Network Automation Cheat Sheet

Network automation essentials: Ansible for network devices, Netmiko for SSH-based automation, NAPALM for multi-vendor abstraction, and Infrastructure as Code for .

Last Updated: May 1, 2025

Ansible for Networking

ansible-playbook -i inventory.yml playbook.yml

Run playbook against network inventory

ios_command module

Run show commands on Cisco IOS devices

ios_config module

Push configuration to Cisco IOS devices

nxos_command / nxos_config

Cisco Nexus (NX-OS) equivalents

junos_command / junos_config

Juniper JunOS equivalents

ansible_user / ansible_password

Credentials (use vault for passwords!)

ansible_network_os: ios

Define device network OS type in inventory

connection: network_cli

Use network CLI connection plugin (not SSH raw)

Netmiko (Python Library)

from netmiko import ConnectHandler

Import Netmiko for multi-vendor SSH

ConnectHandler(device_type='cisco_ios', host='...', username='...', password='...')

Create SSH connection handler

net_connect.send_command('show version')

Execute show command and return output

net_connect.send_config_set(commands)

Push configuration set (list of commands)

net_connect.save_config()

Save running to startup config

Supported platforms

cisco_ios, cisco_nxos, juniper, arista_eos, huawei, + many more

NAPALM (Multi-Vendor Abstraction)

from napalm import get_network_driver

Import NAPALM driver framework

driver = get_network_driver('ios')

Load driver for specific platform

device.open()

Establish connection to the device

device.get_facts()

Retrieve device facts (vendor-agnostic!)

device.get_interfaces()

Get interface details (status, MAC, counters)

device.get_bgp_neighbors()

Get BGP neighbor state (cross-platform)

device.load_merge_candidate(config)

Stage configuration candidate

device.compare_config()

Diff between running and candidate config

IaC for Networking

Item	Description
`Configuration backup`	Automatically backup configs daily (git-backed)
`Config templates`	Jinja2 for generating device config from variables
`Validation/Testing`	pyATS, Batfish — validate config before deployment
`GitOps for networks`	PR-based config changes with CI pipeline validation
`Nornir`	Python automation framework — faster than Ansible (no YAML overhead)

Pro Tip: Start with read-only data gathering (facts, show commands) before writing config changes. Always backup running config before any automation change. Test in a lab first.