Mission 1: Configure Your Pod as an Area in Catalyst Center Using Ansible

The first step is to configure your assigned pod as an area in Catalyst Center. This is essential for setting up the foundational structure required for subsequent tasks in the lab. Your pod will also be your tenant in Netbox. You will achieve this using Ansible and the cisco.dnac.site_workflow_manager module.

Documentation

cisco.dnac.site_workflow_manager

Step 1: Write ansible task to create the area

1. Open the existing ansible playbook create_area.yml in the editor. The file resides in the directory ansible/playbooks in your repository.
2. Explore the module documentation (link above)
3. Copy the example with site_type: area and paste it into your playbook (should be the first example).
4. Replace all variables with the values specified below.
5. Make sure to get your indents correct:

     tasks:
     - name: Create a new area site
       cisco.dnac.site_workflow_manager:
         dnac_host: 198.18.129.100
         #...
   

Variables

Site variables	value
name	pod3
parent_name	Global
site_type	area

DNAC variables	value
dnac_host	198.18.129.100
dnac_username	user3
dnac_password	C1sco12345
dnac_verify	false
dnac_port	443
dnac_version	2.3.7.6
dnac_debug	false
dnac_log_level	WARNING
dnac_log	false

Step 2: Run the Playbook

Once your playbook is ready, run it using the following command:

ansible-playbook ./ansible/playbooks/create_area.yml

Step 3: Verification

Log into the Catalyst Center with your credentials and navigate to Design > Network Hierarchy. Verify if your area has been successfully created under the Global parent site.

Example Pod-1:

Step 4: Commit your changes to your Gitlab repository

git add .
git commit -m "mission-1"
git push

---

Are you feeling stuck? Would you like a hint to help you out?