Change Automation Overview
The Change Automation application automates the process of deploying changes to the network. You can define automation tasks to achieve the intended network states in Change Automation using Playbooks that consists of plays written using YAML. You can then push configuration changes to Cisco Network Service Orchestrator (NSO), which deploys these changes to the network devices.
The difference between Change Automation and other existing scripted automation frameworks is that Change Automation is a closed-loop framework. Changes are deployed to the router or other device using programmable APIs, and the intent of the change is verified using telemetry that comes back from the router. Change Automation relies on telemetry to verify the intent of the change, avoiding the need to frequently poll the device for updates.
The following is a high-level Change Automation workflow:
-
Define your desired network changes in a Change Automation Playbook.
-
Push configuration changes to the network device using Cisco Network Services Orchestrator API, a configuration services provider.
-
Receive real-time feedback via telemetry from the devices, telling you that the network changes were made and the impact of the changes. You can also use post-change KPIs to determine if a particular change should be undone and the devices returned to their previous configuration. In addition to telemetry, Change Automation also allows for data collection via SNMP and CLI XDE packs.
Change Automation comes with a robust library of Playbooks, each with its own collection of atomic configuration and check plays. (A Playbook consists of multiple plays.)
Change Automation allows you to customize and generate plays and Playbooks using its API interface. For more information, see About Custom Plays and About Customizing Playbooks.
Configure Change Automation Settings
This section explains the initial settings that need to be configured before you can start using Change Automation.
Note |
Configuring Change Automation settings is a post-installation activity, and can only be performed by a user with write permissions for the Administration APIs under Change Automation (Go to ). |
Note |
The Change Automation settings can only be configured once. If you want to modify the settings, Change Automation must be re-installed. |
After Change Automation is installed in your Crosswork platform, you can access Change Automation from the main menu (go to Start Configuration to review the change Automation settings. Alternatively, you can navigate to to view the settings.
). The Change Automation window is displayed prompting you to complete the configuration. ClickClick Save after you configure the following settings:
-
Playbook Job Scheduling: Enable or disable the ability the schedule the Playbook jobs.
-
Credential Prompt: Device override credentials are an additional level of authentication that can improve change auditing. If enabled, users will be prompted to enter the credentials (device override credentials) before each Playbook execution. You need to create the relevant credential profile and provider settings for the override credentials to work. Follow the prompts on the window to meet each requirement.
Note |
If Playbook Job Scheduling is disabled, then the Credential Prompt is enabled, by default. You cannot disable the credential prompt in this case. |
Note |
While executing Device Config plays, entering incorrect device override credentials will cause the playbook execution to fail. However, for a Check play or Data Collection play, the device override credentials are not validated and the Playbook will execute successfully irrespective of the accuracy of the override credentials. Device override credentials are only validated while pushing configuration changes. |
Use the Change Automation Dashboard
The Change Automation application's Dashboard window (shown in the following figure) lets you view all Playbook-related activity and initiate Playbook runs. It displays the total number of Playbooks, the Playbook Jobs Calendar, the most recently run Playbook jobs, and the same network topology map you see when you select Topology from the main menu.
To view the Change Automation Dashboard window, select .
The Playbooks tile displays the total number of Playbooks (pre-defined and custom). Clicking on a specific number displays all the Playbooks that correspond to the selected category.
Note |
My Playbooks indicate the number of custom Playbooks created by the current user. However, the Total Playbooks will include the number of custom Playbooks created by all users, apart from the Cisco-supplied Playbooks. |
The Jobs Calendar tile displays a calendar (month, week, day) with the number of job sets executed on a given day marked in a circle against the corresponding date. Clicking on the number displays a dialog box with the names of the Playbook job sets and their execution time. Click on the desired job set to view the execution details.
Note |
The color of the circle indicates the overall status of the job sets.
|
The View All Jobs link on the Jobs tile give you direct access to the Change Automation Automation Job History window.
View the Play list
The Play List window of the Change Automation application gives you a consolidated list of all the Plays in the system.
From the main menu, select Play List window.
to view theItem | Description | |
---|---|---|
1 |
Click to create a custom Play. See Create a Custom Play. |
|
Click to delete a custom Play. See Delete Custom Plays. |
||
Click to import custom Play from a gzipped TAR archive file. See Import Plays. |
||
Click to export a custom Play as a gzipped TAR archive file. See Export Plays. |
||
2 |
Click to see a popup Play Details window showing the Play's description and schema. When you are finished viewing these details, click to close the popup window. |
|
3 |
The Type column indicates the type of the Play. You can click on the column headings (Name, Description, Type, Labels, and Modified by) to sort the table by that column's data. |
|
4 |
Click to refresh the Plays list. |
|
5 |
Click to set filter criteria on one or more columns in the table. |
|
Click the Clear Filter link to clear any filter criteria you may have set. |
View the Playbook List
The Change Automation application's Playbook List window (in the following figure) gives you a consolidated list of all the Playbooks in the system. To view the Playbook List window, select .
Item | Description | |
---|---|---|
1 |
Click to create a custom Playbook. See Create a Custom Playbook. |
|
Click to delete the currently selected custom Playbook. See Delete Custom Playbooks. |
||
Click to import Playbooks from a gzipped TAR archive file. See Import Playbooks. |
||
Click to export the currently selected Playbook(s) as a gzipped TAR archive file. See Export Playbooks. |
||
2 |
Click to see a popup Playbook Details window showing the Playbook's description, software compatibility, version number, and its plays. When you are finished viewing these details, click to close the popup window. |
|
3 |
Click on the Name, Description, Version, Software Platform, and Last Modified column headings in the table to sort the table by that column's data. You can also choose which columns are shown, and set quick or advanced filters on any column. |
|
4 |
Click to refresh the Playbooks list. |
|
5 |
Click to set filter criteria on one or more columns in the table. |
|
Click the Clear Filter link to clear any filter criteria you may have set. |