Book Image

Mastering Python Networking

Book Image

Mastering Python Networking

Overview of this book

This book begins with a review of the TCP/ IP protocol suite and a refresher of the core elements of the Python language. Next, you will start using Python and supported libraries to automate network tasks from the current major network vendors. We will look at automating traditional network devices based on the command-line interface, as well as newer devices with API support, with hands-on labs. We will then learn the concepts and practical use cases of the Ansible framework in order to achieve your network goals. We will then move on to using Python for DevOps, starting with using open source tools to test, secure, and analyze your network. Then, we will focus on network monitoring and visualization. We will learn how to retrieve network information using a polling mechanism, ?ow-based monitoring, and visualizing the data programmatically. Next, we will learn how to use the Python framework to build your own customized network web services. In the last module, you will use Python for SDN, where you will use a Python-based controller with OpenFlow in a hands-on lab to learn its concepts and applications. We will compare and contrast OpenFlow, OpenStack, OpenDaylight, and NFV. Finally, you will use everything you’ve learned in the book to construct a migration plan to go from a legacy to a scalable SDN-based network.
Table of Contents (22 chapters)
Title
Humble Bundle
Credits
Foreword
About the Author
About the Reviewer
www.PacktPub.com
Customer Feedback
Preface
12
OpenStack, OpenDaylight, and NFV

Ansible networking modules


Ansible was originally made for managing nodes with full operating systems such as Linux and Windows; then, it extended to network equipment. You may have already noticed the subtle differences in playbooks that we have used so far, such as the lines of gather_facts: false and connection: local; we will take a look at closer look at the differences.

Local connections and facts

Ansible modules are Python code executed on remote host by default. Because the fact that most network equipment does not expose Python directly, we are almost always executing the playbook locally. This means that the playbook is interpreted locally first and commands or configurations are pushed out later on as needed.

Recall that the remote host facts were gathered via the setup module, which was added by default. Since we are executing the playbook locally, the setup module will gather the facts on the local host instead of remote host. This is certainly not needed, therefore when the connection...