Step 1 - Open The Main Task File for the create_fabric Role

For the create_fabric role tasks, ensure you are in your VSCode Terminal and open the main.yml file found in roles/create_fabric/tasks directory using the VSCode code keyword as before.

code-server -r ~/workspace/ndfclab/ansible/roles/create_fabric/tasks/main.yml

Step 2 - Add Tasks to Create & Manage Fabrics in NDFC

Copy the below tasks into the roles/create_fabric/tasks/main.yml file that uses various modules including the dcnm_fabric module to query the fabrics in NDFC then in the imported task will actually create the fabric. The config parameter takes the fabric name from the group_vars/staging/fabric.yml file you created in the previous section by referencing the fabric_settings key, then the FABRIC_NAME key respectively.

- name: Role Entry Point - [create_fabric]
  ansible.builtin.debug:
    msg:
      - "----------------------------------------------------------------"
      - "+             Calling Role - [create_fabric]                   +"
      - "----------------------------------------------------------------"
  tags:
    - cf_vxlan
    - cf_external
    - cf_poap
    - cf_all

- name: Include Tasks To Create Fabric
  ansible.builtin.import_tasks: manage_fabric.yml
  tags:
    - cf_vxlan
    - cf_all

- name: Include Tasks To Create External Fabric
  ansible.builtin.import_tasks: manage_external_fabric.yml
  tags:
    - cf_external
    - cf_all

After successfully populating the file above, save the file using Ctrl+s on the Windows keyboard or by clicking File then Save.

Step 3 - Create & Open manage_fabric.yml Subtask File in the create_fabric Role

Open the manage_fabric tasks file that will be populated and used to create your initial fabric in NDFC.

code-server -r ~/workspace/ndfclab/ansible/roles/create_fabric/tasks/manage_fabric.yml

Step 4 - Add Tasks to manage_fabric.yml for Creating & Managing a VXLAN EVPN Fabric

This manage_fabric tasks file contains the subtasks to the main create_fabric role used to create the fabric in NDFC. This task uses some Ansible built-in modules to check if the fabric already exists in NDFC, then creates the fabric if it does not exist using the dcnm_fabric module. The dcnm_fabric module uses the variable data, fabric_settings, from your group_vars/staging/fabric.yml file to create the fabric.

---

- name: Query NDFC for Fabric
  cisco.dcnm.dcnm_fabric:
    state: query
    config:
      - FABRIC_NAME: "{{ fabric_settings.FABRIC_NAME }}"
  register: create_fabric_result
  tags:
    - cf_vxlan
    - cf_external
    - cf_poap
    - cf_all

- name: Intialize create_fabric_flag
  ansible.builtin.set_fact:
    create_fabric_flag: true

- name: Check If Fabric Exists in NDFC
  ansible.builtin.set_fact:
    create_fabric_flag: false
  when: item.fabricName == fabric_settings.FABRIC_NAME
  loop: "{{ create_fabric_result.response | json_query('[].DATA[]') }}"
  loop_control:
    label: "{{ item.fabricName }}"

- name: Check If Fabric Exists in NDFC Log
  ansible.builtin.debug:
    msg: "Fabric {{ fabric_settings.FABRIC_NAME }} Already Exists"
  when: not create_fabric_flag

- name: Create Fabric {{ fabric_settings.FABRIC_NAME }} in NDFC
  cisco.dcnm.dcnm_fabric:
    state: merged
    config: ["{{ fabric_settings }}"]
  when: create_fabric_flag

After successfully populating the file above, save the file using Ctrl+s on the Windows keyboard or by clicking File then Save.

