API Guide

Dell EMC SmartFabric OS10 provisioning
OS10 supports automated switch provisioning — configuration and monitoring — using:
● RESTCONF API — REST-like protocol that uses HTTPS connections. Use the OS10 RESTCONF API to set up the
configuration parameters on OS10 switches with JavaScript Object Notation (JSON)-structured messages. You can use any
programming language to create and send JSON messages; see RESTCONF API.
● SmartFabric Services fabric automation — Automate the configuration of OS10 switches in Isilon backend, PowerEdge MX,
and VxRail turnkey solutions; see Dell EMC PowerEdge MX SmartFabric Services Configuration and Troubleshooting Guide.
● Linux DevOps ecosystem — OS10 provides access to an unmodified Linux (Debian) operating system that allows you to
benefit from the Linux DevOps ecosystem. Programmers can write applications in Python or C/C++ to execute on an OS10
switch.
● Ansible — Third-party DevOps tool. Ansible is a powerful, open-source IT automation engine that provides a simple way to
automate application software and IT infrastructure. Ansible allows you to remove complexity from these environments and
accelerate DevOps initiatives; see Using Ansible and Example: Configure OS10 switch using Ansible.
Using Ansible
Ansible works by connecting to your nodes using SSH and pushing out small programs, called Ansible modules, to them. Ansible
includes hundreds of network modules to support a wide variety of network device vendors. Ansible uses a simple, powerful and
agentless automation framework. For more information, go to Network Automation with Ansible.
Dell EMC Networking Ansible solutions
Dell EMC Networking Ansible solutions are based on an open ecosystem that allows organizations to choose from industry-
standard network applications, network operating systems, and network hardware. Use Ansible to provision and manage Dell
EMC switches for rapid new device deployment and network configuration changes. Ansible also allows you to track running
network device configurations against a known baseline for both Dell EMC and third-party operating systems.
The Ansible modules for Dell EMC Networking solutions allow organizations to reduce the time and effort required to design,
provision, and manage networks by providing these benefits:
● Agentless — No new software is required to install on switches.
● Powerful — End-to-end automation of the configuration of bare metal switches using the Dell EMC Open Automation
framework.
● Easy-to-use — Dell EMC Networking modules ship with the Ansible distribution. There is nothing extra to install.
● Best practice — Uses CLI user authentication to centralize and monitor session management.
Dell EMC Networking Ansible modules
Ansible ships with a number of modules that can be executed directly on remote hosts or through playbooks. The collection of
modules is called the module library. Modules are discrete units of code that are used from the command line or in a playbook
task. You can also write your own modules.
Starting with Ansible 2.2, the Ansible core supports Dell EMC Networking modules. Use these modules to manage and automate
Dell EMC switches running OS6, OS9, and OS10. Dell EMC Networking modules are executed in local connection mode using CLI
and SSH transport. The following OS10 modules are integrated into the Ansible core:
● dellos10_command: Runs show commands or EXEC mode commands through Ansible. For example, show version
command output displays the current OS version running on a switch.
● dellos10_config: Runs OS10 configuration commands through Ansible.
● dellos10_facts: Retrieves the running configuration from an OS10 switch.
Dell EMC Networking Ansible roles
Ansible roles allow you to automatically load variable files (vars_files) and tasks based on a known file structure. Grouping
content by roles allows the roles to be easily shared with other users. These roles are abstracted for OS6, OS9 and OS10.
Download Dell EMC Ansible Networking roles from https://galaxy.ansible.com/.
For information and examples about how to use the Ansible roles, see Dell EMC Networking Repositories.
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