Meeting Petr Ankudinov from Arista Network at Ansible Community Day Berlin 2023

Unlocking the Future of Networking with Ansible: Insights from Petr Ankudinov of Arista Networks

September 24, 2023

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Introduction

The Ansible Community Day Berlin 2023 provided a platform for networking enthusiasts to connect and share their innovative approaches to network automation. During the event, we had the privilege of meeting Petr Ankudinov from Arista Networks, who introduced us to an exciting project to streamline containerized network environments.

Meet Petr Ankudinov

Petr Ankudinov, representing Arista Networks, shared insights into a project that bridges the gap between network automation and containerization. Arista Networks recognizes the pivotal role of Ansible in accelerating project deployments and enhancing efficiency in network management.

Building Successful Containerized Environments

The presentation of Petr Ankudinov and Patrick Mathy focused on creating successful containerized environments using the concept of DevContainers. He highlighted the importance of Ansible in saving time and ensuring project success. His demonstration showcased an easy-to-consume demo environment deployed on GitHub code spaces. GitHub’s code spaces simplify the development process by allowing users to create their development environments with a single click. This approach offers a familiar VSCode experience accessible from any device, making it incredibly convenient for demos and introducing enhanced user experiences.

The Future of Network Automation

When asked about the future of network automation and software-defined networking (SDN), Petr Ankudinov challenged the common perception of SDN. He emphasized that writing code to achieve various tasks within network management can be more powerful and flexible than traditional SDN approaches. This perspective highlights the potential for Ansible to redefine the landscape of network automation by offering a versatile and code-driven solution.

Interview

Luca Berton: Hi, friends. This is Luca, your Ansible pilot, and I’m here with a new friend that I made today during the Ansible Community Day. But please introduce yourself and the project that you are bringing to the community.

Petr Ankudinov: Hello, my name is Peter. So, I’m working for Easter Networks, and Ansible is a super important tool for us because it allows us to save a lot of time and deploy a lot of projects successfully.

And… I came up with an idea of how to build a successful, containerized environment, so for our use cases, but potentially for many others, using DevContainer, which is a relatively new concept but already quite familiar in the development world, yeah, so, and that’s what I was talking about today, yeah.

Luca Berton: Yes, so the demo was great. So during the presentation there was a demo moment that you were sharing with us some container where people can actually [00:01:00] experiment and try test the code for Ansible. Am I correct?

Petr Ankudinov: Yes, so the demo I was showing is super easy to consume. It was deployed on GitHub code spaces.

GitHub’s code spaces are great. So, it’s where you can build the entire development environment. Essentially, in one click, use a dev container, and then you get your familiar VSCode experience anytime, anywhere. So, like, from, from any device, yeah. So, it is very convenient to show demos to the customers, and, um, to introduce very…

It was a very nice experience in people’s lives.

Luca Berton: That is so great. I think that this kind of approach exemplifies the effort that a lot of vendors are making with Ansible network. And how we can automate this type, like a software-defined network. Is this the future, in your opinion?

Petr Ankudinov: Um, you know, I have to ask a very common question.

So what is software defined network, right? Um, I mean, we can do a lot of useful things by writing codes, right?

Luca Berton: That is cool. That is cool. Thank you so much for having us, and let’s automate more. Thank you, friends.

Conclusion

The presentation from Petr Ankudinov and Patrick Mathy’s insights from Arista Networks exemplify the innovative spirit of the Ansible community. As organizations increasingly adopt containerization and seek efficient network management solutions, Petr’s project and Ansible’s role in it become increasingly significant.

The Ansible community continues to drive automation initiatives, providing valuable resources and tools for networking professionals worldwide. The demonstration of Petr Ankudinov and Patrick Mathy underscores the importance of exploring new horizons in network automation, showcasing how Ansible can empower organizations to streamline their operations and adapt to evolving network challenges.

As we look to the future of network automation, Petr and Patrick’s approach offers a glimpse into the potential of Ansible in revolutionizing software-defined networking. With the mantra of “Let’s automate more,” the Ansible community remains committed to shaping the future of networking automation. Thank you for being a part of this journey.

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