Here’s an Ansible playbook to automate common troubleshooting procedures for
network issues. This playbook performs tasks like checking device connectivity,
pinging remote hosts, tracing routes, and verifying configuration settings.
---
### **Ansible Playbook for Network Troubleshooting**
#### **Playbook Code**
```yaml
---
- name: Automate Network Troubleshooting Procedures
hosts: all
gather_facts: no
tasks:
- name: Verify device connectivity
ping:
- name: Check remote host reachability from the network device
cisco.ios.ios_command:
commands:
- ping 8.8.8.8
register: ping_result
- name: Trace route to a remote host
cisco.ios.ios_command:
commands:
- traceroute 8.8.8.8
register: traceroute_result
- name: Verify interface configurations
cisco.ios.ios_command:
commands:
- show running-config interface
register: interface_config
- name: Verify routing table
cisco.ios.ios_command:
commands:
- show ip route
register: routing_table
- name: Check CPU usage
cisco.ios.ios_command:
commands:
- show processes cpu sorted
register: cpu_usage
- name: Check memory utilization
cisco.ios.ios_command:
commands:
- show memory statistics
register: memory_usage
- name: Display ping results
debug:
var: ping_result.stdout
- name: Display traceroute results
debug:
var: traceroute_result.stdout
- name: Display interface configurations
debug:
var: interface_config.stdout
- name: Display routing table
debug:
var: routing_table.stdout
- name: Display CPU usage
debug:
var: cpu_usage.stdout
- name: Display memory utilization
debug:
var: memory_usage.stdout
```
---
### **Explanation**
#### **Header Section**
1. **`---`**
Marks the beginning of the YAML file.
2. **`- name: Automate Network Troubleshooting Procedures`**
Describes the purpose of this playbook: automating network troubleshooting
tasks.
3. **`hosts: all`**
Specifies that the playbook applies to all devices listed in the inventory file.
4. **`gather_facts: no`**
Skips fact gathering since it is not required for troubleshooting tasks.
---
#### **Tasks**
5. **`- name: Verify device connectivity`**
Tests if the Ansible control node can connect to the target devices.
6. **`ping:`**
The built-in `ping` module ensures the devices in the inventory are reachable.
---
7. **`- name: Check remote host reachability from the network device`**
Pings a remote host (e.g., `8.8.8.8`) from the network device.
8. **`cisco.ios.ios_command:`**
Uses the `ios_command` module from the `cisco.ios` collection to run the `ping`
command on Cisco devices.
9. **`commands:`**
Specifies the command to execute on the Cisco device, here `ping 8.8.8.8`.
10. **`register: ping_result`**
Saves the output of the ping command into the `ping_result` variable.
---
11. **`- name: Trace route to a remote host`**
Traces the path to a remote host to diagnose routing issues.
12. **`commands:`**
Specifies the `traceroute 8.8.8.8` command to trace the path to the specified
IP.
13. **`register: traceroute_result`**
Saves the traceroute command output in the `traceroute_result` variable.
---
14. **`- name: Verify interface configurations`**
Fetches the current running configuration for all interfaces.
15. **`commands:`**
Uses the `show running-config interface` command to display interface
configurations.
16. **`register: interface_config`**
Stores the command output in the `interface_config` variable.
---
17. **`- name: Verify routing table`**
Checks the device’s routing table to diagnose routing issues.
18. **`commands:`**
Runs the `show ip route` command to display the routing table.
19. **`register: routing_table`**
Captures the output of the routing table command in the `routing_table`
variable.
---
20. **`- name: Check CPU usage`**
Fetches CPU usage information to identify performance issues.
21. **`commands:`**
Uses the `show processes cpu sorted` command to display CPU utilization data.
22. **`register: cpu_usage`**
Stores the command output in the `cpu_usage` variable.
---
23. **`- name: Check memory utilization`**
Retrieves memory utilization statistics.
24. **`commands:`**
Runs the `show memory statistics` command to get details about memory usage.
25. **`register: memory_usage`**
Captures the memory statistics output in the `memory_usage` variable.
---
#### **Debugging Results**
26. **`- name: Display ping results`**
Prints the ping output for review.
27. **`debug:`**
The `debug` module is used to display the variable content in the console.
28. **`var: ping_result.stdout`**
Specifies that only the `stdout` (standard output) of the `ping_result`
variable should be printed.
29. **Subsequent Debug Tasks**
- Similar `debug` tasks are used to display the outputs of other variables,
such as `traceroute_result`, `interface_config`, `routing_table`, `cpu_usage`, and
`memory_usage`.
---
### **Prerequisites**
1. **Install Cisco Collection**
Ensure the `cisco.ios` collection is installed:
```bash
ansible-galaxy collection install cisco.ios
```
2. **Inventory File Example (`inventory.yml`)**
Define your devices in an inventory file:
```yaml
all:
hosts:
cisco_router:
ansible_host: 192.168.1.1
ansible_user: admin
ansible_password: admin
ansible_network_os: cisco.ios
```
3. **Run the Playbook**
Execute the playbook:
```bash
ansible-playbook -i inventory.yml network_troubleshooting.yml
```
---
### **Use Cases**
- Diagnose connectivity issues between devices and remote hosts.
- Trace routing paths to detect possible misconfigurations or network loops.
- Analyze interface configurations and routing tables for discrepancies.
- Check system resource usage (CPU and memory) for performance bottlenecks.
This playbook provides an efficient, repeatable method for identifying and
resolving network issues quickly.
