automation lab and organising a lab or manufacturing surroundings to allow this functionality. As this lab is the primary one in a sequence of labs, it goals to know the assorted ideas required to assist Plug and Play (PnP). The labs referenced inside this sequence, as was beforehand talked about, have been designed to be used within the DCLOUD surroundings; nevertheless, you might equally make the most of them as a part of a Proof of Idea setup at a buyer’s lab. These procedures can also assist kind a part of a deployment or implementation. You could use these procedures to make sure that all the required steps are full earlier than onboarding any units inside Catalyst Heart.

Inside this sequence, we cowl the next;

1. PnP Preparation – explains the general Plug and Play arrange steps
2. Onboarding Templates – explains in-depth the right way to deploy Day 0 templates
3. Day N Templates – dives into Day N template constructs with each common and composite templates and use instances
4. Utility Policys – explores Utility Policys and SD-AVC in Catalyst Heart and their use
5. Telemetry – explains the right way to deploy Telemetry for assurance
6. Superior Automation – explores Superior Automation strategies
7. Dynamic Automation – a deployment lab for dynamic automation

What’s going to I study within the PnP Preparation Lab?

We are going to achieve a radical understanding of the assorted companies required to assist Plug and Play with Catalyst Heart throughout this lab. A few of these ideas on which we’ve got beforehand mentioned in both the Catalyst Heart Template repository or through different Cisco Blogs written by Adam Radford. Inside the lab, we are going to focus our efforts on a sensible understanding of the right way to arrange the surroundings to make sure profitable testing and facilitate a neater adoption of automation.

The PnP Preparation lab will information you thru organising the assorted necessities of Plug and Play. The reasons and the assorted configuration snippets will guarantee which you could have a tool efficiently uncover Catalyst Heart. The labs have been constructed utilizing DCLOUD, as defined in half considered one of this sequence. For connection particulars:

Seed Machine

Initially beginning with the upstream system, we arrange the required layer 3 and layer 2 connectivity with numerous examples. Moreover, we arrange a seed system to offer direct connectivity to the goal. We contemplate the seed system as a distribution swap with an SVI for the administration community in our examples. Furthermore, all of the configurations are within the type of snippets which may be utilized in a standalone means or as half of a bigger script to help with PnP Preparation.

DHCP and DNS Providers

The information will stroll you thru organising the required companies, which Plug and Play Onboarding makes use of. DHCP is required to robotically configure an tackle for the system to connect with Catalyst Heart. Throughout the lab, we are going to arrange DHCP both on a Change or on a server. The lab walks by way of each strategies and offers configuration snippets so that you can select from.

Discovery Methodology

Relying on the surroundings you’re working with, you might desire one discovery technique over one other. Inside the lab and throughout the different sections of the GitHub repository, we focus on one technique over one other and provides configuration snippets permitting you to shortly arrange the specified technique making certain the supporting companies are moreover in place. The varied strategies of discovery vary from:

DHCP with Possibility 43  – ASCII connection string giving the Goal system the tackle to Catalyst Heart DNS lookup – pnpserver host entry permitting Goal to resolve the tackle to Catalyst Heart

Every of those strategies has dependencies and configuration, and we cowl these equally throughout the lab.

Testing Strategies

The lab then ensures success by way of numerous testing strategies, which you’ll be able to make the most of to make sure every service is working. Moreover, the system lands on Catalyst Heart because the lab concludes.

How can I get began?

Inside DCLOUD, a number of sandbox-type labs can be found. These self-contained environments are there to can help you use them as you please throughout the time scheduled. As well as, this enables us a spot to start out training numerous ideas with out worry of impacting manufacturing environments.

Due to this fact, to help clients within the transition towards automation, we’ve got put collectively a set of small useful labs inside a GitHub repository. Consequently, we hope to demystify among the complexities of organising plug-and-play and assist information clients by way of the complexities and caveats. On this means, these self-guided labs present a glimpse into the basics of constructing velocity templates and supply examples which you could obtain and develop from. As well as, the pattern templates and JSON information equipped are for straightforward import into Catalyst Facilities’ template editor for faster adoption. Lastly, some scripts are ready-made excerpts of code that can help you construct the surroundings to check.

First, in a sensible lab information, we step-by-step delve into the ideas of constructing templates and methodologies for utilizing each Onboarding and DayN templates. Second, we offer solutions and explanations to most of the questions that come up throughout automation workshops. Our hope is that you simply discover the data each useful and informative. Thus, we hope to offer a well-rounded clarification of automation strategies and ideas that we are able to simply develop upon for manufacturing functions. Lastly, the Wired Automation labs PnP Preparation content material explains the general Plug and Play setup steps.

