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authors: [bsmeding] title: Nautobot Zero to Hero – Part 3: Deploy Network with Containerlab tags: ["network automation", "containerlab", "lab environment", "network topology"] toc: true layout: single comments: true draft: true

Nautobot Zero to Hero – Part 3: Deploy Network with Containerlab

Set Up Your Network Lab Environment

Deploy a multi-vendor network topology using Containerlab for hands-on practice.

Index

1. Introduction

In this part, we'll deploy a network lab environment using Containerlab. This will provide us with real network devices that we can use for automation practice throughout the series.

We'll: 1. Install Containerlab 2. Create a network topology file 3. Deploy the lab network 4. Verify connectivity between devices

Estimated Time: ~1 hour

2. Prerequisites

  • Completed Part 2: Getting Started with Nautobot
  • Linux system with Docker installed (or use the same VM as Nautobot)
  • Sufficient resources: 4GB+ RAM, 20GB+ disk space
  • Basic understanding of network topologies

3. Install Containerlab

Containerlab is a tool for deploying container-based network topologies. Install it using the official method:

# Install Containerlab
bash -c "$(curl -sL https://get.containerlab.dev)"

# Verify installation
containerlab version

For detailed installation instructions, see the Containerlab documentation.

4. Create Network Topology

The nautobot_zero_to_hero repository includes a complete Containerlab topology file that matches the lab environment used throughout the series. This topology includes multiple Arista cEOS devices that will be used for automation practice.

4.1 Use Repository Topology

The repository includes a ready-to-use topology file:

cd nautobot_zero_to_hero/containerlab
# Review the topology file
cat nautobot-lab.clab.yml

This topology includes: - access1 - Arista cEOS access switch (172.20.20.11) - access2 - Arista cEOS access switch (172.20.20.12) - dist1 - Arista cEOS distribution switch (172.20.20.13) - rtr1 - Arista cEOS router (172.20.20.14) - workstation1 - Linux workstation (172.20.20.15) - mgmt - Management server (172.20.20.16)

All devices are pre-configured with: - Management IP addresses in the 172.20.20.0/24 subnet - Bootstrap configurations - SSH access (admin/admin) - NAPALM support enabled

4.2 Verify Topology File

The topology file is located at containerlab/nautobot-lab.clab.yml. You can review it to understand the network structure before deploying.

5. Deploy the Lab

5.1 Deploy the Topology

# Navigate to containerlab directory
cd nautobot_zero_to_hero/containerlab

# Deploy the lab (requires sudo for network namespace creation)
sudo containerlab deploy -t nautobot-lab.clab.yml

# Check status
sudo containerlab inspect -t nautobot-lab.clab.yml

Note: Containerlab requires sudo privileges to create network namespaces and configure networking.

5.2 Verify Lab Status

# Show all lab nodes
sudo containerlab show -t nautobot-lab.clab.yml

# Check if all nodes are running
sudo containerlab inspect -t nautobot-lab.clab.yml

📸 [Screenshot: Containerlab Deployment]

5.3 Access Device Information

If you ran install.sh from Part 1, your /etc/hosts file should already be updated with friendly hostnames. Otherwise, you can update it manually:

Option 1: Use the update script (if not already done): 

cd nautobot_zero_to_hero
sudo bash update_hosts.sh

Option 2: Manual /etc/hosts update: 

# Add these entries to /etc/hosts
172.20.20.11  access1.lab access1
172.20.20.12  access2.lab access2
172.20.20.13  dist1.lab dist1
172.20.20.14  rtr1.lab rtr1
172.20.20.15  workstation1.lab workstation1
172.20.20.16  mgmt.lab mgmt
127.0.0.1     nautobotlab.dev

After updating /etc/hosts, you can access devices using friendly names: 

ssh admin@access1
ssh admin@dist1.lab
ping rtr1

6. Verify Network Connectivity

6.1 Test Device Access

# Test SSH access to devices (using friendly hostnames from /etc/hosts)
ssh admin@access1
ssh admin@access2
ssh admin@dist1
ssh admin@rtr1

Default credentials for all devices: - Username: admin - Password: admin

You can also use the Containerlab-generated hostnames: 

ssh admin@clab-nautobot-lab-access1
ssh admin@clab-nautobot-lab-dist1

6.2 Verify Device Configurations

# Connect to an access switch and check configuration
ssh admin@access1
show version
show ip interface brief
show running-config

6.3 Test Inter-Device Connectivity

From within a device, test connectivity to other devices:

# From access1, ping other devices
ssh admin@access1
ping 172.20.20.12  # access2
ping 172.20.20.13  # dist1
ping 172.20.20.14  # rtr1

6.4 Verify Management Network

All devices should be reachable from your host machine:

# Ping all devices from your host
ping -c 2 access1
ping -c 2 access2
ping -c 2 dist1
ping -c 2 rtr1
ping -c 2 workstation1
ping -c 2 mgmt

7. Wrap-Up

Congratulations! You have successfully: - ✅ Installed Containerlab - ✅ Created a network topology - ✅ Deployed the lab network - ✅ Verified device connectivity

You now have a working network lab environment that you can use for automation practice throughout the series.

8. Next Steps

Now that your network lab is deployed, proceed to Part 4: Device Discovery & Onboarding to: - Install and configure the Device Onboarding plugin - Automatically discover devices from Containerlab - Onboard devices into Nautobot

Happy automating! 🚀