We kicked off our new video series — NetGru: Month of Networking — with a hands-on look at how to automate Cisco Catalyst Center using Ansible. Hosted by Adrian Illiesiu, Principal Engineer, this weekly livestream is your chance to see demos, ask questions live, and hear directly from the people building and using Cisco’s automation tools.
Episode 1 features Pawan Singh, Solutions Engineer, walking through a faster, more reliable way to automate with Catalyst Center. If you’ve ever stitched together long, fragile playbooks or juggled low-level APIs, this video is worth your time.
Watch the replay now
New episodes stream every Wednesday on the Cisco DevNet YouTube channel.
Automate smarter: What you’ll learn
Instead of managing hundreds of API calls, Pawan shows how Cisco’s high-level Ansible workflow modules encapsulate entire tasks—like site design, provisioning, and SDA configuration—into reusable, auditable playbooks. The result? Smaller files, fewer errors, and easier troubleshooting.
Here’s what’s inside the replay:
Catalyst Center Ansible workflows in action
No more re-sending configs or handling every edge case. These modules handle discovery, diff detection, updates, and verification in one job.
Cisco Validated Playbooks for Day 0/1/2
Use published playbooks with schema-validated inputs for real tasks—like SDA automation with Ansible, site provisioning, compliance checks, and upgrades.
A “Network as Code” structure
Pawan demos a repo layout you can clone and adapt: inventories, input models, runner scripts, and use-case chains like design → discovery → provisioning → compliance.
Catalyst Center schema validation with Ansible
Catch input mistakes before deployment. Validate types, structures, and formats with YAML schemas built for Catalyst Center.
Post-deploy verification and readable logs
A simple switch lets you confirm that the desired state exists in Catalyst Center. Split logs show both the Ansible run and Catalyst Center API calls—so it’s easy to trace what happened.
Bonus: Ansible from VS Code
See how to generate site and IP-pool data models with a VS Code assistant, then run playbooks directly—without leaving your editor.
Why it matters
Whether you’re just starting with network automation or scaling out SDA, this video shows what’s possible with:
- Ansible Galaxy Cisco workflow modules
- Catalyst Center compliance automation
- DNA Center to Catalyst Center Ansible collection support
- Run Ansible workflows from VS Code
You’ll see how to move from brittle scripts to structured, validated, and repeatable automation.
What’s next on NetGru: Month of Networking
Each week, we bring on a new guest with practical demos and real answers. Mark your calendar:
- September 17: Unified Network and Security Analytics with Splunk with Taylor Cook
- September 24: MCP Servers for Network Platforms with Gabriel Zapodeanu
- October 8: Cisco Workflows Deep Dive with Ed Novak
Join us live to ask questions and see what’s coming next in Cisco networking.
Watch, learn, and subscribe
Watch the replay now, then subscribe to the Cisco DevNet YouTube channel so you don’t miss a livestream.
NetGru: Month of Networking is just getting started—and your automation game will thank you.
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