Data Center Automation using Juniper Apstra Freeform (APSTRAFF) – Outline

Detailed Course Outline

Course Introduction

Intent-Based Networking

• What do we mean by intent?
• Where is Juniper Apstra positioned?

Juniper Apstra Overview

• Juniper Apstra server
• Juniper Apstra device agents

Apstra UI Walkthrough

• Navigate the global Apstra UI
• Lab 1: Apstra UI Walkthrough

Device Profiles

• Describe Device Profiles
• Lab 2: Device Profiles

Device Management

• Device profiles as a hardware compatibility list
• Install off-box agents
• Install on-box agents
• Perform ZTP
• Lab 3: Managing Devices

Data Center Reference Design Versus Freeform Reference Design

• DC reference design overview
• Freeform reference design overview

Navigating the Blueprint UI

• Navigate the tabs – Dashboard, Analytics, Staged, Uncommitted, Active, and Time Voyager
• Describe the layered views of the staged and active networks
• IBA probe versus service anomalies

Role-Based Access Control

• Configure users, roles, and providers to enable local and remote authentication
• Lab 4: Navigating the Blueprint UI and RBAC

Introduction to the REST API

• Describe how to use the Juniper Apstra REST API

Resources

• Create IP, VNI, and ASN pools

Tags

• Create Tags
• Lab 5: REST API, Resources, and Tags

Syslog

• Configure and monitor logging to a remote syslog server
• Lab 6: Syslog

Jinja Review

• Jinja2 Overview
• Jinja2 with Python example
• Loading templates from the file system
• Jinja2 syntax basics
• Variable expansion
• For loops
• Conditionals
• Math and logic operators
• Comparison and other operators
• Filters
• Include directive
• Set directive
• Lab 7: Jinja Review

Config Templates

• Global config templates
• Default config templates
• Templating methodologies
• Importing a config template
• Config template REST API calls

Deploy a Freeform Blueprint

• Minimum requirements to deploy a Freeform blueprint
• Direct config example
• Importing device profiles
• Editing the topology
• Design your network topology
• Build your network topology
• Verify the rendered configurations
• Deploy the blueprint
• Verify your network with the Apstra UI
• Lab 8: Deploying a Freeform Blueprint

Device Context and Property Sets

• Changing hostname in the UI
• Creating a more accurate topology diagram
• Creating property sets
• Viewing the device context
• Viewing telemetry versus intent
• Including the junos_system.jinja and junos_protocols.jinja config template
• System REST API calls
• Link REST API calls
• Device context and property set REST API calls
• Lab 9: Device Context and Property Sets

CRB Use Case — Overview

• CRB theory
• CRB Junos configuration

CRB Intent and Default Config Templates

• Steps to define your intent (systems, hostnames, links, IP addressing, and tags)
• Importing device profiles
• Creating tags
• Creating internal systems
• Creating external systems
• Creating links
• Using the default config templates
• Creating a “root” template
• Deploying the initial blueprint
• Lab 10: Creating Intent, Context, and Root Template for CRB

CRB Intent and Default Config Templates

• Steps to enable basic routing
• Create property sets for AS numbers, loopback addresses, and routing instances
• Create config template for loopback interfaces
• Create config template for routing options
• Create config template for policy options
• Create config template for BGP peering
• Instantiate a predefined IBA probe (BGP flapping)
• Lab 11: Basic Routing for CRB

L2 Overlay Networking for CRB

• Steps to enable overlay VXLAN networks
• Create a vlan property set
• Create config template for switch options
• Create config template for VXLAN overlay networks
• Lab 12: Layer 2 Overlay Networking for CRB

Layer 3 Overlay Networking for CRB

• Steps to enable routing between VXLAN networks
• Update vlan property set with IP addressing for IRB interfaces
• Create a subinterface property set
• Create config template for external router facing subinterfaces
• Create config template for routing instances
• Lab 13: Layer 3 Overlay Networking for CRB

Day 2 Operations

• Day 2 operations overview
• Move a server by modifying a property set
• Enable drain mode functionality by modifying config templates
• Lab 14: Day 2 Operations

Graph Explorer

• Graph datastore overview
• Accessing the graph explorer
• Freeform reference design schema
• Graph of a running blueprint
• Using the graph explorer to find a node
• Querying the graph

Intent-Based Analytics Overview

• What is intent-based analytics?
• IBA probe overview
• How to create a probe
• Freeform-specific processors

Creating an IBA Probe

• Default probes
• Instantiating a predefined probe
• Creating a new probe
• Lab 15: Creating IBA Probes