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authors: [bsmeding] title: Nautobot Zero to Hero – Part 2: Getting Started with Nautobot tags: ["network automation", "nautobot", "jobs", "demo environment"] toc: true layout: single comments: true draft: true

Nautobot Zero to Hero – Part 2: Getting Started with Nautobot

What Can Nautobot Do?

Explore Nautobot's capabilities and deploy a demo environment using Jobs.

Index

1. Introduction

In this part, we'll explore what Nautobot can do and use Jobs from the nautobot_zero_to_hero repository to quickly set up a demo environment. We'll run the pre-flight job that automatically creates a region, site, and device to get you started.

We'll: 1. Understand Nautobot's core capabilities 2. Access Jobs from the repository 3. Run the pre-flight job to create initial data 4. Verify the demo environment is set up correctly

Estimated Time: ~1 hour

2. Prerequisites

3. Understanding Nautobot's Capabilities

Nautobot is a Network Source of Truth (SSoT) platform that provides:

Core Features

  • Device Inventory Management: Track all network devices, their locations, and relationships
  • IP Address Management (IPAM): Manage IP addresses, prefixes, and VLANs
  • Cable Management: Document physical and logical connections
  • Configuration Management: Store and version control device configurations
  • Jobs Framework: Run custom Python scripts for automation tasks
  • REST and GraphQL APIs: Integrate with other tools and systems
  • Plugin Ecosystem: Extend functionality with plugins

What Makes Nautobot Powerful

  • Single Source of Truth: One place for all network data
  • Git Integration: Version control for configurations and templates
  • Extensibility: Custom Jobs, plugins, and integrations
  • API-First Design: Programmatic access to all data
  • Webhooks: Event-driven automation

4. Access Jobs from the Repository

The nautobot_zero_to_hero repository contains pre-built Jobs that help you get started quickly. Let's set up Jobs in Nautobot:

4.1 Add the Repository to Nautobot

  1. In Nautobot, navigate to Apps → Git Repositories
  2. Click Add to create a new repository
  3. Configure the repository:
  4. Name: nautobot_zero_to_hero
  5. Source URL: https://github.com/bsmeding/nautobot_zero_to_hero.git
  6. Branch: main
  7. Secrets Group: (leave empty for public repo)
  8. Enable Jobs checkbox
  9. Click Save and Sync Now

📸 [Screenshot: Git Repository Configuration]

After syncing, the Jobs from the repository will be available in Nautobot.

4.2 Verify Jobs are Available

  1. Navigate to Jobs → Jobs
  2. You should see Jobs from the repository, including the pre-flight job

📸 [Screenshot: Available Jobs List]

5. Run the Pre-Flight Job

The pre-flight job creates initial data structures in Nautobot: - A region - A site - A device with proper platform and role

5.1 Locate the Pre-Flight Job

  1. Navigate to Jobs → Jobs
  2. Find the job named something like "Pre-Flight Setup" or "Create Demo Environment"
  3. Click on the job name to open it

📸 [Screenshot: Pre-Flight Job Details]

5.2 Run the Job

  1. Click Run Job button
  2. Review the job parameters (if any)
  3. Click Run Job to execute

📸 [Screenshot: Running the Pre-Flight Job]

5.3 Review Job Results

After the job completes: 1. View the job result to see what was created 2. Check the logs for any warnings or errors 3. Verify the output shows successful creation

📸 [Screenshot: Job Result Output]

6. Verify Demo Environment

Let's verify that the pre-flight job created the expected data:

6.1 Check Region

  1. Navigate to Organization → Regions
  2. You should see a region created by the job

📸 [Screenshot: Regions List]

6.2 Check Site

  1. Navigate to Organization → Sites
  2. You should see a site created by the job

📸 [Screenshot: Sites List]

6.3 Check Device

  1. Navigate to Devices → Devices
  2. You should see a device created by the job
  3. Click on the device to view its details

📸 [Screenshot: Devices List] 📸 [Screenshot: Device Details]

7. Wrap-Up

Congratulations! You have successfully: - ✅ Explored Nautobot's core capabilities - ✅ Added the nautobot_zero_to_hero repository to Nautobot - ✅ Synced Jobs from the repository - ✅ Run the pre-flight job to create initial data - ✅ Verified the demo environment is set up

You now have a working Nautobot instance with initial data structures ready for further configuration.

8. Next Steps

Now that you have Nautobot set up with initial data, proceed to Part 3: Deploy Network with Containerlab to: - Set up a containerlab network topology - Configure multi-vendor network devices - Prepare your lab environment for automation

Happy automating! 🚀