The place can I take a look at and check out these labs?

DCLOUD Lab Surroundings

To assist clients succeed with Cisco Catalyst Heart automation, you might make the most of the above labs as they’ve been designed to work inside DCLOUD’s Cisco Enterprise Networks {Hardware} Sandbox Labs in both:

1. Cisco Enterprise Networks {Hardware} Sandbox West DC
2. Cisco Enterprise Networks {Hardware} Sandbox East DC

The DCLOUD labs can help you run these labs and offers an surroundings to strive the assorted code samples. You could select to develop and export your code to be used in manufacturing environments. Additionally, this offers you an surroundings the place you may safely POC/POV strategies and steps with out harming your manufacturing environments. The DCLOUD surroundings additionally negates the necessity for delivery gear, lead occasions, and licensing points wanted to get shifting quickly. Please do adhere to the very best practices for the DCLOUD surroundings when utilizing it.

Lab Connectivity

The surroundings permits to be used with a web-based browser consumer for VPN-less connectivity, entry in addition to AnyConnect VPN consumer connectivity for many who desire it. You could select from labs hosted out of our San Jose Services by choosing US West. Select the Cisco Enterprise Community Sandbox. To entry this or another content material, together with demonstrations, labs, and coaching in DCLOUD please work together with your Cisco Account group or Cisco Associate Account Staff straight. Your Account groups will schedule the session and share it so that you can use. As soon as booked observe the information inside GitHub to finish the duties adhering to the very best practices of the DCLOUD surroundings.

Content material

The Wired Automation lab content material is positioned throughout the present DNAC-TEMPLATES repository to offer a one-stop-shop for all the required instruments, scripts, templates, and code samples. Inside it are six modules, which construct upon the tutorials to check the strategies in a lab surroundings. The repository was featured in a earlier publish on Cisco Blogs about Catalyst Heart Templates earlier in Might 2021.

Extra Data

Catalyst Heart Template Labs

The beforehand named DNAC Template LABS throughout the DNAC-TEMPLATES GitHub repository goal to information you thru the standard steps required to allow the assorted automation duties delivered by Catalyst Heart. This lab will give examples of templates utilized in Catalyst Heart that we are able to modify for our use and take a look at on gear throughout the lab surroundings. Extra info throughout the lab offers a well-rounded clarification of Automation strategies with Templates. Lastly, the lab permits for patrons to make use of Catalyst Heart workflows to observe deploying Onboarding, DayN Templates, and Utility Coverage automation on each Wired and Wi-fi Platforms.

This Wired Automation lab will give examples of templates utilized in Catalyst Heart to change our use and take a look at on gear throughout the lab surroundings. Extra info throughout the lab offers a well-rounded clarification of Automation strategies with Templates.

The aim of this lab is for it to be a sensible information to help engineers to quickly start utilizing Catalyst Heart automation and assist them work in direction of a template technique. Moreover, this lab will give clients a everlasting place to check out the templates and embrace configurations for numerous use instances. Lastly, this surroundings will allow engineers to scale back the effort and time wanted to instantiate the community.

Consequently, you’ll achieve expertise in organising Plug and Play onboarding and templates. Moreover, you’ll use superior templating strategies and troubleshooting instruments. These might assist throughout faultfinding to find out what’s failing in a deployment.

Catalyst Heart Labs

Please use this menu to navigate the assorted sections of this GitHub repository. Inside the a number of folders are examples and clarification readme information for reference. There are actually two units of labs, and these are being frequently expanded upon.

New Catalyst Heart Lab Content material

This newer and extra modular lab method is designed to take care of and consists of ideas from the legacy labs in a more recent extra modular format.

1. Lab 1 Wired Automation – Covers inexperienced and brown subject use instances (enable 4.0 hrs)
2. Lab 2 Wi-fi Automation – Covers conventional wi-fi automation (enable 4.0 hrs)
3. Lab 4 Relaxation-API Orchestration – Covers automation of Cisco Catalyst Heart through Postman with Relaxation-API (enable 2.0 hrs)
4. Lab 7 CICD Orchestration – Covers Python with JENKINS orchestration through REST-API (enable 4.0 hrs)

Legacy Lab Content material

On this part you’ll proceed to search out all the prevailing labs which take care of specifics in separate straightforward to do labs.

We are going to share further labs and content material in an ongoing effort to meet all of your automation wants with Catalyst Heart.

In conclusion, if you happen to discovered this set of labs and repository useful,

please fill in feedback and suggestions on the way it might be improved.

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