5 Tools You Should Learn

to Level Up Your
Network Automation Game

Kareem Iskander - Lead Technical Advocate, @kareem_isk

Quinn Snyder - Senior Technical Advocate, @qsnyder
DEVNET-2149

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 • Introduction
• Git’in it right
• Its OK to be `bash`ful
Agenda • Locking the Vault
• Codifying your infra
• Containerize this!
• Conclusion

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 Introduction

So.. I learned the

building blocks of
network
automation, but Let’s Level Up!
what happens in
practice in the real
world?

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 Git’in it right

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 What we’ve
been talking to
you about

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 GIT - Basics
What we’ve been talking to you about

git checkout

Sample Sample
git clone Code Code
(main) (mycode)

Step Action Git Command git commit Edit

1. Clone the Remote Repository git clone url

2. Create and Checkout a Local Branch git checkout –b new-branch-name

def f(x): def f(x):
3. Incrementally Commit Changes git add filename ... ...
git commit -m “Commit message” ...
git add ...

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 GIT - Basics
What we’ve been talking to you about

Merge Commits
Pull
Conflict
Requests

Logs

Branches

HEAD
Push

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 Real World

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 Interactive
Rebase

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 Interactive Rebase
A Tool for Optimizing & Cleaning up Commit History
• Change a commit's message
• Delete a commit
• Reorder commits
• Combine multiple commits into one
• Edit/Split an existing commit into multiple new ones

DO NOT use Interactive Rebase on commits that you've

already pushed/shared on remote repo!

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 Interactive Rebase
Use Case
• You are working on the Feature branch to expand Meraki automation
• You have been making commits ever function you write
• You are ready to merge into Main branch
• You have realized:
1. “Over Commit-ted” - get it?
2. Commit messages aren’t cutting it

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 Interactive Rebase - Steps Change Commit
Range

1. How far back do you want to go? C1 C2 C3 C4

2.

3. Determine action to apply to your commits

4. Make changes & save

5. Check changes

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 Let’s try it!

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 Interactive Rebase - Reword

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 Interactive Rebase - Squash

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 Cherry Picking 🍒

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 Cherry Picking 🍒
Use Case
• You are working on the Feature branch to expand your Meraki site
automation
• You have made a commit on the Feature Branch
• You noticed you are working in the Main Branch
• The commit does not belong in Main .. Yet
• What to do??

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 Cherry Picking 🍒
Integrate Single, Specific commit

• Cherry Picking allows you to select individual commits

• Cherry Picking integrate specific commits to Branch
• Only Commit C2 from Branch B to integrate into Branch A

C C C Branch
1 3 5 A

C C Branch
2 4 B

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 Cherry Picking 🍒 - Steps
1. While on Main Grab the commit hash

2. Checkout the Feature branch

4. Clean up Main
3. Cherry Pick the commit

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 Let’s try it!

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 Cherry Picking

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 Its OK to be
`bash`ful

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 What we’ve
demonstrated

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 Dockerfiles, GNU `make`, SCM-based CI/CD

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 Who had this book at Uni?

I use it more often than any book I’ve

saved from my college education

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 `bash` | 36 years and still going strong!
• Everything entered at the Linux CLI* can become part of a shell
script or CI/CD pipeline
• Yes, its all bash scripts and YAML
• This is “imperative language” which is still a thing in 2024

• Scripts can still execute other higher order processes

• Python, Ansible, Terraform, etc
• Dockerfiles, CI/CD pipeline declarations (Gitlab, GitHub Actions)
• May have specific runners or actions to hide abstraction
• Everything is running some sort of Linux* container

*Assuming POSIX-shells and so on…

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 Practical
Applications

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 Bash can build locally

Whether using native Docker

CLI, or `makefile` with
targets, commands run
within container are based
on Linux CLI

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 Bash can build in the cloud

GitHub Actions are container

runners of various OS-
types.

Some pre-built functions

exist, but bespoke scripts
may be needed, even if
calling Python/Go/etc.

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 “When I die, I don’t care about
clearing my browser history. I
want someone to delete my
~/dev folder to hide the
heinous things I did with bash
scripts”
~ Some Bearded Jabroni

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 Locking the
Vault

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 What we’ve
been talking to
you about

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 Secret Sprawl Lambda

Application

Automation

~7 Different API Tokens | SSH Keys | Auth Methods

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 - Secrets
Don’t be that SSOT
Single Source of Truth for all you Secretes
• API Tokens
• SSH Keys
• Basic Auth - Username/Password
• DB Creds

Granular Access Control (ACLs)

• Define App Rules
• Apps granted access to Mount/Path
• Paths Contain Creds

Vault APIs FTW

• API access to your creds
• Seamless integration with your App
• Bonus Points - HVAC SDK!!

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 Real World

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 Vault Lambda
Application

Automation

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 Let’s try it!

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 VAULT HVAC SDK + DNACSDK = <3
1. Instantiate Vault
3. Read the Secrets

4. Start
automating

2. Unseal Vault

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 VAULT HVAC SDK + DNACSDK = <3

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 Codifying your
Infra

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 What I’ve
droned on about

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 Mostly about IaC in single context

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 And I talk about an automation journey like this…

Realizing VCS
Some sort IaC-less
APIs languages
of intro IaC pipeline
may be IaC + IaC-
better driven
pipeline

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 And IaC is GREAT for Cloud

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 But how does
that apply in
practice?

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 We can also convert click-ops into IaC

Terraformer:
• [Link]
/terraformer

Azure Export for Terraform:

• [Link]

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 IaC enables easier pipelines*

Source
Code
Control

*Please don’t tell `bash` I’m cheating…

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 IaC enables VCS-less pipelines*

Application Change Consul Consul Terraform Sync Infrastructure

Consul Services Terraform

catalog notification run ACI Cloud NDFC NDO
update from ACI

catalog

*Again, don’t tell `bash` I’m cheating…

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 Containerize
This!

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 I’ve said this
previously

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 What makes containers unique
VM A VM B VM C VM N

App App App App

A B C N App App App App
A B C N

Container Runtime
(Docker, Podman, [Link]) OS A OS B OS C OS N

Socket access to kernel space Isolation

Operating System Type-1 Hypervisor

Hardware Hardware

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 Package everything up and ship it

Containers create uniform

package runtime
environment (like Java was
supposed to do, but better)

Most* abstractions survive

across OS and cloud
providers

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 Practically
Speaking
Though…

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 Containers can do both!

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 Level up containers in the Cloud!
Meraki Cloud

Gather
Device
Status

API Gateway
(ad-hoc run)

Report
Status

Webex
EventBridge Messaging
(scheduled)

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 Wrapping it all up

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 Its all connected

Dev Vault
A&O
Sec

Infra as
Bash
Code

Cloud CI/CD
Containers Git

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 List of items covering everything discussed

[To Be Filled In]

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 PLEASE VERIFY WITH 2025 SESSIONS

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 Webex App
Questions?
Use the Webex app to chat with the speaker
after the session

How
1 Find this session in the Cisco Events mobile app

2 Click “Join the Discussion”

3 Install the Webex app or go directly to the Webex space

4 Enter messages/questions in the Webex space

Webex spaces will be moderated

by the speaker until February 28, 2025.

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 Thank you

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