Step 5 - Add Empty Placeholder Subtask File for manage_external_fabric.yml

If you examine the contents of roles/create_fabric/tasks/main.yml closely you will notice that in addition to importing tasks from manage_fabric.yml there is another import statement to import tasks for an external fabric:

ansible.builtin.import_tasks: manage_external_fabric.yml

In this lab, since you are creating highly usable Ansible roles and will be building out the tasks and subtasks at different times, you need to create a placeholder file for this task now so your playbook will not fail when you run it. You will fill in the content for the manage_external_fabric.yml subtask later in this lab.

touch ~/workspace/ndfclab/ansible/roles/create_fabric/tasks/manage_external_fabric.yml
cat << EOF > ~/workspace/ndfclab/ansible/roles/create_fabric/tasks/manage_external_fabric.yml
---
EOF

Step 6 - Create a Top Level build_fabric.yml Ansible Playbook

Now you need to create the main or top level Ansible playbook that will be used to build the fabric. This file will be the main entry point for all of the tasks and roles that you will create and invoke to manage your fabric using NDFC and Ansible.

touch ~/workspace/ndfclab/ansible/build_fabric.yml
cat << EOF > ~/workspace/ndfclab/ansible/build_fabric.yml
---
# This is the top level build playbook that runs the various
# Ansible roles that will be used to build out the fabric

- name: Build VXLAN EVPN Fabric on NDFC
  hosts: ndfc
  gather_facts: false

  roles:
    - create_fabric
EOF

Step 7 - Execute Ansible Playbook

Make sure you are in your root Ansible directory

cd ~/workspace/ndfclab/ansible

From the root Ansible project directory execute the following command:

ansible-playbook -i hosts.stage.yml build_fabric.yml --tags cf_vxlan

Upon a successful run of the playbook your output should look as follows:

  [WARNING]: file /home/cisco/Documents/ndfclab/ansible/roles/create_fabric/tasks/manage_external_fabric.yml is empty and had no tasks to include

  PLAY [Build VXLAN EVPN Fabric on NDFC] ********************************************************************************************************************************************************************

  TASK [create_fabric : Role Entry Point - [create_fabric]] *************************************************************************************************************************************************
  ok: [10.15.0.11] => {
      "msg": [
          "----------------------------------------------------------------",
          "+             Calling Role - [create_fabric]                   +",
          "----------------------------------------------------------------"
      ]
  }

  TASK [create_fabric : Query NDFC for Fabric] **************************************************************************************************************************************************************
  ok: [10.15.0.11]

  TASK [create_fabric : Intialize create_fabric_flag] *******************************************************************************************************************************************************
  ok: [10.15.0.11]

  TASK [create_fabric : Check If Fabric Exists in NDFC] *****************************************************************************************************************************************************
  skipping: [10.15.0.11]

  TASK [create_fabric : Check If Fabric Exists in NDFC Log] *************************************************************************************************************************************************
  skipping: [10.15.0.11]

  TASK [create_fabric : Create Fabric fabric-stage in NDFC] *************************************************************************************************************************************************
  changed: [10.15.0.11]

  PLAY RECAP ************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
  10.15.0.11                 : ok=4    changed=1    unreachable=0    failed=0    skipped=2    rescued=0    ignored=0

If you examine the output above you can see that fabric-stage was created. You might also notice warnings at the top of the logs indicating that the two task files you created are actually empty and contain no tasks. This is normal since you created an empty placeholder file. These warnings will go away once you build out the files later in the lab, however, it is nice that Ansible warns us about this!

Step 8 - Return to NDFC & Verify Staging Fabric was Created

Return to NDFC in your browser where you should still be sitting at the Fabrics dashboard. After the playbook has run, verify your staging fabric has been created by Ansible. You should see the fabric fabric-stage in the list of fabrics. This fabric was created by the Ansible playbook you just ran using your variables and defaults of NDFC and is empty at this point.

Step 9 - Return to VSCode & Close All Open Tabs

With devops toolchains, it comes naturally that you deal with a number of files. In an effort to keep your workspace in VSCode tidy and focused on your current tasks, you can use a keyboard shortcut to close files at the end of each section.

Navigate back to your VSCode application. On the keyword press Ctrl + K + W. This should close all open tabs to clear your workspace for the next section.

Move on to the next section to build the initial task to add switch inventory to your fabric.