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Cisco Workflows - NetBox and Catalyst Center Integration

This directory contains automation workflows for integrating NetBox as the source of truth with Cisco Catalyst Center for network infrastructure provisioning and device onboarding.

Operation Types

Site Management Operations

Workflows designed for network site provisioning including:

  • Site and building hierarchy creation in both NetBox and Catalyst Center
  • Floor/location management with GPS coordinate lookup
  • Automatic synchronization between NetBox and Catalyst Center

Device Onboarding Operations

Workflows specifically designed for switch onboarding including:

  • Device registration in NetBox with proper attributes
  • IP address management and prefix creation
  • Plug and Play (PnP) device claiming in Catalyst Center
  • Network validation testing with pyATS

Directory Structure

Workflows/
├── README.md
├── Atomic_GetDataFromNetBox.json
├── Atomic_GetGPSFromGoogleAPI.json
├── Atomic_PatchDataInNetBox.json
├── Atomic_PostDataToNetBox.json
├── Master_CreateSite.json
├── Master_OnboardSwitch.json
├── Sub_Onboard_AddSwitchesToSite.json
├── Sub_Onboard_CreatePrefixesAndIPs.json
├── Sub_Onboard_RunPyATSTests.json
├── Sub_Onboard_SwitchViaPnP.json
├── Sub_Site_CreateHierarchy.json
├── Sub_Site_CreateInNetBox.json
└── Demo_CreateSiteViaScript.json

Current Workflows

The following workflows are available in this repository:

Atomic Workflows

Workflow Name Description Type
Get Data from NetBox Generic GET requests to NetBox API with query parameter support Atomic
Post Data to NetBox Generic POST requests to create objects in NetBox Atomic
Patch Data in NetBox Generic PATCH requests to update existing objects in NetBox Atomic
Get GPS from Google API Geocoding via Google Maps API for site address lookup Atomic

Master Workflows

Workflow Name Description Type
Create Site Creates a new site in both NetBox and Catalyst Center with floor locations Master
Onboard Switch Complete switch onboarding process from NetBox to Catalyst Center Master

Site Management Workflows

Workflow Name Description Type
Create in NetBox Creates site and floor locations in NetBox with GPS coordinates Sub
Create Hierarchy in CCC Creates site hierarchy in Catalyst Center from NetBox data Sub

Demo Workflows

Workflow Name Description Type
Create Site via NetBox Script Demonstrates calling a NetBox custom script to create sites Demo

Device Onboarding Workflows

Workflow Name Description Type
Add Switches to Site Adds switch devices to a site in NetBox with auto-naming Sub
Create Prefixes and IPs Creates IP prefixes and addresses from Catalyst Center PnP data Sub
Claim Device via PnP Claims devices in Catalyst Center via Plug and Play API Sub
Run pyATS Tests Runs pyATS network tests to validate device configuration Sub

Workflow Dependencies

Master_CreateSite
├── Sub_Site_CreateInNetBox
│   ├── Atomic_GetDataFromNetBox
│   ├── Atomic_PostDataToNetBox
│   └── Atomic_GetGPSFromGoogleAPI
└── Sub_Site_CreateHierarchy
    ├── Atomic_GetDataFromNetBox
    └── Atomic_PatchDataInNetBox

Master_OnboardSwitch
├── Sub_Onboard_AddSwitchesToSite
│   ├── Atomic_GetDataFromNetBox
│   ├── Atomic_PostDataToNetBox
│   └── Atomic_PatchDataInNetBox
├── Sub_Onboard_CreatePrefixesAndIPs
│   ├── Atomic_GetDataFromNetBox
│   ├── Atomic_PostDataToNetBox
│   └── Atomic_PatchDataInNetBox
├── Sub_Onboard_SwitchViaPnP
│   ├── Atomic_GetDataFromNetBox
│   └── Atomic_PatchDataInNetBox
└── Sub_Onboard_RunPyATSTests

Target Configuration

Workflows use a Target Group with Global Variables for dynamic target selection, making them portable across environments.

Target Group

Create a target group named BRKOPS-2357 containing:

Target Type Description
netbox.endpoint NetBox API endpoint
catalystcenter.endpoint Catalyst Center API endpoint
terminal.unix_linux_endpoint SSH host for pyATS tests
web-service.endpoint Google Maps API

Global Variables

Create these global variables to control target selection:

Variable Name Type Value Description
Target_NetBox String NetBox Display name of NetBox target
Target_CatC String dCloud Catalyst Center Display name of Catalyst Center target
Target_Docker String dCloud Docker Display name of SSH host target for pyATS
Target_GoogleMapsAPI String Google Maps API Display name of Google API target
Google API Key Secure String ***** Google Maps Geocoding API key

How It Works

Each workflow activity uses target group criteria to select the appropriate target:

"target": {
  "override_workflow_target_group_criteria": true,
  "target_group": {
    "use_criteria": {
      "choose_target_using_algorithm": "choose_first_with_matching_criteria",
      "conditions": [{
        "left_operand": "$targetgroup.display_name$",
        "operator": "eq",
        "right_operand": "$global.variable.Target_NetBox$"
      }]
    }
  }
}

This allows you to:

  • Change targets by updating global variables (no workflow edits needed)
  • Use different targets for different environments
  • Share workflows without exposing environment-specific details

Prerequisites

NetBox Access

  • NetBox instance with API access enabled
  • API token with read/write privileges
  • Configured tenants, regions, device types, and device roles

Catalyst Center Access

  • Catalyst Center platform with appropriate licensing
  • API credentials with sufficient privileges
  • Network connectivity to Catalyst Center instance
  • Pre-configured site hierarchy (tenant and region levels)

NetBox Custom Fields

Devices require the following custom fields for Catalyst Center integration:

Field Description
ccc_pid Catalyst Center Product ID
ccc_template_name Day-0 template name in Catalyst Center
ccc_location Floor/location name for site path construction
ccc_ip Management IP in CIDR notation

pyATS Testing Requirements

  • SSH host with Python 3 and pyATS installed in a virtual environment
  • pyATS venv at {pyATS Scripts Path}/venv
  • Network connectivity to devices under test
  • .env file with credentials (NETBOX_API, NETBOX_TOKEN, DNAC_CLI_USER, DNAC_CLI_PASSWORD)

Import Order

When importing workflows, follow this order:

  1. Create Target Group and add your targets
  2. Create Global Variables for target selection
  3. Import Atomic Workflows (no dependencies)
  4. Import Sub-Workflows (depend on Atomic workflows)
  5. Import Master Workflows (depend on Sub-Workflows)

Usage

Create a New Site

  1. Run [Master] Create Site
  2. Select tenant and region from dropdowns
  3. Enter site name, address, and floor configuration
  4. Workflow creates site in NetBox and Catalyst Center automatically

Onboard Switches

  1. Ensure switches have contacted Catalyst Center (visible in PnP)
  2. Run [Master] Onboard Switch
  3. Select tenant, site, device type, and role from dropdowns
  4. Enter comma-separated serial numbers
  5. Workflow handles device creation, IP assignment, PnP claiming, and validation

Security

All credentials are properly masked (*****) in exported workflows:

Credential Type Status
NetBox API tokens ✅ Masked
Catalyst Center passwords ✅ Masked
SSH passwords ✅ Masked
Google API key ✅ Masked

Note: After importing, you must reconfigure:

  • Runtime user credentials
  • Target endpoint addresses
  • Global variable values

For more Catalyst Center workflows, see the CiscoDevNet/CiscoWorkflowsAutomation repository.