A lightning talks presentation at APRICOT 2015.

1. Automating network configurations with open
standards and tools
APRICOT 2015, Fukuoka
Victor Kuarsingh / Carlos Vicente
Dyn

2. Project name: Kipper
● Very mellow dog
● Likes an easy, simple life
Can automation do that for us
network engineers?

3. The problems
● Copy-pasting and hand-crafting
configurations at the command line:
o Is very error-prone
o Leads to inconsistencies
o Takes too long
o Does not scale!
● No formal approval process
o Bad changes can be introduced without review

4. The goals
● Facilitate consistency
§ standardization, accuracy and predictability
● Minimize errors
● Increase speed
● Use open source when possible
● Use open standards when possible

5. Learn from software engineers
● Continuous Integration and Delivery (CI/CD)
o Many tools already available
§ Git, Jenkins, TravisCI, etc.
Learn from sysadmins
● Many tools available: Chef, Puppet, Ansible,
Salt, etc.
● Domain-specific languages (DSLs) to specify
desired state

6. Dyn case
● ~20 data centers in 5 continents
● Hundreds of network devices
● Multiple teams
● Fast growth
● Automation is a main priority
o Existing automation of servers and applications
o Little or no network automation as of last year

7. The Ecosystem
NETCONF
Config / Code Repository
Git
Automation Tool. Agentless,
Push model
Jenkins
Open Source CI/CD tool. Job
automation
RFC 6241. Standard, Good Juniper support
(other platforms leave room for improvement)

8. Concept

9. Variables
group_vars/
all.yml
ams.yml
iad.yml
edge.yml
host_vars/
edge-01-ams.yml
vpn-01-iad.yml

10. Template example

12. Challenges
● Cultural change
o Requires us to think differently
o Familiarity with source control, Ansible, etc.
● Dry-runs fail because someone has the lock
o Nuisance until 100% templated
● Approval while network admins are not
around?
o Off hours emergencies, etc.

13. Sharing
https://github.com/dyninc/kipper-demo

14. Thank you
cvicente@dyn.com or vkuarsingh@dyn.com