ansible.netcommon.cli_config – Push text based configuration to network devices over network_cli

Note

This plugin is part of the ansible.netcommon collection (version 2.5.0).

You might already have this collection installed if you are using the ansible package. It is not included in ansible-core. To check whether it is installed, run ansible-galaxy collection list.

To install it, use: ansible-galaxy collection install ansible.netcommon.

To use it in a playbook, specify: ansible.netcommon.cli_config.

New in version 1.0.0: of ansible.netcommon

Synopsis

  • This module provides platform agnostic way of pushing text based configuration to network devices over network_cli connection plugin.

Note

This module has a corresponding action plugin.

Parameters

Parameter

Comments

backup

boolean

This argument will cause the module to create a full backup of the current running config from the remote device before any changes are made. If the backup_options value is not given, the backup file is written to the backup folder in the playbook root directory or role root directory, if playbook is part of an ansible role. If the directory does not exist, it is created.

Choices:

  • no ← (default)

  • yes

backup_options

dictionary

This is a dict object containing configurable options related to backup file path. The value of this option is read only when backup is set to yes, if backup is set to no this option will be silently ignored.

dir_path

path

This option provides the path ending with directory name in which the backup configuration file will be stored. If the directory does not exist it will be first created and the filename is either the value of filename or default filename as described in filename options description. If the path value is not given in that case a backup directory will be created in the current working directory and backup configuration will be copied in filename within backup directory.

filename

string

The filename to be used to store the backup configuration. If the filename is not given it will be generated based on the hostname, current time and date in format defined by <hostname>_config.<current-date>@<current-time>

commit

boolean

The commit argument instructs the module to push the configuration to the device. This is mapped to module check mode.

Choices:

  • no

  • yes

commit_comment

string

The commit_comment argument specifies a text string to be used when committing the configuration. If the commit argument is set to False, this argument is silently ignored. This argument is only valid for the platforms that support commit operation with comment.

config

string

The config to be pushed to the network device. This argument is mutually exclusive with rollback and either one of the option should be given as input. To ensure idempotency and correct diff the configuration lines should be similar to how they appear if present in the running configuration on device including the indentation.

defaults

boolean

The defaults argument will influence how the running-config is collected from the device. When the value is set to true, the command used to collect the running-config is append with the all keyword. When the value is set to false, the command is issued without the all keyword.

Choices:

  • no ← (default)

  • yes

diff_ignore_lines

list / elements=string

Use this argument to specify one or more lines that should be ignored during the diff. This is used for lines in the configuration that are automatically updated by the system. This argument takes a list of regular expressions or exact line matches. Note that this parameter will be ignored if the platform has onbox diff support.

diff_match

string

Instructs the module on the way to perform the matching of the set of commands against the current device config. If diff_match is set to line, commands are matched line by line. If diff_match is set to strict, command lines are matched with respect to position. If diff_match is set to exact, command lines must be an equal match. Finally, if diff_match is set to none, the module will not attempt to compare the source configuration with the running configuration on the remote device. Note that this parameter will be ignored if the platform has onbox diff support.

Choices:

  • line

  • strict

  • exact

  • none

diff_replace

string

Instructs the module on the way to perform the configuration on the device. If the diff_replace argument is set to line then the modified lines are pushed to the device in configuration mode. If the argument is set to block then the entire command block is pushed to the device in configuration mode if any line is not correct. Note that this parameter will be ignored if the platform has onbox diff support.

Choices:

  • line

  • block

  • config

multiline_delimiter

string

This argument is used when pushing a multiline configuration element to the device. It specifies the character to use as the delimiting character. This only applies to the configuration action.

replace

string

If the replace argument is set to yes, it will replace the entire running-config of the device with the config argument value. For devices that support replacing running configuration from file on device like NXOS/JUNOS, the replace argument takes path to the file on the device that will be used for replacing the entire running-config. The value of config option should be None for such devices. Nexus 9K devices only support replace. Use net_put or nxos_file_copy in case of NXOS module to copy the flat file to remote device and then use set the fullpath to this argument.

rollback

integer

The rollback argument instructs the module to rollback the current configuration to the identifier specified in the argument. If the specified rollback identifier does not exist on the remote device, the module will fail. To rollback to the most recent commit, set the rollback argument to 0. This option is mutually exclusive with config.

Notes

Note

  • The commands will be returned only for platforms that do not support onbox diff. The --diff option with the playbook will return the difference in configuration for devices that has support for onbox diff

  • To ensure idempotency and correct diff the configuration lines in the relevant module options should be similar to how they appear if present in the running configuration on device including the indentation.

  • This module is supported on ansible_network_os network platforms. See the Network Platform Options for details.

Examples

- name: configure device with config
  ansible.netcommon.cli_config:
    config: "{{ lookup('template', 'basic/config.j2') }}"

- name: multiline config
  ansible.netcommon.cli_config:
    config: |
      hostname foo
      feature nxapi

- name: configure device with config with defaults enabled
  ansible.netcommon.cli_config:
    config: "{{ lookup('template', 'basic/config.j2') }}"
    defaults: yes

- name: Use diff_match
  ansible.netcommon.cli_config:
    config: "{{ lookup('file', 'interface_config') }}"
    diff_match: none

- name: nxos replace config
  ansible.netcommon.cli_config:
    replace: bootflash:nxoscfg

- name: junos replace config
  ansible.netcommon.cli_config:
    replace: /var/home/ansible/junos01.cfg

- name: commit with comment
  ansible.netcommon.cli_config:
    config: set system host-name foo
    commit_comment: this is a test

- name: configurable backup path
  ansible.netcommon.cli_config:
    config: "{{ lookup('template', 'basic/config.j2') }}"
    backup: yes
    backup_options:
      filename: backup.cfg
      dir_path: /home/user

Return Values

Common return values are documented here, the following are the fields unique to this module:

Key

Description

backup_path

string

The full path to the backup file

Returned: when backup is yes

Sample: “/playbooks/ansible/backup/hostname_config.2016-07-16@22:28:34”

commands

list / elements=string

The set of commands that will be pushed to the remote device

Returned: When supports_generated_diff=True and supports_onbox_diff=False in the platform’s cliconf plugin

Sample: [“interface Loopback999”, “no shutdown”]

diff

string

The diff generated on the device when the commands were applied

Returned: When supports_onbox_diff=True in the platform’s cliconf plugin

Sample: “— system:/running-config\n+++ session:/ansible_1599745461-session-config\n@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@\n !\n transceiver qsfp default-mode 4x10G\n !\n-hostname veos\n+hostname veos3\n !\n spanning-tree mode mstp”

Authors

  • Trishna Guha (@trishnaguha)