Nautobot Workshop Blog Series - Overview

Nautobot Workshop Blog Series

Nautobot Workshop is a hands-on blog series for building a fully automated network lab using Nautobot, Containerlab, and Docker. Starting with a basic Ubuntu setup, each post walks through:

• Deploying Nautobot via nautobot-docker-compose
• Modeling topologies with Containerlab and vrnetlab routers
• Populating Nautobot with real device data using Ansible
• Generating configurations with Jinja2 templates
• Enforcing compliance with the Golden Config plugin
• Leveraging Nautobot’s GraphQL API for dynamic inventory

This series is perfect for network engineers aiming to combine source of truth, automation, and simulation in a streamlined workflow.

🚀 All project files are available in this GitHub repo

Workshop Outline

Part 1: Environment Setup - Release date 6/5

Goal: Build a repeatable automation lab foundation using Ubuntu, Containerlab, Nautobot, and vrnetlab.

• Install and prepare Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

• Install dependencies:

  • Docker
  • Containerlab
  • vrnetlab (for IOL)
  • nautobot-docker-compose
• Clone and configure:
  • containerlab-topology
  • nautobot-docker-compose
• Validate working environment:
  • Spin up Nautobot stack
  • Verify IOL devices launch via containerlab

Part 2: Review the Network Topology - Release date 6/12

Goal: Understand the multi-site MPLS lab you’ll be modeling in Nautobot.

• Overview of uploaded diagrams:
  • Provider topology
  • East Data Center
  • West Data Center
  • In-band Management
• Discuss ASN layout, IP schemes (v4/v6), and router roles (RR, PE, P, CE)
• Management overlay discussion and how it ties into automation

Part 3: Adding Devices to Nautobot via Ansible - Release date 6/19

Goal: Automate network inventory onboarding.

• Use networktocode.nautobot Ansible collections
• Build YAML or Jinja templates for devices, interfaces, and IPs
• Write a playbook to:
  • Create Sites, Devices, Interfaces, IP Addresses, Connections
• Validate in Nautobot UI

Part 4: Building ContainerLab topology from the Nautobot Inventory - Release date 6/26

Goal: Create a virtual topology based on the Nautobot inventory that can be used for testing and validation.

• Write GraphQL queries for device + interface inventory
• Write a Jinja2 template to create the CLAB topology YAML
• Write a Jinja2 template to create an initial configuration with MGMT reachability

Part 5 - Nautobot Golden Configuration - Configuration Backups - Release date 7/03

Goal: Enable automated configuration backups from network devices to a Git repository using the Nautobot Golden Configuration app.

• Configure GitHub secret in Nautobot Secrets
• Create a Secrets Group for GitHub token access
• Add and sync a Git repository to store backups
• Prepare Git repo with jobs/ and backup-configs/ folders
• Create a GraphQL query for SOT Aggregation
• Update Golden Config Settings to:
• Define backup paths
• Associate SOT Aggregation Query
• Enable required Golden Config Jobs
• Execute Backup Configurations Job for EOS and IOS devices
• Confirm backups stored in Git under backup-configs/

Part 6 - Nautobot Golden Configuration - Intended Configurations - Release date 7/10

Goal: Validate that device configurations match the intended state generated from Nautobot source-of-truth data.

• Define what configuration compliance means in Nautobot
• Set up a Git repo for intended configuration templates
• Create modular Jinja2 templates by platform and role (e.g., IOS, EOS)
• Update Golden Config Settings to point to intended config templates
• Extend the container environment to support custom Jinja filters
• Generate and validate intended configurations
• Run the compliance job and view compliance status in the Nautobot UI

Part 7 - Nautobot Ansible Dynamic Inventory - Release date 7/017

Goal: Use Nautobot as a dynamic inventory source in Ansible to generate and deploy real device configurations.

• Configure Ansible to use Nautobot’s GraphQL API for dynamic inventory
• Secure API access with environment variables and Ansible Vault
• Build an Ansible role to query device data from Nautobot
• Use Jinja2 templates to generate platform-specific configurations
• Push configurations to Cisco devices using cisco.ios.ios_config
• Demonstrate how source-of-truth data drives real configuration deployment

Part 8 - Nautobot Config Context and Custom Fields - - Release date 7/24

Goal: Leverage Nautobot’s Config Context and Custom Fields to drive dynamic, structured configuration generation from a Git-backed source of truth.

• Define and store structured Config Context data in Git for centralized version control
• Create Config Context Schemas to validate and organize data for:
  • VRF definitions
  • User account configurations
  • Global protocol settings (OSPF, MPLS, BGP)
  • Cisco HTTP server settings (e.g., ip http server)
  • SSH access configurations
  • Line VTY parameters
• Assign Config Contexts to devices based on role, location, or other criteria
• Enable context weighting to ensure fallback/default configurations
• Create interface-level Custom Fields to track OSPF-specific metadata:
  • Interface type (point-to-point, point-to-multipoint)
  • Area assignment
• Use this structured data in Jinja2 templates to generate context-aware, platform-specific configurations