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authors: [bsmeding] title: Nautobot Zero to Hero – Part 7: Deploy Provision Job tags: ["network automation", "nautobot", "jobs", "provisioning", "deployment"] toc: true layout: single comments: true draft: true

Nautobot Zero to Hero – Part 7: Deploy Provision Job

Send Golden Config to Devices

Create and deploy a Provision job to send golden configurations to network devices.

Index

1. Introduction

In this part, we'll create a Provision job that deploys golden configurations to network devices. This job will retrieve the intended configuration from Golden Config and push it to the device.

We'll: 1. Create a Provision job 2. Configure job parameters 3. Deploy the golden configuration to a device 4. Verify the deployment was successful

Estimated Time: ~1.5 hours

2. Prerequisites

3. Create Provision Job

3.1 Job Structure

A Provision job typically: 1. Retrieves the intended configuration from Golden Config 2. Connects to the device via SSH/API 3. Pushes the configuration to the device 4. Verifies the deployment 5. Logs the results

3.2 Example Provision Job

Create a job file jobs/provision_device.py:

from nautobot.extras.jobs import Job, StringVar, ObjectVar
from nautobot.dcim.models import Device
from nautobot_golden_config.models import GoldenConfig
from nautobot_golden_config.utilities import get_golden_config
import requests

class ProvisionDevice(Job):
    class Meta:
        name = "Provision Device with Golden Config"
        description = "Deploy golden configuration to a device"
        field_order = ["device", "dry_run"]

    device = ObjectVar(
        model=Device,
        description="Device to provision",
        required=True
    )

    dry_run = StringVar(
        description="Dry run (yes/no)",
        default="no",
        required=False
    )

    def run(self, device, dry_run):
        self.log_info(f"Starting provisioning for {device.name}")

        # Get golden configuration
        try:
            golden_config = GoldenConfig.objects.get(device=device)
            intended_config = get_golden_config(golden_config)
            self.log_success(f"Retrieved intended configuration for {device.name}")
        except Exception as e:
            self.log_failure(f"Failed to get golden config: {str(e)}")
            return

        # Deploy configuration (example using NAPALM)
        if dry_run.lower() == "yes":
            self.log_info("DRY RUN: Would deploy configuration")
            self.log_info(intended_config)
            return

        try:
            # Connect to device and deploy config
            # This is a simplified example - actual implementation depends on device type
            self.log_info(f"Deploying configuration to {device.name}")
            # Add your deployment logic here
            self.log_success(f"Successfully deployed configuration to {device.name}")
        except Exception as e:
            self.log_failure(f"Failed to deploy configuration: {str(e)}")

3.3 Add Job to Repository

  1. Save the job file to your Jobs repository
  2. Commit and push to Git
  3. Sync the repository in Nautobot

4. Configure Job Parameters

4.1 Review Job in Nautobot

  1. Navigate to Jobs → Jobs
  2. Find your "Provision Device with Golden Config" job
  3. Review the job parameters

📸 [Screenshot: Provision Job Details]

4.2 Test Job Parameters

Before deploying, test the job with dry-run mode to verify: - Golden config retrieval works - Configuration format is correct - Device connectivity is available

5. Deploy Configuration to Device

5.1 Select Device

  1. Navigate to Devices → Devices
  2. Select a device that has a golden configuration
  3. Note the device name and platform

5.2 Run Provision Job

  1. Navigate to Jobs → Jobs
  2. Find "Provision Device with Golden Config"
  3. Click Run Job
  4. Select parameters:
  5. Device: Choose your device
  6. Dry Run: Start with "yes" to test
  7. Click Run Job

📸 [Screenshot: Running Provision Job]

5.3 Review Job Output

  1. Wait for the job to complete
  2. Review the job result
  3. Check for any errors or warnings
  4. Verify the configuration was retrieved correctly

📸 [Screenshot: Provision Job Result]

5.4 Deploy for Real

Once dry-run is successful: 1. Run the job again 2. Set Dry Run to "no" 3. Execute the deployment 4. Monitor the job output

6. Verify Deployment

6.1 Check Device Configuration

  1. SSH to the device
  2. Verify the configuration was applied
  3. Compare with the intended configuration
ssh admin@device-name
show running-config

6.2 Verify in Nautobot

  1. Navigate to Golden Config → Compliance
  2. Run a compliance check on the device
  3. Verify the device matches the golden configuration

📸 [Screenshot: Compliance Check Results]

6.3 Check Job Logs

  1. Review the job logs in Nautobot
  2. Verify all steps completed successfully
  3. Note any warnings or issues

7. Wrap-Up

Congratulations! You have successfully: - ✅ Created a Provision job - ✅ Configured job parameters - ✅ Deployed golden configuration to a device - ✅ Verified the deployment was successful

You can now deploy intended configurations to your network devices automatically!

8. Next Steps

Now that you can deploy configurations, proceed to Part 8: Separate Golden Config Templates to: - Separate Interface configuration into a separate template - Create Job Hooks for automatic interface updates - Automate interface configuration changes

Happy automating! 🚀