Ansible for Network Automation: MikroTik & Cisco

Ansible for Network Automation

Ansible connects to network devices over SSH (or API) and applies configuration idempotently — the same playbook run twice produces the same result.

Installation

BASH

pip install ansible ansible-pylibssh
ansible-galaxy collection install community.routeros cisco.ios

Inventory File

INI

# inventory/hosts.yml
all:
  children:
    mikrotik:
      hosts:
        router1:
          ansible_host: 192.168.1.1
          ansible_user: admin
          ansible_connection: ansible.netcommon.network_cli
          ansible_network_os: community.routeros.routeros
    cisco:
      hosts:
        sw1:
          ansible_host: 192.168.1.10
          ansible_user: cisco
          ansible_connection: ansible.netcommon.network_cli
          ansible_network_os: cisco.ios.ios

MikroTik Playbook: Backup Configs

YAML

# backup-configs.yml
- name: Backup MikroTik Configurations
  hosts: mikrotik
  gather_facts: false
  tasks:
    - name: Export configuration
      community.routeros.command:
        commands:
          - /export file=backup-{{ inventory_hostname }}
      register: result

    - name: Download backup file
      community.routeros.fetch:
        src: "/backup-{{ inventory_hostname }}.rsc"
        dest: "./backups/{{ inventory_hostname }}-{{ ansible_date_time.date }}.rsc"

Cisco IOS Playbook: VLAN Provisioning

YAML

- name: Provision VLANs on Cisco switches
  hosts: cisco
  gather_facts: false
  vars:
    vlans:
      - id: 10
        name: CORP
      - id: 20
        name: GUEST
      - id: 30
        name: SERVERS
  tasks:
    - name: Create VLANs
      cisco.ios.ios_vlans:
        config:
          - vlan_id: "{{ item.id }}"
            name: "{{ item.name }}"
            state: active
        state: merged
      loop: "{{ vlans }}"

    - name: Save running config
      cisco.ios.ios_command:
        commands: write memory

Bulk Interface Description Update

YAML

- name: Update interface descriptions
  hosts: mikrotik
  gather_facts: false
  tasks:
    - name: Set interface comments
      community.routeros.command:
        commands:
          - /interface set [find name=ether1] comment="Uplink-ISP1"
          - /interface set [find name=ether2] comment="Core-Switch-Trunk"

Scheduling with Cron

BASH

# Run backup every night at 2am
0 2 * * * ansible-playbook -i inventory/hosts.yml backup-configs.yml >> /var/log/ansible-backup.log 2>&1