Containerlab — Network Infrastructure as Code

🇨🇴 Español

Network labs and automation projects built with Containerlab, focused on Infrastructure as Code, Network Automation, NetDevOps and network programmability.

This repository documents the creation of reproducible network environments using container-based network operating systems and automation tools.

🎯 Project Objective

The objective of this repository is to build network laboratories that can be deployed, destroyed and recreated from code.

Instead of manually creating network topologies, the infrastructure is defined using YAML and container technologies, allowing environments to be:

• Reproducible
• Version controlled
• Portable
• Automated
• Easy to deploy and destroy
• Integrated with Network Automation tools

🧰 Technology Stack

The repository progressively explores technologies such as:

• Containerlab
• Docker
• Docker Compose
• Nokia SR Linux
• Linux containers
• Alpine Linux
• YAML
• Ansible
• Python
• Git
• Infrastructure as Code
• Network Automation
• NetDevOps

🧪 Current Lab

Lab 1 — Nokia SR Linux

The first topology currently includes:

          ┌─────────────┐
          │    SRL1     │
          │ Nokia SR OS │
          └──────┬──────┘
                 ║
              2 Links
              / LACP /
                 ║
          ┌──────┴──────┐
          │    SRL2     │
          │ Nokia SR OS │
          └─────────────┘

              │       │
              │       │
           Host1     Host2
          Alpine     Alpine

Nodes

• srl1 — Nokia SR Linux
• srl2 — Nokia SR Linux
• host1 — Alpine Linux
• host2 — Alpine Linux

Management Network

172.20.20.0/24

Containerlab automatically creates and manages the out-of-band management network for the topology.

Host Networks

host1: 10.10.10.10/24
host2: 10.10.10.20/24

The hosts are connected to the SR Linux devices and can be used to validate end-to-end connectivity and networking configurations.

📂 Repository Structure

containerlab/
│
├── ansible/
│   ├── group_vars/
│   ├── host_vars/
│   ├── inventories/
│   └── playbooks/
│
├── lab1/
│   ├── docs/
│   ├── outputs/
│   ├── README.md
│   └── topology.yml
│
├── platform/
│   └── docker-compose.yml
│
├── LICENSE
└── README.md

lab1/

Contains the Containerlab topology and supporting files for the first network laboratory.

ansible/

Prepared structure for integrating Ansible-based network automation with the Containerlab environments.

platform/

Supporting container infrastructure managed through Docker Compose.

⚙️ Infrastructure as Code Approach

Containerlab allows the entire network topology to be represented as code:

Git Repository
      │
      ▼
 topology.yml
      │
      ▼
 Containerlab
      │
      ▼
Network Infrastructure
      │
      ▼
Automation / Validation
      │
      ▼
Ansible / Python / APIs

This makes it possible to create repeatable Network Automation workflows where both the network infrastructure and its configuration are managed programmatically.

🚀 Basic Containerlab Workflow

Deploy a topology:

containerlab deploy -t topology.yml

• deploy: creates the lab defined in the topology.
• -t: specifies the topology YAML file.

Inspect the deployed lab:

containerlab inspect -t topology.yml

• inspect: shows the nodes, management addresses and state of the lab.
• -t: selects the topology to inspect.

Destroy the lab:

containerlab destroy -t topology.yml

• destroy: removes the containers and virtual links belonging to the lab.
• -t: identifies the topology to remove.

🤖 Automation Integration

The repository is designed to progressively integrate Containerlab environments with tools such as:

• Ansible
• Python
• NETCONF
• RESTCONF
• gNMI
• JSON-RPC
• Network APIs
• CI/CD pipelines

The objective is to use Containerlab as a lightweight network development platform for testing automation before applying workflows to larger virtual or physical environments.

🔄 NetDevOps Approach

Future labs can progressively introduce workflows such as:

Git
 │
 ▼
Topology Deployment
 │
 ▼
Configuration Automation
 │
 ▼
Pre-checks / Validation
 │
 ▼
Network Tests
 │
 ▼
Post-checks
 │
 ▼
Destroy / Rebuild

This provides a practical environment for learning and implementing Network Infrastructure as Code and NetDevOps principles.

📊 Repository Status

🚧 Continuous Development

Current focus:

• Containerlab
• Nokia SR Linux
• Infrastructure as Code
• Network Automation
• Ansible integration
• NetDevOps

Additional vendors, topologies, automation workflows and validation tools may be incorporated progressively.

🧪 Lab Environment

These environments are intended for laboratory, learning and Network Automation development purposes.

Always validate automation workflows before adapting them to production infrastructure.

👨‍💻 Author

Anderson Martinez Virviescas

Network Administrator | Network Automation | NetDevOps | DevNet | Linux | Infrastructure Automation

GitHub: @andersonmavi30

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Build it. Automate it. Break it. Rebuild it.