netconf – Provides a persistent connection using the netconf protocol

New in version 2.3.

Synopsis

  • This connection plugin provides a connection to remote devices over the SSH NETCONF subsystem. This connection plugin is typically used by network devices for sending and receiving RPC calls over NETCONF.

  • Note this connection plugin requires ncclient to be installed on the local Ansible controller.

Requirements

The below requirements are needed on the local master node that executes this connection.

  • ncclient

Parameters

Parameter Choices/Defaults Configuration Comments
host
-
Default:
"inventory_hostname"
var: ansible_host
Specifies the remote device FQDN or IP address to establish the SSH connection to.
host_key_auto_add
boolean
Default:
"no"
ini entries:

[paramiko_connection]
host_key_auto_add = no

env:ANSIBLE_HOST_KEY_AUTO_ADD
By default, Ansible will prompt the user before adding SSH keys to the known hosts file. By enabling this option, unknown host keys will automatically be added to the known hosts file.
Be sure to fully understand the security implications of enabling this option on production systems as it could create a security vulnerability.
host_key_checking
boolean
Default:
"yes"
ini entries:

[defaults]
host_key_checking = yes

[paramiko_connection]
host_key_checking = yes

env:ANSIBLE_HOST_KEY_CHECKING
env:ANSIBLE_SSH_HOST_KEY_CHECKING
env:ANSIBLE_NETCONF_HOST_KEY_CHECKING
var: ansible_host_key_checking
var: ansible_ssh_host_key_checking
var: ansible_netconf_host_key_checking
Set this to "False" if you want to avoid host key checking by the underlying tools Ansible uses to connect to the host
look_for_keys
boolean
Default:
"yes"
ini entries:

[paramiko_connection]
look_for_keys = yes

env:ANSIBLE_PARAMIKO_LOOK_FOR_KEYS
Enables looking for ssh keys in the usual locations for ssh keys (e.g. :file:`~/.ssh/id_*`).
netconf_ssh_config
-
ini entries:

[netconf_connection]
ssh_config = VALUE

env:ANSIBLE_NETCONF_SSH_CONFIG
var: ansible_netconf_ssh_config
This variable is used to enable bastion/jump host with netconf connection. If set to True the bastion/jump host ssh settings should be present in ~/.ssh/config file, alternatively it can be set to custom ssh configuration file path to read the bastion/jump host settings.
network_os
-
var: ansible_network_os
Configures the device platform network operating system. This value is used to load a device specific netconf plugin. If this option is not configured, then the default netconf plugin will be used.
password
-
var: ansible_password
var: ansible_ssh_pass
var: ansible_ssh_password
var: ansible_netconf_password
Configures the user password used to authenticate to the remote device when first establishing the SSH connection.
persistent_command_timeout
integer
Default:
30
ini entries:

[persistent_connection]
command_timeout = 30

env:ANSIBLE_PERSISTENT_COMMAND_TIMEOUT
var: ansible_command_timeout
Configures, in seconds, the amount of time to wait for a command to return from the remote device. If this timer is exceeded before the command returns, the connection plugin will raise an exception and close.
persistent_connect_timeout
integer
Default:
30
ini entries:

[persistent_connection]
connect_timeout = 30

env:ANSIBLE_PERSISTENT_CONNECT_TIMEOUT
var: ansible_connect_timeout
Configures, in seconds, the amount of time to wait when trying to initially establish a persistent connection. If this value expires before the connection to the remote device is completed, the connection will fail.
persistent_log_messages
boolean
Default:
"no"
ini entries:

[persistent_connection]
log_messages = no

env:ANSIBLE_PERSISTENT_LOG_MESSAGES
var: ansible_persistent_log_messages
This flag will enable logging the command executed and response received from target device in the ansible log file. For this option to work 'log_path' ansible configuration option is required to be set to a file path with write access.
Be sure to fully understand the security implications of enabling this option as it could create a security vulnerability by logging sensitive information in log file.
port
integer
Default:
830
ini entries:

[defaults]
remote_port = 830

env:ANSIBLE_REMOTE_PORT
var: ansible_port
Specifies the port on the remote device that listens for connections when establishing the SSH connection.
private_key_file
-
ini entries:

[defaults]
private_key_file = VALUE

env:ANSIBLE_PRIVATE_KEY_FILE
var: ansible_private_key_file
The private SSH key or certificate file used to authenticate to the remote device when first establishing the SSH connection.
remote_user
-
ini entries:

[defaults]
remote_user = VALUE

env:ANSIBLE_REMOTE_USER
var: ansible_user
The username used to authenticate to the remote device when the SSH connection is first established. If the remote_user is not specified, the connection will use the username of the logged in user.
Can be configured from the CLI via the --user or -u options.
timeout
integer
Default:
120
Sets the connection time, in seconds, for communicating with the remote device. This timeout is used as the default timeout value when awaiting a response after issuing a call to a RPC. If the RPC does not return in timeout seconds, an error is generated.

Status

Authors

  • Ansible Networking Team

Hint

If you notice any issues in this documentation, you can edit this document to improve it.

Hint

Configuration entries for each entry type have a low to high priority order. For example, a variable that is lower in the list will override a variable that is higher up.